Latin Shredded Seitan

E really liked this seitan dish, which is saying a lot because he's not a huge fan of meat substitutes (though lucky for me he will eat them happily enough). I liked it too, but not as much as him. It's a great way to flavour up some seitan - with garlic, onion, bell pepper, cumin, wine and tomatoes.

If you have Viva Vegan!, please comment and let me know which dishes from it you loved or didn't like. I've only made a few things from it (like these empanadas) but want to make more.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Shredded Seitan and Mushroom Empanadas with Raisins and Olives
Udon Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Seitan
Baked Seitan
Seitan Black Bean Corn Burgers

Latin Shredded Seitan
Adapted from Viva Vegan!

Serves 4 (with rice and another vegetable)

1/2 recipe (two loaves) Steamed Red Seitan
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into thin strips
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup red wine
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground blac pepper

Slice the seitan as thinly as you can, then stack a few slices together at a time and chop the seitan into thin slivers.

In a large pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and garlic. Cook until the garlic sizzles, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and bell pepper, stirring occasionally, and cooking until the onion is soft and translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the cumin, cook for 1 minute. Stir in the wine and tomato. Stir in the seitan, coating the seitan with the sauce. Simmer for 12 to 14 minutes. The seitan should look juicy, so if starts to look dry, add more wine or tomato. Season with salt and pepper.

Shredded Seitan and Mushroom Empanadas with Raisins and Olives

One of the first things that caught my eye in Viva Vegan! was the empanadas. I don't even remember the last time I ate them if ever because they're usually filled with meat. But this cookbook offers up so many delicious versions and my first choice was the shredded seitan and mushrooms empanadas with raisins and olives. How flavourful does that sound? I don't usually like raisins in baked goods but love what they add to savoury dishes.

And the dough was easy enough to make, roll out and work with. When baked, the pastry was crispy and a bit flakey. They could look more perfect if I cut out circles in the dough with a bowl but it's always my preference to avoid re-rolling dough and to simplify things. So I just divided my dough and rolled each piece into a circle. I can't wait to try out the other filling variations like corn crusted pumpkin potato, and beans rice and sweet plantain.

The recipe is time consuming, because you have to make the seitan, the filling, and the dough. But if you take it one part at a time it's not so bad.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Seitan Black Bean Corn Burgers
Vegan Pot Roast and Gravy
Udon Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Seitan
Baked Seitan

Shredded Seitan and Mushroom Empanadas with Raisins and Olives
Adapted from Viva Vegan!

Makes 12

1 recipe Empanada Dough (see below)
1/2 recipe Steamed Red Seitan (2 loaves), chilled and grated (see below)
1/2 lb button mushrooms, very finely minced
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb onion, finely minced
2 tbsp red wine
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Salt & pepper
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced in half
1/3 cup dark raisins
1/3 cup nondairy milk

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil and garlic until the garlic starts to sizzle and becomes fragrant. Add in the onion and fry until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the mushrooms and cook until they darken and release their juices, another 5 minutes. Add the red wine, paprika, oregano, cumin and cinnamon, stirring occasionally and bring to a simmer. Stir in the grated seitan and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Use a spoon or silicone spatula to press the seitan into the liquid and vegetables to help the seitan absorb all the seasonings. Remove from the heat, let cool for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the olives and raisins. Set aside to cool.

When ready to assemble the empanadas, preheat oven to 400F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Have ready the prepared dough rounds, nondairy milk (for brushing) and pastry brush.

Take a dough round and lightly brush it with nondairy milk. Scoop a generous 1/3 cup of filling, making sure to get a few raisins and olive slices with each scoop. Place the filling into the center of the round and spread it over half of the round; leave about 1/2 inch of space along the edge of the dough. Make sure the filling doesn't spill over the edge otherwise crimping the edges will be difficult.

Fold the dough over the filling, stretching and pulling it just enough to completely encase everything. (You will now have a semicircular patty.) With your fingers, firmly press down the edges of the dough, then seal by firmly pressing with the tines of a fork into the edges of the empanada. Carefully lift and place on a prepared baking sheet and brush with nondairy milk. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Bake the empanadas for 24 to 26 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the edges begin to brown. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes before serving, as the filling will be extremely hot out of the oven.

To reheat, either wrap bake at 350F for 8 to 10 minutes or microwave on high for 30 seconds.

Empanada Dough

Makes enough for 12 large empanadas

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp chilled vegan shortening, cut into 1/2" pieces
4 tbsp chilled vegan margarine, cut into 1/2" pieces
3/4 cup cold water, or more as needed

In a food processor, pulse together the flour, salt and baking powder for a few seconds. Add the shortening and margarine, and pulse until everything resembles fine, sandlike crumbs.

Pour the flour mixture into a large bowl and stream in the cold water while mixing the dough with your fingers or a fork. Continue adding just enough cold water that you can press the mixture together to form a soft and stretchy dough. Briefly knead a few times, divide into 2 balls, flatten each into a round about an inch thick, and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Minimize handling of the dough to keep it from getting tough. Chill overnight or for at least 4 hours.

Tear about 12 pieces of waxed paper or parchment paper to about 7 inches squares. Cut one of the dough rounds into 6 pieces (two dough rounds make 12 pieces). On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the cut pieces into a circle of 3/8" thickness, stretching and pulling the dough a little if necessary. To keep the dough from getting tough, use long rolling motions, occasionally lifting the dough by the edges and turning it a little to ensure an even thickness throughout.

