Lately I have wanted to perfect an old favorite of mine. I had this draw or craving to cook my seitan recipe. Seitan is a reliable and healthy meat-substitute that can be served a variety of ways: sliced and served as part of a delicious sandwich or diced and baked in a casserole, or as we say in Ferelden, hot dish. Seitan can also be served as a loaf.I excel at making loaves, so I chose to venture into uncharted territory and cook up a new, Dragon Age-themed sauce recipe: Llomerryn Red. I then realized I had to take the opportunity to cook a full course. And it really turned out great! Even my non-vegan parents and husband, all of whom I politely forced to eat this meal, declared they loved it! Seriously, they did not leave any leftovers. Even my increasingly-picky kid wanted more. And because it was a Ravaini dinner, we had banana bread for dessert! Banana bread also happens to be my dad's favorite. I make amazing vegan banana bread, but I'll save that recipe for another time. For now, let's walk through cooking some wheat-meat and blood-like sauce!
The Llomerryn Red sauce is from Dragon Age: World of Thedas Volume 2. The book details some Rivaini food favorites and has a real recipe for this delicious sauce. It describes it as being very versatile and when made well, tastes as sweet and spicy as blood. The recipe could be considered complicated for a beginner cook and it is time-consuming, so I modified it a little for ease and to fit everything into my time frame for the day.
DISCLAIMER: So, the seitan made for this blog entry is not 100% vegan. I am in the process of transitioning to a totally vegan, oil-free diet. Currently, I am in a weird place where I have non-vegan ingredients in my refrigerator and pantry that I am using up. I intend to replace them with vegan ingredients in the future. I feel it is important I use these items instead of tossing them in the compost or trash, which would create unnecessary waste. The seitan recipe I used calls for a total of 2 1/2 cups of vegetable broth and vegan-friendly Worcestershire sauce. As my image below might suggest, I only had 1 cup of vegetable broth on hand so I prepared some powered chicken broth to add. And my Worcestershire sauce has anchovies in it. Still working on using that up but I'll get there! Llomerryn Red totally checks out though: 100% vegan, 100% oil-free. See below for full recipes and sources.
Let's start with our wheat-meat, the seitan! The recipe I used is based off of a recipe from The Vegan Zombie (it is from the No-Killy-Philly "cheesesteak" sandwich recipe). I used to make this way back when I was a wet-nosed vegetarian.
To begin, I arranged my ingredients on the counter.
Then I mixed my dry ingredients together: vital wheat gluten, cup nutritional yeast, garbonzo bean powder (or chick pea flour), brown sugar, mesquite (for that imitation cooked-meat flavor), garlic powder and a wee bit of turmeric.
Then I mixed the wet ingredients: Worcestershire sauce, vegetable broth, soy sauce, liquid smoke (for some additional imitation-meat flavor) pressed garlic and a hefty pinch of pepper.
Next I carefully poured the wet ingredients in with the dry and began kneading them together. It is important to be careful to knead the mixture gently and quickly, just until most of the ingredients are combined to make a dough. It should feel a little sticky. Over-kneading can make for a thick and tough seitan loaf.
At this stage, I was able to easily mold the dough into two balls of the same size, which I rolled into loaves.
Then I prepared the stock to cook them in: cup vegetable broth, onion, smashed cloves garlic, bay leaves (always remember to mind your leaves!), brown sugar, red cayenne pepper or for bolder flavor chili powder, dried parsley, dried thyme, soy sauce, molasses and water.
I had recently run out of bulk molasses (that honestly was about as old as Zathrian) but I picked up a jar from my local grocer. I had not used this brand before and it worked well, but really any type of molasses will do. I recommend going light on the molasses to keep a sticky, cake-like coating from forming around your cooked loaves.
It does not really matter how you prepare your stock ingredients; how you depose of the stock after the loaves are cooked is entirely up to you. You can save it for soup, or toss it into your compost. If you don't have compost in your area, I recommend writing your local bann about that.
Ta'da! Now we're ready for the oven!
At a 350 degrees, the loaves need about an hour to cook...
...Then comes the flipping.
The goal is to flip or turn the loaves over onto their opposite sides in the casserole dish and place them back in the oven. I have always had this somewhat-frustrating problem with my loaves sticking to the bottom of my dish. It makes for a messy experience. It might just be my old dish (it's also about as old as Zathrian), or maybe the seitan just settles and cooks like that. Either way, I realized that a little coconut oil would have served me well... Had I thought it is sooner.
Anyway, then these sweet non-meats went back in the oven for another 30 minute.
Crap. Third bell. Now I'm just late.
 |
| I had started the sauce and things got a little out of hand. And messy. It is like blood, after all. |
And just look at those loaves!
 |
| Mm, looking gorgeous and delicious! |
Now for the sauce, I had some choices to make and some multitasking to do, as noted above. The recipe for Llomerryn Red calls for hand-crushed tomatoes. For ease and brevity, I chose to use canned-crushed tomatoes. The next choice was entirely focused on the unforgettable ages-old grudge: mage versus Templar:
 |
| Meredith vs Orsino! |
The recipe calls for the cooked tomatoes, onion and pepper to be pressed through a sieve. The closest thing I have to a sieve is my flour sifter. My creaky, old hand-crank Templar has its uses, since I bake bread every other week for my family. So I was not keen on squeezing fruit and veggies through it. Plus, I honestly did not have enough time to really try, so yay for Team Mage! Food processor wins the day!
