Unless you hail from the health food world, you may well wonder what on earth Seitan is? It’s a wheat protein, which has a very similar texture to chicken. I’m not usually fond of meat substitutes, especially those made from Isolated Soy Protein (very heavily processed – yuck!) but I use seitan (say-tan,) a lot because I really like the texture and the taste, especially in this recipe.
If you’re a veggie, who used to like fried chicken, whip out your frying pan – you are going to LOVE this. Coming from Southern Georgia, my husband likes almost anything corn-crusted. His mom makes the most incredible corn-crusted okra, which I’ll get her to share with us – so he got over the idea of a meat substitute pretty quickly when he tasted this.
It makes for a perfect Summer Al Fresco dinner, especially served with my citrus green bean salad and like almost every weeknight recipe I share, it’s so very easy to put together.
Crispy Seitan
Serves 2
1 package of seitan (health food store)
1cup yellow corn meal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (regular if you can’t get smoked)
1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg replacer if you are vegan)
About 4tbsp raw coconut oil* for frying (you may need more)
*A quick rant about coconut oil: it’s had a bad rap over the years but is actually one of the healthiest oils you can fry with, or eat for that matter! You do need to buy Virgin or Raw coconut oil, which you’ll find at any health food store. Wholefoods carry their own store brand, which is quite reasonable. I also love Dr Bronner’s organic coconut oil – yes the guy who makes the castille soap now carries an amazing coconut oil.
Empty the seitan on a shallow bowl (cereal bowl will do,) in another bowl place the cornmeal, salt and paprika and combine well.
Whisk up the egg and pour over the setian, making sure each piece is well coated. Take each piece of seitan and roll in in the cornmeal – spend a little time making sure that each piece is completely covered in the meal.
Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan until is sizzles. Carefully, using tongs, place each piece of cornmeal in the hot oil and fry for about 3 minutes (or until brown and crispy,) on each side. Using tongs, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and keep warm in the oven.
Lemony Bean Salad
2 Cups Green Beans (I used green and yellow wax beans as that’s what I got in my farm box.)
1 cup frozen shelled edamame beans
2 scallions, minced
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1tsp lemon juice
1/2tsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
Salt & pepper to taste
Steam the beans and edamame in a large saucepan for about 5 minutes, or until just tender. Be really careful not to overcook as you want them slightly crunchy. After you’ve drained them, dump them in a large bowl of iced water, then drain again.
Mix up the dressing ingredients. When you are ready to serve, arrange the beans in a bowl and gently toss in the dressing. Sprinkle the scallions on top.
Serve the bean salad alongside the crispy seitan with a generous dollop of garlicky veganaise on the side (mix 1 cup of mayo or Follow Your Heart’s Veganaise with 1/2 crushed clove of garlic and a pinch of lemon zest.)
