I am not the only one in my family that likes to cook. Many, many moons ago, I shared a lemon caper dressing recipe with my family that was a hit. Not long after, this creamy smoked tofu and olive pasta salad recipe, using my dressing, was shared with me.
I don’t believe I would have ever google searched for a pasta salad like this one; the mix of ingredients seams random, but I promise you it is not. The combination of flavors is specific and on point.
Hear me out. Smoky tofu, salty olives and capers, bright lemon, AND a creamy sauce. The whole thing together is a surprisingly awesome salad that you will come back for again and again, or at least I know I do.
Beans round out this salad with protein and a splash of color. I like to use the three bean blend to increase the colors and textures in the dish without any additional effort.
This recipe is very salty, and that is one of the reasons that I love it. I rarely use a lot of salt in my cooking so it is a treat when I do have a salty meal. The capers and olives is where the salt is coming from, so if you want to reduce the sodium of this recipe, I suggest opting for low sodium olives and reduce the capers.
Additions to try in this Creamy Smoked Tofu and Olive Pasta Salad recipe:
- Increase the creaminess of this salad by adding avocado.
- Increase the acidity by adding halved cherry tomatoes.
- Increase the sweetness by adding fire–roasted sweet corn.
- Increase the bulk by adding small broccoli florets.
- Any increases you make will result in the need to increase the dressing as well. A large spoonful more mayo and an extra squeeze of lemon should be a good starting point, then taste test and adjust.
- 6 oz whole wheat elbow pasta
- 8 oz block smoked tofu, diced
- 15 oz can three bean blend (pinto, black and kidney beans)
- ⅓ cup each: black olives and green olives, sliced (or to taste)
- ½ cup mayo (vegan mayo if desired)
- 3 TBS fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1 small lemon)
- 3 TBS capers, minced
- 1 TBS caper brine (from the caper jar)
- ¼ tsp each: garlic powder and black pepper
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Cold shock by rinsing with cold water and set aside.
- Cut the smoked tofu into ¼ inch sized pieces.
- Drain and rinse the can of beans.
- Layer or toss the pasta, tofu, beans, green olives and black olives in a large bowl.
- For the Lemon Caper Dressing, mix together the mayo, lemon juice, capers, caper brine, garlic powder and black pepper. Taste test and adjust as necessary. The capers and olives are both very salty so I don’t usually use any salt.
- Pour the lemon caper dressing over the pasta and toss to coat.
