Decided to try making seitan (which I believe is pronounced something like "SAY-tan" ~ which, of course lead my husband to ask repeatedly, "What's for dinner? Could it be..."SAY-tan? hmmm??" in his best Church Lady voice). To be honest, I thinkI have avoided making it so I wouldn't have to talk about it. You know, since I don't really know how to pronounce it.
I have thought about trying this before. In fact, I had gone so far as to buy not one, but two, packages of vital wheat gluten in anticipation of trying this recipe. (I forgot I had bought the first one, and so I bought the second. I am frighteningly well-organized.)
ANYWAY...
Having zipped around the internet for quite some time, I had settled on this recipe:
http://veganplanet.blogspot.com/2008/03/slow-cooker-seitan-pot-roast.html
You'll have to copy and paste the link in to your browser. I am so sorry, but I just cannot seem to successfully post a link here. Can somebody help me figure that out, please?
You know what? Screw it. I am copying and pasting the recipe here:
Slow-Cooker Seitan Pot Roast
This is an easier version of the pot roast recipe in Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker.
Important: You may need to adjust your cooking time according to the quirks of your own crockpot. The one I used for this recipe cooks fast — if I had used one of my other slow cookers, it would have taken nearly twice as long.
1 sweet yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 pound baby carrots
1 pound small red-skinned potatoes, halved or quartered
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup vegetable stock
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 cups wheat gluten flour
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 cup water or vegetable stock, or more as needed
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup or tomato sauce
1. Arrange the onion, carrots, and potatoes in the bottom of a lightly oiled slow cooker. Season the vegetables to taste with salt and pepper and add the stock, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon each of the thyme and marjoram.
2. In a large bowl, combine the wheat gluten flour, onion powder, garlic powder, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon each of thyme and marjoram, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Add the water or stock, soy sauce, and ketchup. Mix well, adding a little more water if the mixture is too dry, then knead for 2 minutes until smooth. Shape the gluten to fit inside your cooker and place on top of the vegetables. (You can place it on top of a piece of aluminum foil or wrap it in cheesecloth, if desired, to keep its shape). Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours (or longer, depending on your slow cooker), or until the seitan and vegetables are cooked.
3. To serve, remove the vegetables and seitan from the slow cooker. Cut the seitan into slices and arrange them on a serving platter. Surround with the vegetables and spoon the cooking liquid over all or transfer the cooking liquid to a saucepan and thicken into a gravy.
Serves 4
For the record, I didn't have any marjoram, so I skipped it ~ which is okay, because I have never liked the flavour of marjoram, anyway.
Several hours in, I realized the top of my seitan was just not cooking, while the bottom looked done already. I decided to turn it over, hoping it would finish cooking in time for dinner. Upon further investigation, I found that the broth was rather flavourless. I found a packet of Hain Vegetarian Brown Gravy MIx, stirred that in to about 1/2 cup water, added it to the crockpot and turned the whole thing to high.
In the end, it did finish cooking, and we decided it was not bad.
(Going to stop taking pics in my kitchen. The florescent lighting makes everything look a little greeinsh)
Shane found it reminiscent of pepper steak (a green pepper in the pot would probably have helped sell that angle). I suggested using a vegetarian beef flavour bouillon as the liquid that is mixed in to the gluten instead of water next time. I think that will give it a richer, beefier flavour. Hallie suggested seasoning it more like chicken some time. I thought it tasted like pork. Shane disagreed, but he did like it. We decided, at the very least, it will serve as a good jumping off point, and definitely warrants more experimentation.
The next day, I tried slicing some of the leftover roast into very thin strips, mixing it a little bar-b-que sauce and heating it. Sooooooooooo good! I only wish I'd had some coleslaw and hot biscuits to go with it. When we had the leftovers for dinner, I prepared half of it that way (very thinly sliced and simmered in barbeque sauce). The other half I placed in a baking dish with stuffing in between the slices, drizzled with a little gravy, covered with foil and baked. Both variations were well received. (I will try to find pictures of these and add them later.)
No comments:
Post a Comment