Stack the circles of dough on top of one another, separating them with the waxed or parchment paper (to keep them from sticking). Repeat with the remaining 11 pieces of dough to make 12 dough rounds.

Chill the finished dough circles, the entire stack well wrapped in plastic wrap until ready to use.

Steamed Red Seitan

Makes 4 loaves

1 1/2 cups cold vegetable broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
4 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin

In a measuring cup, whisk together the broth, garlic, soy sauce, tomato paste and olive oil. In a large bowl, whisk the wheat gluten, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, oregano and cumin. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the liquid ingredients into the well, stirring with a rubber spatula until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes to develop the gluten. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes; knead again for 30 seconds. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces and lightly knead each piece a few times, shaping each piece into a roughly oblong loaf shape.

Tear off four 12" square pieces of aluminum foil. Place a piece of dough in the center of a piece of foil. Fold the foil around the dough so that the foil is secure but there is some space around the dough to let it expand while steaming. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Place the wrapped dough in a steamer and steam for 30 minutes. Allow the dough to cool to the touch before chilling in the fridge for at least an hour, or overnight.

Seitan Black Bean Corn Burgers

I don't always have the most success with meatless burgers (well not that I ever had success with meat burgers as I did not enjoy them and never made them). They always fall apart when I'm pan frying them, or dry out too much if I bake them. But I think I'm starting to find my burger groove! I try not to use too much oil when cooking, but you need to make sure you have enough oil in the pan so that the burgers don't stick and fry up nicely, making them easy to flip and less likely to fall apart.

These burgers were really flavourful with the smoked paprika, cumin and chili powder. And yes I talk about how I hate beans but I do really enjoy black beans, especially in a form like these burgers. I loved eating these burgers with pickles. But then I'm also really obsessed with pickles recently. In particular the Steinfeld Kosher Petite Dill Pickles. (Not that they're paying me to promote them I just really love them.)

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Mushroom Pecan Burger
Black Bean Confetti Salad
Triathalon Tostadas
Black Bean, Zucchini & Olive Tacos with Garlic-Lemon Yogurt

Seitan Black Bean Corn Burgers
Adapted from Vegan Yum Yum

Makes about 10 burgers

1 cup seitan
14 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (about 2 cups)
1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 cup ground whole wheat bread crumbs
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp high heat vegetable oil for pan frying

1. Add the seitan to the food processor and process until finely chopped (a few remaining bigger chunks are okay).

2. Add the beans, and process until finely chopped (you may still see the occasional bean piece). Remove this mixture to a mixing bowl.

3. Add the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, bread crumbs, flour, corn, paprika, cumin, and chili powder to the seitan/bean mixture and mix well with your hands or a spoon. Adjust the mixture with salt, to taste, or add more bread crumbs if the mixture is too wet. It should be moist but not gloppy. For example, if you stuff your 1/4 cup measure with it, you should have to pry it out. If it glops out by itself, it's probably too wet.

4. Heat the oil n a pan over medium-high heat.

5. Begin forming patties (1/4 cup of mixture per patty). Make them thin to avoid a too-mushy center. You can form all of the patties ahead of time and place them on wax/parchment paper, foil, etc.

6. Fry patties four at a time, or however many reasonably fit into the pan until dark brown on either side.

Lime Peanut Noodles with Seitan, Kale and Carrots

I am currently trying to make sure my brain is crammed full of all the information I need to know for my oral certification exam in a couple of weeks. This is no easy feat! I am making up random stories to try and help me remember stuff like how cows don't want to be the only one responsible for E. coli O157:H7 so they invited their ruminant friends (deers, sheeps, goats) to be reservoirs too, along with humans. Yea. Okay I'll stop talking about foodborne illnesses now and move onto food? Can you tell the studying is making my brain wonky. One thing I like to do while studying is have cat photo shoots.

So here is a delicious bowl of rice noodles in a lime peanut sauce with tons of kale, carrots and seitan. I love Asian noodle dishes and love peanut sauces, so you can understand why I really loved this dish. The original recipe called for 2 cups of kale - 2 cups of kale?? How about 5. I like lots of vegetables with my noodles. You know what else I like - nuts in my noodle (or rice) dishes. This one has peanuts but you could use cashews. Oh and can I just say that I love that the recipe instructs you to cut the noodles into shorter lengths. I often do this because everything can mix together more easily and you don't end up with noodles on your face, but this is the first recipe I've seen that actually suggests doing it.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Kung Pao Noodles with Peanuts and Wok Fried Vegetables
Last Minute Sesame Noodles
Vegetarian Pho
Pad Thai

Lime Peanut Noodles with Seitan, Kale and Carrots
Adapted from Vegan Yum Yum

Makes 4 servings

250 g wide, flat rice noodles
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp natural peanut butter
2 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp oil
5 cups kale, shredded
1 1/2 cups seitan, cut into strips
1 large carrot, shredded
1/4 cup of peanuts

Begin by boiling water for your rice noodles. While waiting, make the peanut sauce by whisking together the soy sauce, peanut butter, lime juice, sugar, chili flakes, and ginger powder until combined. Set aside.

Cook the noodles until just softened, then drain and rinse with cold water. Drain well. Use kitchen shears to cut the noodles down to shorter lengths (run your scissors through the noodles until "chopped" or actually chop the noodles with a knife. Uniformly sized noodles make mixing everything together much easier). Set noodles aside.

Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the kale and stir until cooked through and browning in some parts. Add the seitan and carrots, and then turn down the heat a bit.

Add the noodles to the pan. Add the sauce. Stir until everything is well combined. Turn off the heat. Add the nuts and serve immediately.