Dinner 3/30
Roulade of Wild Seitan
(recipe below)
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Another week,
another Tony Bourdain recipe... this time, a vegan version of "Roulade of Wild Pheasant" p.189 (picture p.188).
Now, if we had replaced the mushroom with a tofu mousse, this would be a SeiTemFu -- the vegan version of Turducken... ;)
I won't lie, this one is a little more complicated than usual.
Roulade of Wild SeitanMarinadeSeitan (recipe/method)
1 cup of port
2 leeks thinly sliced
Mushroom Mousse4oz. of button mushrooms, trimmed
1 tbs. olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tbs. tamari
1/4 cup soy cream (or soft tofu)
1 tbs. port
Braised Tempeh1 block of tempeh, cut into 4 long strips (see picture below)
water
1 tbs. tamari
canola oil
Sauce2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 leeks, thinly sliced
1 tbs. flour
1/4 cup of port
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf)
1 tbs. soy margarine
Marinate the seitan overnight in the port and leeks (we used a California port style Zin made by Coturri that's unfiltered and unfined and fills the flavor profile / alcohol level as well as intense color of port very easily. Or just use port).
Remove the seitan from the marinade (save the marinade!), and pat the seitan dry and season with salt and pepper. In a wok, lightly pan-fry until golden brown. Careful -- because of the residual sugars in the port, it can possibly make the seitan scorch easily, so keep a close eye on it. Just sayin' ;)
For the mushroom mousse -- in the original it's a veal mousse -- saute the button mushrooms in the olive oil and margarine, season with salt/pepper and cook until nice and juicy. Splash the tamari in at the end of cooking and let cook another 30 seconds. Reserve about 12 pieces of mushroom for garnish. Place the rest of the mushrooms in the Vita-Mix (or blender), and puree the hell out of them, slowly adding the cream (or soft tofu) and the port. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed. The consistency should be like light peanut butter.
Slather the mousse on the seitan with a offset spatula, covering the whole surface.
Next up, subbing the foie gras -- we went with a braised tempeh. You'll only need one strip from the tempeh, so you can either cook them all and eat the rest as a snack, or just take off one piece and save the rest.
Place in a saute pan and fill halfway up the side of the tempeh with water and add 1 tbs. of tamari. Bring to a boil, cover partially with a lid and cook, turning occasionally until the water evaporates.
Remove the tempeh strips carefully from the pan and saute in the wok with canola oil until golden brown on all sides. Splash a little extra tamari in at the end if your feeling it...
Add the tempeh on top of the seitan and mushroom mix.
Carefully roll the seitan around the tempeh (like a sushi roll) and secure with twine (or in our case, the hot pink silicone loops).
Place on a sheet pan and cook for 20-25 minutes at 375F. Remove from oven and let rest for five minutes. Gently remove the loops and cut into 3/4" slices.
For the sauce -- in a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over med-high heat, add the soy margarine. Add the shallots and leeks and cook until they are caramelized and brown. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup of port plus the reserved marinade. Reduce by half over high heat. Then add the veg stock and the bouquet garni. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. Remove from heat and strain into a small saucepan. Add the reserved mushrooms slices (or truffles as in the original) and cook for two minutes. Whisk in 1 tbs. of soy margarine (monte au beurre).
For plating, add three pieces of the roulade to the plate and drizzle the sauce around the slices. Add the mushroom garnish and serve.
There is no subliminal message hidden in this picture.
