Review: Everything Tofu by Eve-Lyne Auger

Everything Tofu by Eve-Lyne Auger

Toronto: Robert Rose Publishing, 2025
Photos by Ariel Tarr
Food styling by: Chantal Legault

My Quick Take: If you love tofu, you’ll love this cookbook. If you don’t love tofu, you may need this cookbook to help you love it.

***

I saw this cookbook all about tofu reviewed on Canadian Cookbooks and felt compelled to check it out for myself. I’m so glad that I did, because I really enjoyed reading more about tofu, and finding some new ways to prepare a staple that always has a place in my kitchen.

Based in Montreal, Auger is the founder of the online magazine La Fraîche, writing about a vegetarian lifestyle and posting lots of recipes. The site is in French, and I can read just enough to get the ideas, but will have to use the webpage translator for more. Fortunately, her first cookbook, Totalement Tofu, has been translated into English as Everything Tofu, and I for one am glad.

First of all, how about that design sensibility! To me it feels very retro, perhaps a 1980’s vibe. I can say that, because I lived through the 1980s and remember the cookbook aesthetics very well. The photography fits the design vision beautifully, photographed by Montreal-based Ariel Tarr.

If you’re a tofu neophyte, the beginning sections will set you on the road to learning more about this versatile protein. From “What is tofu?” to “Why Eat Tofu?” these sections are brief and to the point, but provide enough information that when you start cooking, you won’t get lost figuring out what the different types of tofu are and how to use them. Personally, I cook with tofu regularly so I moved right into the recipes. I tried a basic preparation, a more involved casserole, and a dessert.

The Recipes:

I used Ground Beef-Style Tofu to make a dinner bowl

Ground Beef-Style Tofu

Okay. You’ve got a block of tofu in the fridge, and dinner has to be on the table in half an hour. Go! Put some rice to boil on the stove, or, in my case, pressure cook it in the Instant Pot. Next, grab your tofu and make this fast, easy and tasty recipe. Crumbling the tofu rather than cubing it worked so well to mimic ground meat! Sautéd with onions, then seasoned with basic spices you’ll likely have on hand then add some nutritional yeast (I have a big tub of it in my pantry). Cook whatever veg you have on hand as a side, and then put everything together in a bowl. Supper is done. And really, really yummy.

Creamy Tofu Pasta, Kale and Butternut Squash Stew

This recipe strikes me as a loose take on mac and cheese, but with the addition of vegetables, and tofu as a protein, making this a one-dish meal. Honestly, peeling and dicing the butternut squash was the most difficult part of this recipe (and it’s really not that hard). After sautéing the crumbled tofu, squash and seasonings you add the broth and milk along with the pasta and some kale. At this point, I was sure this recipe was going to fail: too much pasta for the amount of liquid. But no...trust the recipe! I assure you, after some anxious pot-watching, it all worked out perfectly. I added some cheese and popped it in the oven to bake. This dish was perfect and the plentiful leftovers reheated well. I appreciated the subtly smoky flavour from the smoked paprika.

Lemon Raspberry Cake

I decided to finish off by making a tofu dessert. The idea of incorporating soft tofu as a liquid for the cake was intriguing, and I like the addition of protein. Again, a simple recipe, and I happened to have frozen blueberries, so I subbed them in for the raspberries. The cake smelled heavenly as it baked, and rose well. However, when I let it sit it did fall a bit, and the texture ended up being more like a denser, steamed pudding. Perhaps my blueberries were too watery. Even so, it’s beautiful to look at with the purple berry layer! And despite the different than expected texture, it tasted really good. And it freezes well, always an important consideration.

***

Overall, I found Everything Tofu to offer a straightforward, sensible approach to cooking and baking with tofu. It will appeal to the beginner, offering tips and tricks and basic recipes. I did like that many of the recipes in the salad and sandwich sections were about more than just tofu, as they provided ways to substitute tofu for other proteins in a creative way. These chapters will be of particular interest to the beginner. As a regular tofu consumer, I also found plenty to like, and will add some recipes into my regular rotation. This would make a good addition to any cook’s shelf!