savory » Freakin' Delicious!

Tangy Seitan Piccata

I’ve been wanting to share a Seitan recipe for a while now… So today I made Seitan Piccata.

This particular recipe is from my favorite vegan celebrity, Alicia Silverstone, from her book “The Kind Diet“.

This book is fantastic! Its full of delicious vegan recipes that anyone would love.

I got inspiration from The Pioneer Woman Cooks on the way I post this recipe, step by step photos!

…Which I love… but takes a lot of work and patience in the process, cooking while taking pictures at the

same time, then putting them all together was a bit frustrating. I’m not saying I wont be doing this anymore,

just not very often, even though its nice to look at and makes reading and understanding the recipe easier.

I’ll try to do this method as much as possible for you guys!

Anyway, this came out very tangy, which I love, hence the name of the recipe.

Seitan has become my favorite ingredient in vegan cooking. Its a great substitute for meat, but better, its

softer and much more moist, how can you not like that?..and because you make it out of scratch, the flavor

possibilities are endless! If for some reason you don’t want to make this recipe using seitan, go ahead and use

chicken, cooking it the same way as done in the recipe. Hope you find the time to make this and end up loving

seitan as much as I do!

Seitan

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup vital wheat gluten

3/4 cup water or vegetable broth

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp garlic powder

6 cups broth for cooking

DIRECTIONS:

Combine gluten flour and dry spices in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix soy sauce and 3/4 cup broth or water.

Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir gently to combine. After a few stirs, you’ll need to use your hands.

It will have a rubbery consistency.

Once its well combined, knead seitan 10-15 times, allow to sit for 5 minutes, then knead a few more times.

Spread out the seitan and cut into 6 to 7 small chunks. Gently stretch each piece into a flat cutlet.

Seitan will expand to roughly twice its size when cooking, so you’ll want to start out with thin cutlets.

Don’t worry about any holes that may form in the gluten.

In a large pot, add 6 cups of broth and any other spices you may like. I like to add 1/4 cup of soy sauce,

a few pieces of fresh ginger, thinly sliced garlic and some herbs.

Add the seitan, cover pot and let cook for an hour. Be sure to use a large pot and plenty of broth, as the seitan

will expand!.. and also be sure to not cover the pot completely shut as it will result to this:

Once its been an hour and your seitan has cooked and expanded, remove from broth and allow to cool.

I like to squeeze out a little of the excess water that the seitan absorbers.

Tangy Seitan Piccata

INGREDIENTS:

6 large pieces plain seitan

3/4 cup flour for dredging

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup diced scallions

1/2 cups diced onion

1 tsp chopped garlic

1/4 cup drained capers

1 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 cup vegetable broth

2 tbsp flour

3 tbsp soy margarine (Earth Balance, Olé, Blossom)

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Cut the seitan into small chunks, I got 30 chunks here.

Dredge the seitan in the whole wheat flour, shaking off the excess.

Heat 2 Tbs olive oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add the seitan and saute until crisp and tender.

Transfer seitan to a plate.

Cut up the onion and scallions…

Heat the remaining 2 Tbs oil in the same skillet. Add the scallions, onions, garlic, and capers and saute,

stirring frequently, until softened, 1-2 mins.

Add the wine, and cook, stirring frequently, until reduced by half. Whisk in the lemon juice, and cook until

sauce has reduced a bit more, 1-2 mins.

Whisk in broth and the all-purpose flour and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 1 min to thicken. Whisk in the margarine, parsley, salt and pepper.

You can either serve the sauce as is and pour as much as you want over the seitan in your plate

or mix the whole thing together, as I did here.

If you think it needs anything, go ahead and add some soy sauce!

…and your done!

I served this over some rice, you can use pasta if you like.

Ready to eat!

Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)

This is an all time favorite of mine!

Brazilian food is definitely freakin’ delicious and this is by far one of the most well known Brazilian food.

This cheese bread isn’t like any other, it’s distinctive flavor and soft texture comes from the tapioca flour,

which comes from the cassava root.

Brazilian food consists in a lot of corn and cassava based products, those being largely grown and produced in Brazil.

These are so damn cheesy, the flavor is like POW!

Just ask anyone who’s been to Brazil, the one thing they wont stop raving about is the amazing cheese bread!

So go ahead and make them, they just so happen to be Gluten Free!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups tapioca flour

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup oil (preferably Canola)

2 eggs

14 oz parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375ºF/190ºC.

Pour oil, water, milk, and salt into a large saucepan, and place over high heat.

When the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat immediately, and stir in tapioca flour until smooth.

Set aside to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

Add the eggs and parmesan cheese to the dough and knead thoroughly. If it’s too hot for your hands, use a wooden spoon.

The dough should be the consistency of normal bread dough, don’t worry if its really sticky, that’s totally normal!

Roll golf-ball sized balls of dough into your well-oiled hands.

Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Sausage Quiche Lorraine

Here it is!

After a long wait, full of purely sweet induced recipes, the savory is back.

I give you the Quiche.

An egg custard with savory additions like bacon or cheese, baked in an

open pastry shell. The quiche is a favorite and traditional brunch dish, as it is usually served at

room temperature or chilled so the custard has time to set up.

