Seitan Bourguignon

In my six or seven years as a vegan, this is hands-down the best vegan recipe I have ever made!  I saw it on Martha Stewart’s vegan episode.  It’s jump-up-and-down good!  You will love it!  You might even fool your meat-loving friends with it.  The “bacon” is surprisingly yummy!  What a hearty gourmet meal with a Weight Watchers points value of 5.  Bon Appetit!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 (1/2-pound) packages traditional-flavored seitan, broken into bite-size pieces
4 shallots, minced
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced crosswise into 1-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 (750 mL) bottle pinot noir
1 cup homemade or store-bought low-sodium vegetable stock
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
1 large bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
15 pearl onions, fresh or frozen, peeled
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons margarine
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mushroom “Bacon” Topping* see below

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add seitan and cook, stirring, until seitan is browned and caramelized on all sides. Reduce heat and add shallots, carrots, and garlic; cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
Transfer seitan mixture to a large saucepan; add wine and enough stock to just cover seitan mixture. Add parsley, bay leaves, thyme, and pearl onions; cover and bring to a simmer until vegetables are tender. Transfer seitan, carrots, and onions to a large serving bowl; set aside and keep warm.
In a small bowl, mix together flour and margarine. Add flour mixture to saucepan, stirring until well combined. Let sauce simmer, uncovered, until it reaches a gravy-like consistency. Remove bay leaf and season with salt and pepper.
Pour sauce over seitan in serving bowl; garnish with mushroom “bacon” topping and parsley. Serve.

Mushroom “Bacon”*

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
Olive oil spray
Coarse salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place mushrooms in a large bowl; spray with olive oil and season with salt.
Evenly spread mushrooms in a single layer in a shallow glass baking dish. Transfer to oven and bake, tossing with tongs every 5 to 10 minutes, until dry and crisp, taking care not to burn. Remove from baking dish; mushroom “bacon” may be used hot or at room temperature.

6 servings.  Weight Watchers PointsPlus value:  5