Seitan Parmesan with Fettuccine

Italian food is pretty amazing. It's rich and cheesy and has aromas of basil and oregano that as Americans, we're very familiar with. And it's almost always good. Except for this one Italian-Mexican hybrid restaurant my family loves for some reason. They don't even have guacamole or sour cream for their burritos? I never bothered to try their Italian, but I'm guessing it isn't pretty . . .

When you become vegan, though, and you eat out, it instantly sucks [[regardless of the restaurant]]. It's like you revert back to what you'd eat as a kid. Pasta with plain tomato sauce or just olive oil. No meat. No funny cheeses. Just pasta and sauce.

If you have the time to fuss over homemade lasagna or spaghetti and vegan meatballs, then it doesn't suck so much. And while I have created those at home, I don't think any of my vegan Italian creations have blown me away as much as this seitan parmesan. A little spiced, homemade sauce mixed with some crispy homemade seitan-- it's perfection. As far as a seitan recipe goes, most that I've found on the internet are really good. I use a variation of the PPK recipe, it's a great base to start out with. Add a little Italian seasoning or some extra garlic for this recipe.

[[Tomato Sauce]]
You can just used canned sauce if you want. Newman's Own makes some good sauces. I just thought this was fun.

1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 14 1/2 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine or vegetable broth
3 tbs olive oil
about 1 1/2 - 2 cups diced red onion [[about half of a large onion]]
about 1 1/2 cups chopped baby bella mushrooms
2 bay leaves
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tbs dried basil
a dash of marjoram, oregano, salt, pepper

-- Heat oil on medium high heat. Add the diced mushrooms, onions, bay leaves, and minced garlic. Cook until onions are soft.
-- Add the seasoning. Fold in with a wooden spoon.
-- Lower heat to medium. Drain diced tomatoes and crush with your hands as you add it to the oil and vegetables. Stir in.
-- Add tomato sauce, wine, and stir.
-- Simmer on low heat, uncovered about 15-20 minutes.


[[Seitan Parmesan]]
If you don't have seitan or don't want to make any, this would go really well with sliced tofu, too. I'd press the tofu, then marinate it in a little oil, wine, garlic and basil first.

5 slices of seitan cutlets, about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick
3 tbs whole wheat flour or corn starch, seasoned with salt/pepper
3-4 tbs brown rice flour, or chickpea flour, mixed with 1/3 cup water
1/2 cup bread crumbs, or cornmeal, seasoned with salt/pepper
2 tbs canola oil
1/3 cup follow your heart mozzarella, shredded
1 cup tomato sauce

-- Preheat oven to 375 F.
-- Set up an assembly line: flour, brown rice flour mixture, bread crumbs.
-- Heat oil in pan on medium high.
-- Dredge seitan cutlets in flour, then brown rice mixture, then bread crumbs. Be sure to allow excess to drip off before adding to the bread crumb. Firmly push down in the bread crumbs to ensure it's completely coated.
-- When oil it heated, cook each side about 5 minutes until crispy. As the pan gets hotter, you may want to check your next pieces sooner to ensure they don't burn.
-- Spray an oven-safe pan with some no-stick spray and lay the cooked seitan in the dish. Top with one cup sauce and shredded FYH mozzarella.
-- Place in preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Turn the broiler on high for 1 minute to allow cheese to melt. **Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn!
-- Serve with a side of whole wheat pasta [[[preferably angel hair, but we use fettuccine]] and sauce.