Ever since picking up some seitan pieces from Ocado (that I pictured here) I’ve been itching to try them out; Seitan isn’t an ingredient that’s too widely available in the UK so I was delighted to find it in a jar that can stay in the cupboard until it’s needed. It’s probably because of it not being too widely found that, when Pete asked we were having for dinner the evening I cooked this, I stumbled before saying “erm, I think we’re having satan.”
After doing a spot of research into how to actually pronounce seitan, it turns out I wasn’t that far off; the emphasis changes slightly to ‘say-tan’ rather than ‘sayt-an.‘ So back to seitan, it’s made from wheat gluten, provides a great source of non-animal protein and has a satisfying chewy texture. It also absorbs whichever flavours you cook it in too so this one pot vegan seitan chilli is a perfect way to demonstrate this.
I served this seitan chilli with homemade mango salsa, sliced avocado and whole-grain seeded wraps, but it would be great served with either rice or tortilla chips too. It’s not a pretty dish but it makes for a very satisfying dinner!
- 1tsp olive oil
- 1 white onion
- 2 bell peppers, cut into short slices
- 125g button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2tbsp red wine
- 2 tins chopped tomatoes
- 1tbsp tomato purée
- 200g seitan pieces, roughly chopped
- 150g kidney beans, cooked dried beans or tinned, drained beans
- 1tsp soy sauce
- 1tsp paprika
- ½tsp smoked paprika
- ½tsp ground cumin
- ½ - 1tsp chilli flakes (according to taste)
- Heat a large pan over a medium high heat then add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onion. Stir until it has turned translucent.
- Add the peppers to the pan, stirring frequently. Cook for around 3 minutes before adding the mushrooms, cumin and garlic. Continue to stir frequently.
- Once the mushrooms have softened slightly, add the red wine and stir well until it has evaporated. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, seitan, soy sauce and both paprika varieties to the pan. Lower the heat slightly, cover, and simmer for around ten to fifteen minutes until the sauce has begun to thicken.
- Add the kidney beans and chilli flakes, stir well and simmer for a further five minutes.
- Serve!
Have you cooked with seitan before? What’s your favorite seitan recipe?