Golden Calcium-Set Tofu & Tahini Strips
Allergen lists cover the priority allergens in the recipe as written. Always check your own ingredient labels, and introduce each new allergen on its own first.
Ingredients
- 300 g (1 block) firm calcium-set tofu — check the label for calcium sulphate or calcium chloride as the coagulant
- 1 tbsp (15 g) tahini (sesame paste), well stirred
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) warm water, to thin the tahini
- 1 tsp (5 ml) lemon juice
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
- 1/4 tsp sweet paprika (optional, no salt)
- 1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest
Method
- 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a tray with baking paper.
- 2. Press the tofu lightly: wrap the block in a clean tea towel and rest a plate on top for 5-10 minutes, then pat dry. Use the weight of the plate alone — heavily pressed tofu bakes up dense and chewy, and this needs to stay squashable.
- 3. Whisk the tahini with the warm water, lemon juice and olive oil until it is a pourable, runny sauce — never a thick sticky paste.
- 4. Slice the tofu to size (see age guides), brush all over with the thinned tahini sauce and dust with paprika and orange zest.
- 5. Bake for 18-20 minutes, turning halfway, until the outside is golden but the inside is still soft and custardy.
- 6. Cool to lukewarm and squash a piece between thumb and forefinger — it should give way easily. If any edge has baked firm, rubbery or chewy rather than soft, trim that edge off and serve only the soft centre. Serve any extra tahini sauce spread thinly, not in a blob.
How to serve by age
6–8 months
Slice the block into finger-length planks about 8 cm long, about 2 cm wide — roughly an adult finger's width — and 1.5 cm thick, so the plank sticks out of a closed fist for the palmar whole-hand grasp. Thicker slices hold together better in a fist than thin ones.
9–12 months
Cut into 1 cm pea-sized cubes and spread them across the tray so baby can lift each one individually with the pincer grasp between thumb and forefinger.
Paediatric note
Not all tofu is a calcium food — only tofu set with a calcium salt (calcium sulphate or calcium chloride on the label) is calcium-rich; tofu set with magnesium chloride or nigari contains very little. Sesame is one of the Top-14 allergens, so introduce tahini in a small amount on a day when baby is well and you can watch for a reaction, and always thin it so it cannot form a sticky glob. Baked tofu firms up as it cools, so press-test every piece rather than the first one, and trim off any edge that has gone chewy.
Source guidance: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/default.aspx
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