Chermoula Tofu with Fennel and Quinoa

Recently a friend gave me some meyer lemons she had preserved. I'd never cooked with preserved lemons before, so I wasn't sure how to best feature them. But she suggested they paired well with Middle Eastern food, and another friend, who saw the lemons sitting on my table, suggested I make chermoula, a marinade used in Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian cooking that features preserved lemons.

For this dish, I adapted this Gourmet recipe, but since I don't eat meat, I paired the flavorful paste with tofu. It was terrific.

Tofu:
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
12 whole black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
a large pinch saffron threads, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (or to taste; if you use preserved lemons, they are already very salty so you may not need much extra salt)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons chopped preserved lemon peel plus 2 tablespoons preserved lemon juice (or fresh lemon juice to taste)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 (14 ounce) block tofu, cut into four "fillets"

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Wrap tofu in a clean, dry cloth and place between two plates. Weigh down the top plate with a couple books or something else heavy, but stable, and relatively unbreakable.

With a mortar and pestle, grind together the coriander seeds, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, and saffron. Combine spices with all other ingredients in a food processor, and pulse until it resembles a thick pesto.

Lightly grease a non-stick baking sheet and place the tofu "fillets" on the sheet. Cover with chermoula* and bake for approximately one hour, until the edges of the tofu are crispy.

*You could make this ahead and leave to marinate for an hour or so before baking. Because the baking time for the tofu was so long, I didn't marinate at all, and the dish was still delicious.

Fennel:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large fennel bulb, quartered, cored, then sliced, with a few fronds reserved for garnish
salt+pepper

This slower-cooking fennel method really mellows the vegetable. It loses some of its pronounced anise flavor, and becomes sweet and mild. It's a great way to prepare fennel for non-fennel lovers.

15 minutes or so before the tofu is done, heat oil in a skillet over medium-low. Add the fennel, and cook until tender. Season lightly with salt and pepper before serving.

Quinoa:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water (or stock, if you want more flavor)
salt+pepper

Combine the quinoa and water in a pot. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer, covered, until tender, 10 or so minutes. Season lightly and before serving.

Plate this dish quinoa first, then fennel, tofu, and fennel fronds.