Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Stroganoff-a-rama.

Tomorrow night I am making my seitan stroganoff for friends. I am not sure if their three-year-old will like it, but I think mom and dad will. I have probably produced this dish half a dozen times in the last two months. It's hearty and warm and tastes bad for you (when it's good for you) and meat-eaters think it's yumola. So here is the recipe and how-to for Seitan Stroganoff (adapted from The Post Punk Kitchen's recipe).

Ingredients
1/2 pound wide noodles (like fettuccini broken in half), prepared according to package directions.

3 c seitan (for first timers I suggest store bought, but making your own is fun if you have the time and tastes better; my seitan recipe is here)

2 tablespoons +1 teaspoon olive oil
1 c shallots (4 or 5 of them) sliced thin
2 med sweet onions, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 c button or babe bella mushrooms, thinly sliced (feel free to mix in other kinds)
2 or 3 Portobello caps, thinly sliced (depends on how mushroom-y you want this)
1 c burgundy cooking wine (or 1 c of a dry-ish cheap red wine)
2 c cold water
2 T corn starch (or arrowroot or potato starch)
2 T fresh thyme, chopped up (or about 2 t dried thyme)
1 T hungarian paprika
2 t salt
1/2 c nutritional yeast flakes (this is optional but makes is nutty-cheesy and better for you)
2 t dijon mustard (like Gray Poupon)
1/2 c plain soy milk (I use Lite Vitasoy)
1 c peas (canned or frozen are fine)

Directions
STEP 1
Dissolve the cornstarch in the 2 cups of water and set aside.

STEP 2
Heat olive oil in skillet over med-high heat. Add the shallots and onions, sauté for 5 to 8 minutes (until clearish). Add garlic, mushrooms and thyme. Sauté for 15 minutes.

STEP 3
Meanwhile, heat a cast iron skillet with 1 teaspoon olive oil, just to coat it. Add the seitan and sauté over medium heat about 25 minutes, until it is dark brown and crispy on the outside. If you are using store-bought seitan you need only cook it for 10 minutes (so you then don’t need to start cooking it until after STEP 4).

STEP 4
Back to the sauce: add salt, wine and paprika. Turn heat up high to reduce the liquid, about 10 minutes.

STEP 5
Lower heat to med-high, add the water that has the cornstarch dissolved in it, stir well and let sauce thicken, about 5 minutes. Add nutritional yeast and mix well until it is completely dissolved (this happens quickly). Turn the heat to low and then add soymilk and mustard (be SURE the liquid isn’t boiling before you add these two because the milk and mustard will get bitter if the heat is too high). Add seitan and peas, cook for 10 more minutes.

Pour the yummy sauce over the noodles in a big casserole or single serve bowls and enjoy! I serve this with a nice red zin and a loaf of vegan bread for dipping!

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