Seitan... Interesting.

When I went grocery shopping after my deadly run Wednesday, I found tofurkey, baked tofu, and seitan. Three things I have never had before, but really wanted to try. My typical grocery store is lacking in the area of these meat alternatives, but at Whole Foods, the selection is abundant.

I also picked up tons of fresh Michigan grown organic produce, and some great steaks, turkey-burgers, and fish for my boyfriend, Mr. Meat. We are grillers, so I had to get plenty of meat for the grill.

Well, I have never EVER had seitan, and only recently heard of it from Nava Atlas over at a Vegetarian Kitchen. So when I saw it in the store, I picked up an 8oz. packet of ready-made, ready-to-use Seitan by White Wave.

Today I decided to try it out, but since I am completely new to the world of seitan, I had NO clue what to do. With tofu, you just buy whatever firmness is appropriate, and then either blend it into a sauce or smoothie, dish it out in broiled/grilled/baked/sauteed cubes or fillets, or chop it up and add to soups. Pretty versatile and easy to figure out. But this wonderful wheat gluten creation is a little intimidating.

It looks semi-meat like, so that it a good beginning. It is slightly firmer than tofu, and has a wonderful light brown color. OK... not so intimidating afterall... but where to start?

I decided to convert one of my all time favorite meat recipies into a vegan recipie to see how versatile it really is.

I chose beef burgandy, and made it into seitan burgandy by doing the following:
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~INGREDIENTS~

• 8 ounces seitan, white wave or other brand, rinsed and cut into bite size pieces
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 pound mushrooms
• 1 sliced zuchini
• 1 sliced yellow squash (looks like a yellow zuchini)
• 3/4 cup any good red wine or red wine blend
• 1 cup water or veggie broth
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• Rice, or pasta to serve over

~DIRECTIONS~

1. Sautee the onion and garlic in 1/2 cup wine until the wine evaporates and the veggies are nice and tender
2. Add another 1/4 cup of wine and the herbs and all the other veggies, simmer 5 minutes. Add as much water/broth to make the amount of sauce as you want.
3. Add the seitan.
4. Cover and simmer till all is tender.
5. Meanwhile, in a seperate bowl or a shaker bottle mix the corn starch and about 1/2 cup water/broth, shake until smooth.
6. Add this starch mixture to the simmering veggies to thicken into a nice gravy.
7. Serve over rice or pasta

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This is a wonderufl dish! I had 2 servings! The seitan was very tender, but a good substitute for meat. Had a distinct flavor, but it was a light mild flavor not very overpowering, and wonderful in this recipie. OK - seitan passed the test. I know have tofu and seitan to play around with!

Eat on and run on my friends...

Runnergirl