Vegan Diner (23 page)

Return half of the cutlets to the skillet. Pour half of the hot tomato sauce on top of the cutlets. Top with the rest of the cutlets, followed by the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of tomato sauce. Place the skillet under the broiler until the cheese is golden (and melted if using mozzarella) for several minutes. Watch carefully so that cheese doesn't burn. Alternatively, you can serve the tomato sauce on the side as one of my testers did (thanks, Kim!). Return all of the cutlets to the skillet and top with shredded cheese. Broil as directed. Serve the sauce on the side at the table.

Remove skillet from oven, sprinkle with additional minced parsley and serve.

Tip:
This recipe can easily be cut in half. For the sauce, substitute 15-ounce cans of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce but leave all other ingredients as is.

I bet that you thought vegan ribs were impossible.
Well think again! You'll be amazed at just how awesome they are. Believe it or not, the ribs are even better the next day. This recipe was created by Susan Voisin of the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen blog.

MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS

1 cup vital wheat gluten

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, tahini, or other nut butter

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 cup of Rough Rider Barbecue Sauce (see
page 178
) or favorite store-bought sauce, plus more as needed

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray an 8 × 8-inch baking dish with canola oil.

In a large bowl, combine the vital wheat gluten, smoked paprika, nutritional yeast flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, and fine sea salt, mixing well.

In a bowl or measuring cup, mix together
¾
cup cool water with the peanut butter until smooth. Add the liquid smoke and soy sauce, mixing well. Add the peanut butter mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir to mix well and then knead lightly in the bowl for a minute or two.

Put the dough into the baking dish and flatten it so that it evenly fills the pan. Take a sharp knife and cut it into 8 strips; then turn the pan 90 degrees and
cut those strips in half to form 16 pieces.

Bake the ribz for 30 minutes. (They should only be partially cooked at this point.) While they're cooking, prepare your outdoor grill or grill pan.

Remove the ribz from the oven and carefully score each strip, partially cutting them to make sure that they'll pull apart easily later. You don't want to separate each rib, just score them so that they will come apart easily when serving. Generously brush the top with barbecue sauce.

Take the ribz to the grill or grill pan and invert the whole dish onto the grill (or use a large spatula to lift the ribz out, placing it sauce-side down on the grill). Brush the top with more sauce.

Watch the ribz closely to make sure that they don't burn. When sufficiently brown and caramelized on one side, turn over and cook the other side, adding more sauce, if necessary. When done, remove to a platter and cut or pull apart the individual ribz to serve.

Tip:
These ribz are even better the next day, after resting in the refrigerator overnight. Try serving them warm, as is, with a big salad, cooked greens, or potato salad. They also make an awesome sandwich topped with coleslaw.

This smoky flavored seitan roast is what I use
in the Q sandwiches. It's great smothered in barbeque sauce, but also delicious thinly sliced and served on sandwiches.

MAKES 1 LARGE LOAF

2 cups vital wheat gluten

½
cup nutritional yeast flakes

¼
cup chickpea flour

1 tablespoon granulated onion or onion powder

1 tablespoon porcini mushroom powder, optional

2 teaspoons granulated garlic or garlic powder

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

½
teaspoon ground white pepper

½
teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

2 cups cool water, plus more as needed

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon liquid smoke

In a large bowl, mix together the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast flakes, chickpea flour, granulated onion, porcini mushroom powder, granulated garlic, smoked paprika, salt, and white and black peppers. In a large measuring cup or pitcher, whisk together the cool water, soy sauce, sesame oil, and liquid smoke, and gently stir into the dry ingredients. The dough should be moist. If it's dry, add another tablespoon of water as needed. Stir just until ingredients are mixed.

Shape the dough into a roast shape, about the size of a loaf pan, and wrap in a damp tea towel. Tie up the ends with white cotton string. Fill the bottom of a steamer with water and heat until simmering. Place the roast in the top of the steamer, cover and steam for 45 to 50 minutes or until firm. If a steamer is unavailable to you, you can place a small collapsible steamer insert in a large stock pot, with simmering water underneath. Uncover the pot and let stand 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can wrap the roast in a large piece of aluminum foil, twisting the ends well to seal. Although you want to wrap it well, don't cover in too many layers of foil or else the steam won't penetrate the roast. If steaming the roast in foil, steam for 60 minutes, open foil and steam again for an additional 5 minutes or until fairly firm to the touch.

Carefully remove roast from the steamer to a cutting board. Unwrap the roast from the tea towel or foil.Let roast cool on the board and refrigerate in a covered container (or zip-top bag) until ready to use.

Tip:
The seitan will firm up further after being refrigerated overnight. If you let the roast cool too long before unwrapping, the towel will stick, causing the roast to tear. If you find this happening, simply moisten the towel with water, which should help prevent the tearing.

Who says you can't have vegan pastrami? This recipe proves
you can! The brilliant idea of flavoring the roast with caraway and fennel is thanks to the creative mind of cookbook author and friend Brian P. McCarthy, whose Seitan Corned Beef inspired this recipe.

MAKES 1 LARGE ROAST

2 cups vital wheat gluten

½
cup nutritional yeast flakes

½
cup chickpea flour