Dude Food: Cornmeal-Crusted, Drunk-Seitan w/ Dijon Tartar Sauce & Cauliflower Mash

Last night, my roommate Jodi and I made this recipe to add to our catering company, Savory & Seed's arsenal - it's crispy, filling, and tender - satisfying enough for the skeptical meat-eater and delicious enough for people to ask how the heck you made that seitan so juicy and flavorful. So the next time you are having a few people over for grub - this recipe can be whipped up in under 30 minutes.

(serves 4)

You will need :

Seitan: 1 cup vital wheat glutan 1/4 cup nutritional yeast 1/4 cup matzoh meal or bread crumbs 1 cup cornmeal 1/2 cup beer (lager) 2 tbsp tahini or cashew butter 2 cubes (or 2 Tablespoons) vegan bullion 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp Soy or Tamari 1 tsp seat salt 1 tbsp black pepper 1 tsp garlic powder canola oil

Tarter Sauce: 1/4 cup vegan mayonaise 1/4 cup sweet relish 2 tbsp dijon mustard cayanne pepper

Cauliflower Mash: 1/2 head cauliflower 2 tbsp Earth Balance (or other non-dairy butter) 1/4 cup non-dairy milk (rice, soy or almond) 2 cloves garlic 1 tsp allspice

Directions:

• In a mixing bowl combine the wheat gluten with the nutritional yeast, bread crumbs, salt, and dry spices. Mix until uniformly combined.
• Add (but do not mix) the oil, tahini, soy, vinegar and bullion (dissolve bullion in 2 tbsp hot water if necessary)
• Add Beer
• VERY GENTLY fold the batter only a few times (this ensures the seitan will not become rubbery) then using your hands - form into a long, flat dough.
• If the dough is too wet (falling apart in your hands) add more gluten flour until it holds together.
• In a large pot of boiling water, boil dough for 15 minutes, flipping once. It will grow in size.
• In a separate shallow bowl, place cornmeal with salt and pepper
• remove seitan from boiling water, let cool for a few minutes
• cut seitan into 4 pieces, then press each side in cornmeal
• pan-fry on medium-high heat in 1/4 inch of canola oil until crisp and golden on each side

Tartar sauce

• combine vegan mayo (Veganaise, Nasoya) with sweet relish and mustard.
• add cayanne to taste

Cauliflower Mash

• Steam cauliflower 15 minutes until tender
• in a small pan, sautee garlic in Earth Balance until golden
• in a bowl, mash cauliflower with fork or mixers, adding all other ingredients

Serve on a large steamed leaf like swiss chard or collard. Try this dish with a spicy Malbec red wine from Argentina.

DB's Etiquette Recommendation: When hosting a dinner, make sure your guests feel comfortable by cleaning up and setting the table ahead of time. Unless it's a movie party, turn the TV off. Soft music is always welcome, but make sure to ask your guests if they mind - and lastly, don't talk about yourself the whole time!