Pecan Crusted Seitan w. Kale Slaw
This is a new obsession. When I heard about pecan crusted chicken I was already a vegetarian so it was too late for me to try it. I love everything that has to do with nuts so I was bummed that I was going to miss out on this sure to be delicious meal. It wasn’t until MANY years later that I realized that I could make it with seitan. What took me so long? I don’t know. I’m glad I realized it though because I don’t know how I lived without it. If I could crust everything in pecan’s I would. That’s how much I love this recipe.
I wasn’t quite sure how to begin with this recipe so it took me a few tries to get it exactly right. Above was my first attempt which I served with a Kale Slaw, which is a whole other story of delicousness, and some BBQ sauce. It was really good but I knew that some of the ingredient measurements needed to be changed.
Toasted Pecan Crusted Seitan
I made it again for New Years Eve. This time I toasted the pecans first to see if that would change the taste at all. It did but in a subtle way and I decided that toasting the nuts first was unnecessary and an extra step that I could do without. I served it with store bought Orange Papaya Chutney and it went over well with the few that were around to taste it. I then proceeded to make this recipe a few more times the same way over and over again because I decided to teach it to members of my local vegan group at a cooking class I was helping to teach and just because I tend to obsess about things at times.
Needless to say…I’m very happy with this recipe. I’m toying with the idea of maybe marinating the seitan before crusting it in pecans but for now I think it’s just perfect the way it is.
Pecan Crusted Seitan
This recipe gives you the option of frying or baking the seitan. I’m a lover of all things fried but my favorite way to make these is baking them. Almost everyone who has tried both the fried and baked versions choose baked as their favorite way to eat this recipe. Enjoy!
2 cups Pecans (whole or pieces)
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup non dairy milk (unsweetened!)
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
4 seitan cutlets (left whole, cut into strips or nuggets)
canola oil, if you are frying
IF BAKING PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.
1. For the crust: Pulse the pecans in a quisenart until they are broken down somewhat and then add the dried rosemary, all purpose flour, parprika and salt and process until all is combined and it resembles coarse bread crumbs. Empty onto a plate.
2. In a small bowl mix the non dairy milk, mustard and arrowroot until combined.
3. Dip the seitan (cutlet, strips, nuggets) into the milk and then into the pecan crust and roll it around until it is covered with the pecan mixture. Towards the end of your batch you’ll find you might have to press the crust onto the seitan. This happens because of the wetness left behind from some of the milk mixture. This doesn’t always happen when I make it but sometimes it does. Set aside on a clean plate, if frying, or baking sheet tray lined with parchment paper, if baking. Continue with the rest of the seitan.
4. If you are baking the seitan: simply place it in the 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, flipping the seitan halfway through the cooking time.
5. If you are frying the seitan: pour canola oil into a frying pan until it covers the entire bottom of the pan and then some about 1/3 of an inch. Fry until golden brown on each side, about 3-5 minutes each side, (cutlets you’ll have to flip once, strips you will flip 1-3 time and nuggets about 2-4 times depending on how you cut your seitan). Drain on paper towels.
6. Serve as is or with some of your favorite sauces: BBQ, Chutney, Agave Mustard..etc..
March 15th, 2010
Tahini Lemon Rice and Beans
Its cold and rainy here today (and I think for the rest of the week) which has got me craving this recipe for Tahini Lemon Rice and Beans from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook and website. This recipe has quickly made its way into our regular rotation of quick and easy meals since we almost always have the ingredients on hand. If we don’t have all the ingredients then we still make it with simple substitutions or just leave out that ingredient. We’ve made it with and without seitan, subbed red beans for black beans, made it carrot-less and so on.
What initially drew me to this recipe was that it reminded me of something I’d put together for lunch at this one restaurant I worked for. I miss those weird combinations of ingredients that were on hand on the “line” that I would throw together at the horror of the waitstaff thinking I was going to make them eat it for family meal one day. The lunches always included brown rice, veggies, protein and a mixture of sauces. They were alway’s perfect just like this dish pictured here. So please…make this for dinner this week and enjoy it because it’s delicious.