I like mine served either in room temperature or hot. This is great for picnics, as it can be made into

mini pie shells, making each mini quiche an individual serving.

The variations are endless, combine anything you may have in your kitchen, I usally make quiche when

there are a lot of leftovers. Of course there is also the sweet version of quiche, the flan.

One of my favorite flans has got to be the cherry praline flan. Yum!

This is a Sausage Quiche Loraine, a small variation to the classic Quiche Loraine, I just substituted the bacon

with sausage. Anyone that knows what a quiche is, knows the Quiche Loraine, its like the pizza’s cheese pizza.

INGREDIENTS:

Shortcrust Pastry

1 1/2 cups flour

3 tbsp margarine

3tbsp shortening/lard/butter/margarine

2-3 tbsp chilled water

pinch of salt

Filling

4 cooked sausages

2 large eggs

2 egg yolks

2/3 cup cream

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup grated Gruyère/Pecorino/Parmesan cheese

pinch of salt

freshly ground black pepper

tomato rinds to decorate (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Shortcrust Pastry

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Rub in the margarine and lard (shortening) until the mixture resembles

fine breadcrumbs. Add the water and mix to a firm dough. Knead on the lightly floured surface until smooth.

Roll out the pastry (dough) and use to line a 20 cm/8 inch flan tin (pie pan).

Filling

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF

Cut the sausages into small pieces and add to the prepared flan case.

Place the eggs, egg yolks and cream in a bowl and beat together.

Stir in the milk, and add salt andpepper to taste. Pour the mixture over the sausage and sprinkle

with the grated cheese. Bake in the already preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden.

Remove from the oven and leave to set for 10 minutes before serving.

Bite From The Past: Sweet Potato, Carrot and Chickpea Soup

Hello fellow foodies!

You see? I have kept my word for posting a new recipe EVERY WEEK.

Yesterday I started to panic a little for not having anything to post yet.

As to cooking, it has been a slow week for me… I have been quite lazy.

So no better opportunity than to post a Bite From The Past recipe!

For more information to these posts, click here.

In the Northern Hemisphere, winter has arrived and there is nothing better than having a hot bowl of soup.

This recipe is perfect for winter days, especially because the ingredients are all in season at this time.

A creamy and indulgent soup that can be made in large batches and kept in the fridge for up to 5 days.

For me – a dash of cinnamon makes it that much better, enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

Soup

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large brown onion, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp chilli powder

600g orange sweet potato, peeled, diced

500g carrots, peeled, sliced

6 cups reduced-salt chicken stock

300g can chickpeas, drained, rinsed

1/2 small lemon, juiced

Cheesy Baguette Slices

1 tbsp butter

12 1/4-inch-thick baguette bread slices

1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese or 1/4 Gruyere and 1/4 Mozzarella

1 tsp minced fresh thyme or dry

1 tsp ground sage

DIRECTIONS:

Soup

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic.

Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Stir in coriander, cumin and chilli powder.

Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add sweet potato and carrot. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.

Add stock. Cover. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Add chickpeas to soup and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until chickpeas are tender.

Blend soup, in batches, until smooth. Return to saucepan over medium-low heat.

Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Heat, stirring, until hot (do not boil).

Pour into bowls. Top with croutons or my cheesy baguette slices. Sprinkle with pepper. Serve.

Cheesy Baguette Slices

Preheat broiler. Butter 1 side of each bread slice. Arrange bread, buttered side up, on baking sheet.

Broil until golden, about 1 minute. Turn over. Sprinkle cheese, then thyme and sage over.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Pour soup into bowls.

Mediterranean Salad

Summer is here! Well… at least for the Northern hemisphere.

I’m down in the Southern, so… things are a bit chilly, but that doesn’t stop me from making

refreshing summer foods. I made something different last week, a Mediterranean Salad, I like to call it.

It has all of those Mediterranean ingredients, such as lots of olive oil, feta cheese, garlic, tomatoes, etc…

This salad is a close version to the traditional Portuguese chick pea salad.

Although, the Portuguese version is a lot plainer, it only contains tuna, chick peas and olive oil.

I have to say, I got a lot of inspiration from the Mexican guacamole, all of those ingredients are

in this salad. So lets put it this way, this dish is a cross combination between Portuguese and Mexican

flavors!

INGREDIENTS:

1 can of chick peas/garbanzo beans

1 small diced onion

1 crushed garlic clove

1 medium diced tomato

1 handful lightly chopped cilantro

1 handful finely chopped parsley

½ an avocado – cut in cubes

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Squeeze of lime juice

1 tsp lemon zest

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Mix everything in a bowl, adding the avocado last, just so you won’t mush it all up while mixing everything.

Add the salt last to not over season, thus the feta cheese is already very salty.

Note: As you can see, I didn’t have any feta cheese in here when I took the picture…

The feta cheese really adds that special something to it all, very important to add!

Freakin' Delicious!

Tangy Seitan Piccata

Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)

Sausage Quiche Lorraine

Bite From The Past: Sweet Potato, Carrot and Chickpea Soup

Mediterranean Salad

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