Apple Seitan Sausages with Balsamic Sauerkraut

The more I've been cooking the more I've wanted to move away from pre-packaged foods.  Sometimes you come home from work and you just want something quick and easy to pop in the microwave, but when I have the time I feel so much better making dinner from scratch with whole food ingredients.  This recipe is a great example of that desire to branch out from the package.  I've been working on a sausage recipe to replace our old standby soy Italian Sausages from Trader Joe's and I think this is it!  The sausages are smoky, spicy, and sweet and topping them with this sweet and sour balsamic sauerkraut is the perfect pairing.  A little bit of apple goes a long way in both the sausage and the kraut and really brings it all together.  I was anxious about how they'd turn out, but David said he liked them better than the store bought sausages, so mission accomplished!

Ingredients

Makes 4 Sausages

• 1 c vital wheat gluten
• 1/4 c chickpea flour
• 1/4 c nutritional yeast
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp coconut sugar
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T maple syrup
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 2/3 c water or veggie broth
• 1 sweet red apple, divided 
• 1/4 c shredded for the sausages, remainder of apple diced for sauerkraut

• 1/2 head red cabbage, sliced thinly
• 2 T coconut oil
• 2 T coconut sugar
• 1/3 c balsamic vinegar
• 4 whole wheat buns
• Vegenaise

1. Mix all dry sausage ingredients together thoroughly in a mixing bowl.
2. Combine the oil, syrup, soy sauce, liquid smoke, and water/broth in a small bowl and set a side.
3. Wash and remove the stem of your apple and shred it until you have 1/4 cup shredded apple.  Dice the remainder of the apple and set aside for the sauerkraut.
4. Add the apple and wet ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix until a spongey moist dough has formed and all ingredients have been incorporated.
5. Use your hands to knead and mix the dough for about another 3 minutes to makes sure the ingredients are mixed and the texture toughens up slighltly.
6. Tear off four 1ft x 1ft squares of aluminum foil
7. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll and shape each piece into sausages about 6 inches long.
8. Roll up the sausages in the foil pieces and twist on the sides (see photo) like a tootsie roll.
9. Set up a steamer on the stove top and steam the sausages for 30 minutes.  When done remove from the steamer and allow to cool for about 5 minutes before handling them.
10. While the sausages steam, heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Add the cabbage and wilt it for about 5 minutes.
11. Add the coconut sugar and apple and mix through the cabbage before adding the balsamic vinegar.
12. Cover and reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
13. When the sausage and sauerkraut are ready, smear each side of each bun with some vegenaise, place the sausage in the bun, and top liberally with the cabbage.  (Optional: Grill the sausages for about 5 minutes on a grill pan over medium heat before serving.)

Smoky Maple Seitan Sausage Links

These simple sausage links are smoky, spicy, and sweet!  I couldn't get over how easy these were to  make and it seems so impressive.  My roommate's response: "you MADE those?!"  The secret is some aluminum foil and a steamer.  After an initial test run we thought the maple and smoky flavors were great but it needed some spice to balance the fennel and maple syrup.  Some crush red pepper does the trick.  If you don't like spicy foods just omit the pepper and enjoy the smoky sweetness.  I also cooked them in a pan after steaming to brown the outside of the links and added an extra bit of maple flavor.

Ingredients
Makes 8 Sausage Links

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten
• 1/8 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 Tbsp dried sage
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 2 T pure maple syrup, divided (1 T for sausage mixture, 1 T for pan glazing)
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 T reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 c vegetable broth

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Combine all wet ingredients in another small cup or bowl.
3. Slowly mix in wet ingredients to the dry mixing bowl, stirring quickly, until a moist spongey "dough" forms.
4. Use your hands and knead the dough in the bowl for about 3 minutes to ensure all ingredients are mixed through.
5. Separate the dough into four equal sized pieces.
6. Tear or cut foil into sheets about 8 in. wide.
7. Tear each ball of dough into two pieces and use your hand to squish and roll each piece into a sausage link shape (about 3-4 in. long).  Roll up in the foil and twist the ends tight, like a candy wrapper.  Fold the ends down.  (see picture)
8. Set up a steamer on your stove top and when water is boiling place your sausage links in, cover, and steam for about 20 minutes or until links feel firm.
9. Remove and let cool for about 5 minutes and foil is cool to the touch.
10. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat.  Unwrap and add the sausage links to the pan and cook for about five minutes until links are browning.  Make sure to move links around to get each side browned.
11. Pour 1 T of maple syrup over the links and stir quickly to glaze each link in the syrup before it completely evaporates and serve immediately.

Serving Idea:  I served the links with polenta slices, pan fried in coconut oil, with a chopped green onion, and topped with avocado.  

Adapted from this recipe.

It's So Easy I Couldn't Believe It Seitan

I always thought making seitan from scratch must be really hard and difficult.  Then I learned about this awesome trick of steaming the seitan instead of boiling it.  I've used the basic seitan recipe found on the package of Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten and made a few adjustments of my own for added flavor.  Steaming the seitan results in a lighter texture then I think you get from store bought seitan which I've never really enjoyed.  

This is a super basic version that can be used for a variety of different recipes.  Try marinating the seitan and baking it or using them as cutlets for a seitan parmesan.  Make this homemade seitan and slice it for sandwiches, make it gyro style, or grind it to use as a ground beef replacement for meatless balls.  1/4 c of wheat gluten is 23g of plant based protein, whoa!

Ingredients

Makes 2 "Cutlets"

• 1 c vegetable stock
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/4 tsp sage
• 2 Tbs Nutritional Yeast
• ground pepper and salt to taste
• 3/4 c Vital Wheat Gluten
• 1/4 c Chickpea Flour

1. Thoroughly mix all dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
2. Add in the vegetable stock and stir.  A dough will quickly form.
3. Using your hands, knead the dough for about 3 minutes to form a tougher consistency.
4. Tear off a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil about 1 ft x 1 ft.
5. Split the two into two even pieces.  Place each one in the center of the foil and flatten into a "cutlet" type shape about 6 in. long.
6. Fold the aluminum into a steaming packet by folding as show in the photo above.  Bring the two horizontal edges together and seal along the top.  Fold up the side edges while leaving some space above the dough.  The cutlets will expand a little when cooked.
7. Steam for 30-40 minutes or until the seitan feels firm.
8. Do not open the foil packets and chill them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator to firm up the texture.