February 23rd, 2010
Spaghetti Alfreda with Sauteed Seitan
This is an old favorite of mine. The Alfreda Sauce recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance. I haven’t made it in a while, until recently, because Peter once told me he didn’t care for it that much. So after about 2 years (!what!) without having it I went against his taste buds and made it again and was so happy that I did. This is total comfort food for me and it has some of my favorite ingredients in it: pine nuts and nooch (nutritional yeast for those who don’t know it by nooch). I love the thickness and the taste of this stuff. If you have never had this and want to try it just keep in mind that it resembles nothing of a real Alfredo sauce. It’s it’s own delicious beast.
Happy VeganMoFo!
October 5th, 2009
Grilled Tempeh and Avocado Sandwich
I’ve been really into eating sandwiches lately. Maybe its the early fall weather we have been having which always makes me want to go on a picnic, which I never do, or maybe it’s my love of bread with tasty ingredients in between two slices. Who knows?
My new favorite sandwich is the Grilled Tempeh one pictured up above. Succulent marinated tempeh grilled to perfection on butter toasted bread with mesclun, avocado, pickles and a thousand island type spread. If I added sauerkraut and some cheese and took off the mesclun I’d imagine you’d want to call it a Tempeh Rueben. Since that is a lot of adding and subtracting of ingredients I’ve decided that it is just my Grilled Tempeh and Avocado Sandwich.
Sauteed Seitan and Avocado Sandwich
I made a similar sandwich the next day with some sauteed seitan and I skipped the butter on the toasted bread. Equally delicious but I actually preferred the grilled tempeh over the seitan.
Chile-Cornmeal Crusted Tofu Po’ Boy from Veganomicon
I have literally been dying to make this sandwich since the day I got V’con in the mail. That was along time ago and I just got around to making it. I’m now kicking myself for not making it sooner. The tofu with it’s spiced cornmeal crust is just perfect and the coleslaw is mega easy to make and delicious to eat all on it’s own. Plus you can never go wrong with chipotle mayo. I’ve been making my own and spreading it on food for years now. If you haven’t tried this sandwich yet I beg you to make it tonight for dinner. You will be so happy that you did.
September 9th, 2009
Seitan, Kale and Carrots w. Peanut Sauce over Jasmine Rice
Did any of you watch the first episode of Top Chef: Las Vegas and see that the first person who got kicked off cooked with seitan? Exciting right? But also disappointing! I’m glad the judges made a point of saying she wasn’t kicked off because of the seitan but still the girl didn’t do it justice. You have to treat the store bought stuff right. Crisp it a bit. Use a good sauce with it. Do something with it! You can’t just open up a package of store bought seitan and add it willy nilly to a dish. Especially if you are feeding it to people who cook and eat for a living. Oi!
Yesterday I cooked my first batch of seitan in almost 1 month. Its usually a weekly event for me but we have been vacationing and I’ve been sick with some crazy cold for almost all of August. It sucks being sick in the summer. Its just not right. So needless to say I was excited cooking with my beloved seitan again.
For dinner I chopped up some carrots, kale and garlic and sauteed them in olive oil until they were nice and almost soft before adding the chopped up boiled seitan that I made earlier in the day. Once the seitan was starting to brown I quickly threw together a peanut sauce made from: smooth natural peanut butter, soy sauce, ground ginger, agave and apple cider vinegar.(I usually add some cayenne or hot sauce to my peanut sauces but since Reno is eating peanut butter now I left it out for her sake even though she refused to try the stuff!! punk!) I whisked all the sauce ingredients together and added it to the saute pan with the seitan and veg and cook until everything is coated and warmed through. Then I nicely plop it on top of some lovely jasmine rice. The dish is then complete and Peter and I devour 2 helpings each of the stuff. Reno picks through a peanut sauce-less version of the meal and only eats the seitan.
September 2nd, 2009