Seitan With Broccoli Rabe

1 to 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 to 3 Cloves fresh garlic, finely minced

1 Red onion, cut into thin half moon  slices

Generous pinch of  red pepper flakes

Sea salt

1 Red bell pepper, roasted over an open flame, peeled, seeded and sliced into thin ribbons

1 Pound seitan, sliced into thin strips

Mirin or white wine

Grated zest on 1 lemon

1 large bunch broccoli rabe, rinsed well

Place the oil, garlic and onion into a deep skillet over medium heat. When the vegetables begin to sizzle, add the pinch of red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and a pinch of salt and saute for 1 minute. Stir in the seitan and add a splash of mirin and the lemon zest. Cover and reduce the heat to low, simmering until the vegetables and seitan are tender, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

Just before adding the broccoli rabe to the skillet, slice into bite-sized pieces. Lay the greens on top of the ingredients in the skillet, cover and cook until the greens are bright green and just wilt, 3 to 4  minutes. Toss gently to combine and transfer to a serving platter. serve immediately.

- O.k again no fresh broccoli rabe in town all I could find were swiss chard greens. I served this dish up with brown rice and there was not a crumb left! So delish.

This recipe is printed with permission from Christina Pirello

“I made this dish more simple, no garlic, no pepper flakes. I used my marinated home made seitan and mixed with brown rice spaghetti. So good!” – Kati Schuszter

We LOVE seitan! Especially in stew. I am lucky because we can buy ready made seitan here in the store. For those of you who can’t find it in a store near you I’ve included Aveline’s recipe on how to make it from scratch.(Again I’m feeling very Lucky because this took me ages to type out with my two-fingered typing , not sure if I could knead seitan dough right now .:)  )

Seitan Kimpira- By Aveline kushi

2 Tbsp dark sesame oil

1/2 Cup celery sliced diagonally

1/2 Cup burdock cut into matchsticks 11/2 Cups carrots cut into matchsticks

1 Cup seitan, cooked and diced

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the celery, burdock, and carrots and place the cooked seitan on top. Simmer, covered, over low heat , for about 5-10 minutes. uncover and mix well. if the seitan is not done, add 1-2 tablespoons of water, cover, and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

-I added collard greens at the end of cooking and served the Kimpira with rice and sauerkraut.

Homemade Seitan -By Aveline Kushi

31/2 Lbs organic whole wheat flour

8-9 Cups warm spring or filtered water

1/4-1/3 Cup tamari soy sauce

1 Tsp grated fresh ginger (optional)

Put the flour in a large bowl and gently add the warm water. Stir with your hand until the consistency resembles oatmeal or cookie batter. Knead for 3-5 minutes, or until flour is mixed thoroughly with water. Ideally, the mixture should now sit for 2-3 hours or overnight.

The longer it sits, the less stiff it becomes and the easier to separate the starch and protein. however, a faster method is to cover the dough with warm water after the initial kneading and let sit for a minimum of 5-10 minutes. knead again in the soaking water for 1 minute. pour off the cloudy water and save. Put the glutinous mixture in a large strainer inside a large bowl or pot. Pour over cold water to cover and knead the gluten in the strainer. the starch and bran (reddish outer coating) of the wheat will wash out while you are kneading. (It is customary to save the first rinse water containing the starch and bran. See below.) Repeat the rinsing and kneading process in the strainer and pot until all the starch and bran are washed off. Alternate between cold and hot water when rinsing and kneading the gluten. Always stat and finish with cold water to contract the gluten. the gluten should form a sticky mass after two or three cycles.

Separate the gluten into 5-6 pieces and form them into balls. Drop the balls into 6 cups of boiling water and boil for 5 minutes, or until the balls float to the surface. Use chopsticks to loosed the balls if they get stuck to the bottom of the pot. Remove the balls from the pot and let them cool for a few minutes. Add a 3-inch piece of kombu to the boiling water, return gluten balls to the pot, add the tamari soy sauce and if desired, 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger. bring to a boil , lower the heat and cook for 45-60 minutes. Serve hot, or use in other recipes. Leftover seitan may be stored in a closed container with a little liquid from the pot. Save the rest of the kombu tamari broth for soup or noodles.

The water containing the washed off starch and bran can be saved to use as a thickener for soups, stews, gravies, puddings, and sauces or used as a starter for sourdough bread.

The sediment in the water can also be used by itself. Allow it to stand in a jar. the starch and bran will settle to the bottom and the clear water at the top can be poured off.  Put the sediment on a baking sheet and let dry. After the moisture has evaporated, the starchy mixture will harden and can be used like kuzu. Store in a jar and brake off small pieces for diluting in water to use as a thickener.

Instead of boiling seitan, it may be deep-fried. This makes for a much softer dish, but because of the large amount of oil used it should be prepared only occasionally. After alternating between cold and hot water as explained above, squeeze out all water remaining in the sticky gluten.

In a deep-fryer or saucepan, add dark sesame oil to a depth of about 11/2-2 inches. Divide the gluten into 12 pieces and again squeeze out any remaining liquid. If the dough is too moist, coat with extra flour or arrowroot flour. After oil is heated to proper temperature, stretch and flatten pieces of dough by hand and deep-fry in hot oil for 2-3 minutes until nicely brown. Deep-fry 2 pieces at a time, remove and add another couple of pieces. After all pieces have been cooked, blot out excess oil from seitan by patting with a dry paper towel or rinse with hot water.

In another sauce pan, cover the deep-fried seitan with spring water and add 1/3 cup tamari soy sauce, and cook for 5-10 minutes.

the recipe above makes about 11/2 pounds of seitan and will serve from 6-8 people.

I’m not talking about demons and quaint villages of Ireland ! This is  about wheat meat and an amazing grain!

Quinoa

-1 cup quinoa

-2 cups water

-pinch of sea salt

wash quinoa really well, put in a pot with the water and bring to a boil. Add a pinch of sea salt and place a lid on the pot. Turn the heat down and simmer for 20 min. Fluff with a fork and serve..

Saucy Seitan Stir fry

-1Tbsp Sesame oil

-1/2 Onion,minced

-1 Carrot, cut into matchsticks

-2 Taro potatoes,cut into half moons

-6 Green onions, cut into 2 inch pieces

-1/2 Cucumber, cut into matchsticks

-5 Collard leaves, shredded

-1 pkg Seitan

-1Tbsp Shoyu

-1 Tbsp Sesame seeds

-11/2 cups water

-1Tbsp kudzu, mixed into 1 tbsp water

Heat oil in a wok or cast iron frying pan, add onions and a pinch of sea salt.  Stir in pan for 2-3 min, then add carrots, potatoes and green onions. Saute for another 3 min. Add remaining ingredients plus 1/2 cup of the water. Place a lid on the pan and steam for 3-5 min or until water is absorbed.  Take off the lid and add the rest of the water and the kudzu, Stir until liquid thickens. Serve