I love a traybake, especially during the week when time is short after a busy day. Chop up some veg, add some herbs or spice and bung it in the oven (or air fryer) to do its thing. Simples. There’s multiple combinations of ingredients to use so you rarely get bored – each has their own flavour profile and look. This is one of my favourites, mainly because it’s yellow!
Terrific turmeric
I use turmeric regularly in my cooking as this vibrant yellow spice contains powerful anti-inflammatory compounds, essential when you’re managing a chronic health condition. I’ve talked about this before on this tasty dressing recipe here. And this yummy soup recipe here.
There’s been lots of research about curcumin, the most active phytonutrient found in turmeric. This has given rise to plenty of supplement options with concentrated curcumin which many people take, especially for knee or join pain. Great if it helps; it’s unlikely unless other dietary and lifestyle changes are made too. Plus, concentrating one compound removes the other active elements of this fabulously vibrant root. Consuming turmeric as a whole, in my mind, whilst eating a wide range of whole plant foods – that’s where the magic happens.
Having said that, the bioactive compounds found in turmeric are not as absorbable as some others. So there’s two hard rules that must be followed to get the most out of the turmeric in your dinner:
- Add black or pink pepper – it contains piperine, another active compound that aids absorption
- Add some fat – even a little will do the job
Including a good glug of extra virgin olive oil and seasoning with pepper – simple culinary actions – makes all the difference.
Tasty tamarind
This particular traybake comes with my sweet/sour tamarind sauce. This really brings all the flavours to life and gives a good tingle on the tongue.
I talk a bit about tamarind on the sauce recipe post. What I don’t mention there is that tamarind is more than flavour – it comes with it’s own nutritional profile and benefits. To be fair, many of these are connected with the raw, fibrous tamarind blocks you can buy. It is an interesting experiment turning that into a sauce. It takes a lot of time and squeezing! I prefer to avoid that and buy small pots of ready-made 100% tamarind sauce. It’s thick, dark and ever so gloopy.
Whilst the fibre is mainly removed, there are still a range of body-loving compounds like flavonoids and polyphenols that have an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effect. Polyphenols also act as gut bug food – microbes in the gut microbiome readily nosh down on these compounds, helping them to thrive.
Tamarind also contains minerals like magnesium, potassium and calcium, although the small amount in this recipe won’t make much difference on it’s own. But remember, it’s everything we consume during the day that counts, so this still contributes.
One other thing to consider is that tamarind is a natural source of tartaric acid, a compound that has multiple uses in foods and medications. One of those is laxative medication as it naturally aids gut motility. So eating tamarind can help keep you regular, although having it with the fibrous pulp will probably be more effective. The small amount in this recipe won’t have you running to the loo in a hurry – just don’t eat the whole pot!
A few other pointers
This recipe can be made with frozen veg if you don’t have the time or energy to chop. You can also roast in an air fryer if you prefer to keep the oven off and save some energy. If you don’t eat or enjoy tofu, then swap with cooked chickpeas or beans of your choice. If you’re not keen on cumin than swap with fennel seeds. They provide a lovely savoury flavour and come with additional digestive benefits. Finally, if you prefer not to heat olive oil, just wash the veggies and pop them in the baking dish wet before putting in the oven. They’ll cook slightly differently but still taste good – add glug of extra virgin olive oil as a garnish before serving. That way you still get the flavour, healthy fats and polyphenols. If you avoid oil completely, sprinkle some hempseeds or nuts on top to make sure you have a source of fat.
I hope you enjoy this super tasty tofu, turmeric and cumin traybake. It’s one of the recipes in my new book Healing From the Inside Out. Available to buy now online and in all good book shops, it provides lots of information about food, autoimmune disease, inflammation and more. Plus 100 tasty gluten free recipes to try out at home. There’s lots to learn and enjoy – and you don’t need to have an autoimmune disease to buy one!
Tofu, turmeric and cumin traybake
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
- Slice the onion. Chop the cauliflower and broccoli into small pieces and wash under a running tap. Wash and chop the pepper into bite-sized pieces. Peel and chop the sweet potato into bite-sized pieces. Chop the smoked tofu into small squares.
- Scatter the cumin seeds over the base of a large oven-proof dish. Pop the prepared veggies into a large bowl and sprinkle the turmeric over the top along with a glug of extra virgin olive oil. Stir well to coat then tip into the baking dish.
- Place the dish in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Turn the veg with a large spoon and cook for another 10 minutes before adding the tofu. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes.
- Whilst the veggies are cooking, make the tamarind sauce. Pour the water into a small pan and add the dates. Pop on the lid and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the dates are super soft and hydrated. Turn off the heat and leave to cool.
- Pop the dates into the small bowl of a food processor or hand blender. Blend to a paste, adding more water if it's too thick. Add the remaining ingredients and blend again to combine. Check the flavour and add more spices or salt as needed.
- Once the traybake is golden brown, remove from the oven. Serve over a bed of wholegrain rice or quinoa or on its own with the sauce drizzled over the top.
Nutrition
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