Garlic marinated Tofu and whole wheat Pasta Salad

I usually always incorporate tofu into Asian type recipes because that's what I'm used to and what I know.. The other day I was thinking I should really try and use it in other varieties of cuisines and ways of cooking. Tofu doesn't have a whole lot of taste on it's own, it's great carrier for whatever type of flavor profile your dish has. This is my take on a great classic pasta salad. You can make this a day or two ahead of time, and it will keep fantastically well... in fact it will probably be even better with all the flavors marinating. Great to take on a picnic or bring as a side dish. I used whole wheat pasta because it's so much healthier, and with the tofu instead of cheese this recipe is VERY low fat and healthy!!!

Ingredients:

1 box whole wheat pasta

1 package of hard tofu*

1/2 cucumber

1 carrot

4 garlic cloves

8 green olives

1 medium tomato

1/4 red onion

2 green onions

1 bell pepper (any color will work)

6 sprigs of flat leaf parsley

pinch of chili flakes

1 jalapeno

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

@ 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

To make:

Marinate tofu in olive oil, chopped garlic, chili flakes a couple hours ahead of time. Add in all over ingredients (all diced medium) including pasta that has been cooked (no need to chill pasta, toss in with other ingredients and will give your salad a nice warm temperature), toss well. Taste adjust seasonings (oil or vinegar, spiciness etc) as needed. 

*Hard tofu is great for this type of use, or if you would be frying etc... it's harder texture is better in this type of thing because it doesn't fall apart like soft tofu would. And soft tofu is great in soups.