Seitan

I heard about seitan relatively late in my meat-free years and I still don't know how to pronounce it. I say "SAY-tahn" but I've also heard "SEE-tan" and a whole bunch of other varieties (yes, including "Satan"). Seitan is a meat substitute that is typically used as you would chicken or beef, and it's made nearly entirely of wheat gluten - ie stay far, far away if you eat gluten-free. I am usually lazy and just buy it but this weekend I decided to be adventurous and make it myself. After it's made it is ready to eat but I usually marinade it and saute it. Change the seasonings to your liking if you want a different flavor.

Seitan (makes 4 servings)

1 cup vital wheat gluten

2 Tbls. nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

1/2 tsp. onion powder

4 cups vegetable broth

1/4 cup + 2 Tbls. Bragg's liquid aminos/tamari/soy sauce

1/4 tsp. liquid smoke

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 bay leaf

Heat the vegetable broth in a medium-sized pot. Meanwhile, mix together the wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, salt, poultry seasoning, and onion powder in a large bowl. Add 2 Tbls. of Bragg's and the liquid smoke and combine using a fork. Scoop out 1/2 cup of vegetable broth from the pot and SLOWLY add it to the mixture. You want all of the ingredients to just stick together - the second it gets too wet there's no going back. Mix with a fork as best as you can and then switch to kneading with your hands. Once you have added enough liquid, knead until the mixture forms a ball.

Dump any leftover vegetable broth back into the pot and add 1/4 cup of Bragg's, the smashed garlic clove, and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Meanwhile, cut the seitan into 4 pieces and flatten slightly.

Once the liquid is simmering, add the seitan and cover. Simmer covered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. The seitan will expand as it cooks. Make sure the liquid stays at a simmer; if it boils the seitan will get gross and soggy.

At this point the seitan is ready to eat. If you aren't eating it right away, store it in the broth in the fridge - just remove the bay leaf first.