Seitan Bourguignon

I love to re-imagine classic recipes. My theory is this; if a dish has endured for many generations than the flavors must be pretty solid. So a dish like bourguignon makes perfect sense to veganize with seitan. I wanted to really boost the flavor so I married the classic Julia Child recipe with that of Eric Lechasseur (an awesome vegan macrobiotic chef). The original recipe calls for bacon, so I added my beloved shiitake mushrooms and some liquid smoke. Also, a bit of nutritional yeast adds some body and some herbs really bring the dish alive.

This is wonderful over brown rice or as a stew. This time I served it alongside oven roasted cauliflower steaks, for a very satisfying dinner.

Seitan Bourguignon

Ingredients:

1" piece of dried kombu
4 dried shiitake mushrooms

1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sesame oil

8 oz pearl onions, peeled and halved
2 carrots, diced
8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, sliced
8 oz package seitan

1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp parsley
1 bay leaf

1/3 cup dry cooking wine
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp vegetable bouillon

Directions:

Prep the stock, by simmering the kombu and shiitakes in 2 cups of water for 20 minutes.

Heat the salt and the sesame oil in a large saucepan over medium low heat.

The pearl onions take a bit of prep. I like to cut the ends off and then slice them in half. From here, it is easier to peel off the brown outer layer. Once the onions are ready, place them cut side down in the saucepan with the heated oil and salt.

Once the onions have started to brown, add the carrots and the sliced button mushrooms. Also, remove the shiitakes from the stock and chop them and add those to the pan. Raise the heat to high to get the mushrooms to release their juices. Once the mushrooms have cooked down and softened, add the garlic and the seitan to the pan. Let these heat through, but be careful not to let the garlic burn (burned garlic tastes very bitter).

Now it is time to really build the flavor. Add the nutritional yeast, whole wheat flour, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Stir to distribute and evenly coat everything. Then add the wine, the 1 1/2 cups of the reserved stock (discarding the kombu), the soy sauce, liquid smoke, and the bouillon. Let it continue to simmer for another 20 minutes to thicken.

For 6 servings. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 300 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  252 Calories from Fat  39

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  4.4g 7%

Saturated Fat  1.0g 5%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  982mg 41%

Potassium  359mg 10%

Total Carbohydrates  15.9g 5%

Dietary Fiber  4.8g 19%

Sugars  5.1g

Protein  32.0g

Vitamin A 68% • Vitamin C 9% Calcium 2% • Iron 11%

Nutrition Grade B-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet