Carbonnades a la Flamande

Dinner 11/08

Carbonnades a la Flamande
(a.k.a. Seitan and Onions Braised in Beer over Fusilli Pasta)

It's that time of year when we break out the stews, and this adaptation of a Julia Child recipe* is always a favorite. The original calls for six cups of sliced onions, but we usually keep it around four cups along with two packages of seitan cut into cubes. After you cook the onions off with a little salt and olive oil in a dutch oven, remove and do the same to the seitan. Add the onions back in along with some herbes de provence and pepper to taste. Then it's two cups of your favorite Belgian-style vegan beer, and a cup of veg stock. Place in a 375 oven for an hour.

But the interesting thing about this preparation is the finishing touch. Strain out the seitan and onions, leaving just the braising liquid. Then thicken it using a slurry of 1 tbs. of wine vinegar and 2 tbs. cornstarch. It gives the dish a really nice, albeit unusual, finish.

* I can see it now: "Tofu and Julia" -- veganizing all of the recipes from "Mastering The Art of French Cooking Vol. 1." ;)

Maybe I can get Joaquin "Yay Veganism!" Phoenix to play me in the movie version (although I look nothing like him)...

Tags: julia child, joaquin phoenix, seitan, fusilli, herbes de provence, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666