Tofu.  What is it?  Why is it?  So many people exclaim — AH! It has no taste!  when they hear the word tofu, but I return the resistance with information that tofu is great because it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with and if you are in the mood for something uncomplicated by complex flavors, tofu can do that for you as well.

Oh, and by the way, tofu is made from coagulated soy milk that’s pressed into a block.  It’s smooth and slick and kind of fun to play with.  You have to be a little gentle when cutting it so that it doesn’t break apart, but there’s no real talent needed, just som patience.

I was leafing through the book Plenty, looking for the recipe for an eggplant recipe I’d had my eye on and came across a recipe for Black Pepper Tofu.  I’ve eaten tofu before, but my experience cooking with tofu has been limited to making miso soup or to adding tofu into fried wontons like this batch of wontons I made for a CNN iReporter fpiece.  The one thing I haven’t done, however, is make tofu as the prominent ingredient, the one that everything else revolves around.

Plenty, the plush covered book filled with — well, Plenty of vegetarian recipes has opened my eyes to meatless recipes that are not only delicious, but are beautiful to look at as well.

As a side dish, this tofu will serve 8 and cost you 6 Weight Watchers Plus Points or 201 calories.  I made several changes, as follows:  I used 1/2 the amount of vegetable oil, I added a teaspoon of fresh Sichwan peppercorns and the only soy sauce I had in the house was regular soy, not sweet or light.  As a result, you’ll note that my tofu is not as dark as the dish in the book, but the taste is something I’ve been craving ever since.  It’s not a light in points or calorie dish, so I haven’t made it again, but it is in the plan — soon and I hope you try it soon too.

I think it would make a great small plate in an around the world “tapas” type event.