But first, the ingredients! There are two sets of ingredients in this recipe, one for the sauce itself and one for the spice ball. Spice balls are easy to make and can really boost the flavor of a sauce.
 |
For the sauce.
|
For the spice ball. But something is missing.
Aha! Magic item found!
Cheesecloth. It is essential for making spice balls.
I had four of cans of tomatoes available, but ended up using three.
Then into the pan on medium heat.
I brought everything to a boil, stirring occasionally, and allowed it to bubble for about twelve minutes, which was probably longer than needed. Eight to ten minutes would have been fine too, but I wanted to cook off some of the water from the canned tomatoes. Then I turned the heat down to simmer and began to prepare the spice ball. Time to simmer is important after boiling. Be prepared to allow the sauce to simmer for 40 minutes to up to an hour overall.
To make a spice ball, start with a pair of kitchen scissors and cheesecloth.
You will also need string or thread. Optional: a ruler for measuring length.
Cut a six inch by six inch square of cheesecloth.
Then add spices. For the Red Llomerryn, I added a small stick of cinnamon, fennel seeds, dill seeds, mustard seeds, black pepper corns, a bay leaf, and a nicely cracked garlic clove. The recipe calls for whole allspice and whole clove, but I did not had those on hand. Instead, I used the ground versions (not in the spice ball, though - their presence below is purely for show). I also skipped the mustard seed.
Next, grab the corners, hold them together and then grab the ends of the folded sides.
Wrap the string around the top, making sure to gather and close the cheese cloth together firmly (no openings!). Tie a double knot and cut thread from spool. And now you have a spice ball!
By this point, my onions were looking a little translucent and felt quite soft.
It was time for the Harrowing.
I have a small food processor, so I needed to spoon small portions in three or four times.
Once processed, I stirred everything back into the pan to simmer some more. Then I added the brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and the spice ball, as well as the ground clove and allspice.
This is the part where you put a lid on it.
 |
| That sounds like something a sarcastic Hawke would say. |
I let this sweet-smelling delight simmer for about 20 minutes, then tasted it to see if the spice ball was doing its job - and though it was - I let is simmer for another 10 minutes.
Once boldly flavored and thickened to my liking, I tossed the spice ball and was left in awe of my creation.
Thick, smooth, and as sweet as blood, and ready to enjoy! And don't these two look handsome together?
Red Llomerryn and Seitan, served with baked potatoes and some wine.
Proof: No leftovers. My dad and I split this last piece.
And hey, banana bread! Is that a recipe you would like to see sooner rather than later? If so, please leave a comment below!
Seitan:
Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup garbonzo bean powder (or chick pea flour)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp mesquite
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
Wet Ingredients:
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 cup vegetable stock
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp liquid smoke
2 cloves of shredded garlic
pinch of pepper
Stock Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 diced onion
4 smashed cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp molasses
2 cups water
Preheat oven to 350℉.
Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients, then mix both together to make a dough, then knead into loaves. Place in a casserole dish (optional: add a little coconut oil to the bottom on the casserole dish to prevent loaves from sticking).
Combine and stir stock ingredients together and add to casserole dish.
Place in oven for 55-60 minutes. Then remove from oven, turn loaves over in casserole with tongs or a spatula and place back in the oven for another 25-30 minutes.
Depose of stock and remove loaves from casserole dish. Allow to cool slightly and slice as desired.
Enjoy!
Seitan can be stored frozen for up to 3 months or refrigerator and enjoyed over 3 to 4 days.
Red Llomerryn:
Sauce:
3 18 oz cans of crushed tomato
2 medium to large white onions, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1/2 c brown sugar, lightly packed
3/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 tsp pf mustard powder
A pinch of red cayenne pepper or chili powder
A pinch of salt
Spice Ball:
Cheesecloth, 6x6 inch square
1 small cinnamon stick
1 1/2 tsp whole allspice
1/2 tsp whole clove
1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 1/2 tsp dill seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 1/2 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
Place crushed tomatoes, diced onions and diced pepper into a large pan or pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the vegetables are soft. Press cooked vegetables through a sieve or puree or blend in a food processor.
Return vegetables to pan or pot. Add brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and seasonings. Continue to simmer until sauce is thick, stirring occasionally.
Wrap the spices in the cheesecloth and tie into a ball, then drop the ball into the pot. Cover and continue simmering for 20-30 minutes, leaving lid slightly ajar.
Once thick and flavored to your liking, remove spice ball. If liquid seeps from the edge, continue to simmer, stirring occasionally.
Serve immediately or transfer to a sealed container and store in your refrigerator for up to three days.
I hope you give these recipes a try!
Like what you are reading? Great! There's more to come in the next few weeks. Please follow and share widely!
Have any friendly suggestions or cool ideas? Please feel free to comment below. You can also email me at foodsofthedas@gmail.com, message me at AGSamuels on Reddit, or tweet me at Essem_Jay on Twitter.
You can also follow me on Instagram at gourmetveganthedas.
Walk always in the Maker's light.
__
Sources:
Dragon Age: The World of Thedas Volume 2: https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/22-389/Dragon-Age-The-World-of-Thedas-Volume-2-HC#prettyPhoto
The Vegan Zombie:
The Vegan Zombie, No Killy Philly: http://theveganzombie.com/cooking-with-the-vegan-zombie-daiya-cheesesteak/
Looks good - I chuckled at the daughter who is a somewhat picky eater. Welcome to the world of toddlers and threes! Hang tough. She'll come around as long as you're firm about it.
ReplyDelete