Monday, February 25, 2008

I Have Issue with Satan

Okay, sorry. I just can't resist a good seitan/Satan pun. I do have issues with it, though--the food. I think I would like the taste if I never saw it before it was cooked, but the texture just sort of does me in. It seems to feel a lot like fatty chicken in my mouth--and if I wanted to eat fatty chicken, I wouldn't be a vegetarian now, would I?

Truthfully, this Veganomicon recipe for Sauteed Seitan with Spinach and Mushrooms has good flavor. Bite sized pieces of seitan are sauteed in olive oil until they develop a bit of a crust. Onions are then added to the pan and covered to cook until softened. Mushrooms and spices dive in next, with more sauteeing. Finally, white wine and vegetable stock are added to deglaze the pan, then bright green spinach is added and cooked until wilted.


I think this could be improved with a bit more white wine, and perhaps a bit of lemon juice--maybe even a handful of capers. It's not that it was bad--I just could have used a little more flavor to overcome the wiggly, jiggly seitan. However, all is never lost when there is a bowlful of mashed potatoes and some crispy roasted broccoli to take up the slack.

So, if you haven't dug your heels in, resisting the temptation of seitan, this one is probably worth a try. For now, I'm tired and headed to bed. Sorry I have nothing truly entertaining to offer tonight, but tomorrow is always another day!

2 comments:

LisaRene said...

I completely agree with your thoughts on seitan. I find I tolerate it best when it is cut into small pieces, I certainly don't care for "seitan roasts". Tofu and temph are my true soy loves :)

It's wonderful that you experiment with such a wide variety of recipes. Lately you seem to be experimenting with "cooking with wine". Red wine roux last night and white wine seitan this evening. I'm certain you don't let the remaining wine in the bottle go to waste :)

Michelle said...

You're right--I do seem to be on a wine kick. Funny, because I really don't care for it to drink, but I do enjoy the flavor in cooked dishes.

I seem to unconsciously "group" similar recipes when I'm menu planning. I have to really pay attention to not have similarity in all my meals for a week. Now, that's not to say that they don't vary widely over the course of several weeks, but there may be a lot of capers one week, wine another, Lucky Charms on another... :-)