Friday, October 3, 2008

Vegan MoFo Day 2: Seitan Dinner #1

I got so wrapped up in the idea of making my own seitan that I forgot about getting ingredients for the actual meal itself! So I made a version of the Ethiopian Seitan & Peppers dish (from the Vegan with a Vengeance book again) that I made once before more accurately. This time I didn't have the 6 Serrano peppers to add to the puree so it was more of a spicy red wine liquid than an actual puree. That's alright, it turned out pretty tasty anyway.

As for the homemade seitan itself, it was fantastic. Lighter, fluffier than the store bought kind and with more flavor. It was flavored with lemon and a bit of garlic, and the lemon really came through in a pleasant way that I don't think interfered at all with the flavors of the Ethiopian dish. And the preparation was so much easier than I expected. It took time, the seitan cooked in a broth, simmering for an hour, then sat in the broth until it cooled before I could put it away. But it certainly wasn't a task that demanded a lot of attention. Now that I know what's involved I can see it as something I might be easily able to do on a bi-weekly basis. There's still another container of Seitan in the fridge too, so look for another dish or two in the next week! I also have to say that now I'm pretty tempted to tryout the Jerk Seitan on the next page of the VWAV cookbook too.