Crispy Seitan Salad with Avocado
When your person works at a grocery store, there are certain advantages. Free food, mainly.
In my co-op days in Vermont, I was the one stuffing the ol’ messenger bag with day-old bread, salvaged produce and (just barely!) out-dated dairy products. (It’s really just a guideline, not a hard rule, right?)
In one of life’s funny little role reversals, Jared’s doing the grocery thing since we landed in Chicago. A combined 6 years of samples, discontinued merch and the occasional past sell-by gourmet score isn’t bad, huh?
A few weeks ago he showed up with a sack full of seitan that was past it’s sell-by date. Quick— load it into freezer and now we’ve got a perfectly good supply to last us the next couple months.
Yesterday we thawed a box to try an adaptation of this main dish salad recipe from my standby cookbook, Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special. It calls for cold seitan, but I cooked it crispy instead because it felt right for dinnertime.
Crispy Seitan Salad with Avocado
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special
Seitan is wheat gluten— or what I call “the veggie version of beef.” It marinates well, and I use it in stews, chilis, stirfry and anything that could use a little protein. Find it in the freezer or refrigerated cooler in natural food stores and sections.
1 serrano chile, seeded and chopped
3 Tbs fresh lime juice (you’ll need about 1 and a half limes)
2 Tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
1 8oz package seitan, sliced thin
½ tsp salt
½ cup vegetable oil
2 avocados (grab Hass if you can find them)
2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and cut into crescents
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbs butter
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
6 cups mesclun or mixed salad greens (about ¼ pound)
2 tsp liquid aminos or vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
Pepper Jack cheese, cubed (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat butter over medium in a large skillet until melted, add garlic and sauté, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes or until it turns blond and fragrant. Add seitan, liquid aminos (or Worcestershire), black pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally, until crispy. Takes about 15 minutes or so, but keep your eye on the pan so things don’t go from crispy to burned.
2. While the seitan is cooking, combine the chile, lime juice, cilantro, salt and oil in a food processor or blender and pureé until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
3. Rinse the mesclun well, and dry in a salad spinner. Put in a serving bowl.
4. Halve the avocados, twist in half and remove the pits. Score the flesh with a butter knife and scoop the chunks out into a separate bowl. Add the cukes, red onions, tomatoes and crispy seitan. Pour the dressing over everything and stir until well coated.
5. Plate the salad and top with a healthy scoop of the seitan mixture. Add cubed Pepper Jack and serve.
Serves 4
