Press The Tofu

• While the original whipped tofu ricotta from Nisha Vora works best with unpressed extra firm tofu, the roasted red peppers in this version introduce a good bit of liquid that we need to remove from the tofu, to get a creamy instead of runny dip.

You have two options for doing this:

Tofu Press

• This is what I recommend (see story of chipped tiles and broken pot below). Simply add your unwrapped block of tofu to the press, secure the rubber bands and leave it to its own devices for about 30 minutes. You can absolutely do this the evening before and leave it to press overnight in the fridge. But if you choose to press overnight, wrap the whole thing into a freezer bag, to avoid any dried out edges.

Towel and Heavy Objects

• This is a little more precarious as it relies on your tower building abilities and hope that the tofu doesn’t tilt to one side while being pressed. So proceed with caution.
• Slice the tofu into half horizontally
• Wrap the tofu into a clean kitchen towel, lying the pieces flat beside each other to maximaise the surface area. It should have a few layers of towel around it, so the moisture is absorbed. Put it on a plate or a chopping board with rim, just in case moisture does seep out.
• Now you want to add weight on top. A heavy book and a cast iron pot are recommended in many recipes. Make sure that any possible tilt is towards your wall, so the pot can’t crash onto your floor. Though frankly, I do not trust the method as mentioned.
• Or maybe you’d like to add a little workout step to your cooking and just firmly press it by hand for a while, until no more water seeps out.

Drain The Roasted Red Peppers

• If you are using jarred roasted peppers, tip them into a fine meshed sieve and allow to drain while your tofu is being pressed.
• For home roasted peppers: Remove seeds and skin before using.

Blend Your Ingredients

• Now that we are done with the hard work, lets get to the blending:
• Crumble your now fairly dry tofu into your food processor with the blades attached.
• Roughly tear the roasted red pepper into it and throw in the nutritional yeast, garlic, salt (start with 1 tsp), olive oil, lemon juice and smoked paprika.
• Add just 1 tbsp Miso and 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses to start with. I like my tofu cream fairly salty-sweet, but you might not. So better to start on the lower spectrum, as you can always add more later.
• Process everything for a few minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times, until your dip is creamy. The texture will be similar to ricotta, with a hint of graininess, but smooth enough that you won’t notice when munching this with a cracker or bread.

Balance The Flavor

• Now you can adjust the acidity, cheesy flavor, salty umami and sweetness by tweaking the amounts of lemon juice, nutritional yeast, miso and pomegranate molasses according to your preference.
• So if you know you like your dips on the lower salt spectrum, add for example less miso. Or more for an even more intense umami flavor. I often find myself adding more lemon juice, which also lifts the saltiness.

Serve Your Whipped Tofu Roasted Red Pepper Dip

• And your bright red, fruity and smoky protein dip is ready to serve!
• Top it with a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of seeds and maybe some fresh parsley if you have it.
• I love mine with seeded sourdough crackers, for even more protein. But it’s equally good on a bowl with roasted veggies and rice or over a quick plate of pasta.
• Try it as flavorful spread on your favorite sandwich or wrap (heavenly when topped with fried halloumi!) or in the middle of a mezze spread like this one.