Potato and Broccoli Rabe Bake

This dish totally blew my socks off.  I have never tasted anything similar to it.  Seriously, out of all the dishes that I have made, none have been anything close to this dish.  What puzzles me is that I thought, while I was making it, that it would be rather bland.  I think that fear made me add more spices, and then I ended up with a wad of flavour in the dish.  It’s rather pretty, too.  The bell peppers were really supposed to go on top of the potatoes, under the broccoli rabe, but that did not happen.  I was too hungry to wait for the pepper to roast, and so it just went on top.  But the pepper was totally worth the trouble, because both M and I love roasted bell pepper, and the house smelled good for the rest of the night.

Potato and Broccoli Rabe Bake

Adapted from Fat Free Vegan

Serves 6-8

3 medium-large red potatoes, chopped into about ½ inch pieces

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 huge red bell pepper

1 large bunch broccoli rabe, thick stems cut off, and cut into 2 inch pieces

12 oz tofu, pressed

¼ cup milk

3 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tbsp miso paste

1 generous tbsp corn starch

1 tsp onion powder

Scant 1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp Spike seasoning

1 tbsp basil

Preheat the oven to 400.  In a casserole dish, spread the potatoes out into a single layer, and bake those for 25 minutes, until they begin to brown and become tender.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cut the bell pepper in half.  Take off the stem and deseed it.  Place both halves, skin up, on a baking sheet that is not very valuable (lots of sticky juice will come out).  Pop the pepper in the oven with the potatoes for about 35 minutes, until the skin is dry and blackened.  Remove from the oven and let cool.  I stuck mine in the freezer for 5 minutes, and that really sped things up.  Then take off the skin, and chop. 

While those are baking, prepare the broccoli rabe.  Bring a pot of water to a boil with 1 tbsp of salt, and cook the broccoli rage for 5 minutes.  Drain and dry well.

While all that is going on, prepare the tofu.  Combine the tofu through basil in a bowl, and blend with an immersion blender.  Or use a regular food blender, or food processor.  Anyway, blend well.

To assemble, spread the broccoli rabe over the potatoes, and then the tofu mixture.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, or more, depending on how thick the dish is.  Mine was pretty thin, and done after 35 minutes.  Top with bell pepper, and then let sit for 10 minutes.  Serve.