Spicy Seitan Sausage

Nothing turns my crank more than the "idea" of meat. So when I came across fellow blogger Vegan Dad's recipe for Seitan Sausage, you can bet your bottom dollar I was all over that shite.

Seitan is a delicious and fun meat alternative. It is also known as "wheat gluten". Whole wheat is made up of three different parts: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm. The bran is the outer shell that is high in fibre; the germ is the seed and is high in protein; the endosperm is the part that is mostly carbohydrates. Seitan is made soley from the germ of wheat. Its high protein count, as well its taste and texture resemblance to meat is what has earned it the nickname of "wheat meat". Mmmm

This recipe is super quick and easy, and comes out über yum. So yum, infact, that one sausage was almost enough to turn my carnivorous dad to the dark side, after heartily inhaling it in the car on our way out to dinner. Then, he ordered only vegan food at the Italian restaurant we went to, wrongly assuming that all vegan food was as delicious as my sausages.

When I came home that night, the sausages I had stored in the fridge had disappeared too, but there was a kind and apologetic note left behind on top of the sausage bowl. It seems as though my roommate had one Spicy Seitan Sausage and couldn't stop thereafter. This recipe is awesome.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup black beans*
- 1 cup vegetable broth (cold)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 table spoons soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic (minced or finely grated)
- 1 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp fennel seed (ground or crushed)
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- a few dashes of black pepper

Prepare 6 pieces of tin foil so they are ready for wrapping**. Put an inch or two of water in a pot and place a steamer on top. Bring the water to a boil.

Mash the beans in a large bowl until no whole ones are left. Toss the remaining ingredients into that bowl, and mix them around together with a fork. You can also kneed them with your hands, but watch out if you do! The red peppers might sting a bit. Divide the dough into 6 even parts, and then roll each part into a sausage that is 5 inches long. Vegan Dad says to "Wrap dough in tin foil, like a tootsie roll." and not to worry too much about the shape - the rolls shape naturally into 6 nice sausagey logs as you steam them. Toss the logs into the steamer, and steam them on medium heat for 40 minutes. Voila!

Notes:
* The recipe called for pinto beans, but I only had black beans and I found that they worked out just great.
** I didn't have any tinfoil so I improvised with tin pie plates cut in half. You can wrap the sausages in these if that's all you have, if you don't mind the shape being less than symmetrical.