Jul

11

Medaglioni di seitan al sesamo

July 11, 2007 |

Have you ever eaten seitan (SAY-tahn)? It’s not Martian food but a well known staple in vegan/vegetarian cuisine it’s also called wheat meat, gluten meat or simply gluten. It’s believed to have originated in ancient China and consumed by adherents to Buddhism and then brought to Japan by the monks and where it became very popular in the Zen temples. It’s also widely used in the cuisines of some East and Southeast Asian nations. It was introduced to the West with the Macrobiotic diet and by Asian food stores. Its name is of Japanese origin.

I’m not vegetarian but I really like it and I often eat it as a meat substitute. It’s high in protein but low in fat and cholesterol. Seitan is very versatile with a mild flavor so it can be adapted to many different recipes. I was amazed when I found out how it’s obtained; the wheat flour is mixed with water like when you’re making bread then you let the dough rest for a little bit. Then you wash the dough under running water positioning it over a mesh strainer until the starch is all gone and it reaches a gluey consistency. This technique separates the gluten from the starch. This is the first stage of the preparation but it’s not edible yet. Then the remaining dough has to be boiled in water with soy sauce (tamari or shoyu), sea salt, seaweeds or other aromas and there it is ready for your dishes. It’s possible to prepare it yourself at home and even if there are some faster methods like using high gluten flour I sincerely prefer to buy it ready. Unfortunately being constituted by gluten seitan can NOT be consumed by persons who are allergic (celiac) or intolerant to gluten or wheat.

Here in Italy it can be found in health-food stores but lately also in regular grocery stores. It can be natural or smoked. You can find it shaped as burger with different flavors or shaped like hot dogs and the flavor also resembles the real thing. Even sliced like ham and used to prepare sandwiches. You can also buy seitan prepared with spelt or kamut flour.

My husband doesn’t particularly love seitan so when I cook it I only prepare it for me. One time my mother-in-law was here when I was preparing it and I assumed she wouldn’t like it because she is not exactly brave about trying new foods. Anyway when I cooked it, just to be kind, I asked her if she wanted to taste it. When she did and liked it I was astonished!

I prefer the “natural” seitan which is what I used to prepare this simple but really tasty dish.

Medaglioni di seitan al sesamo

Seitan Medallions with sesame seeds

Ingredients:

1 lb. seitan
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
4 slices bread slices or whole wheat
6 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1 cup milk
5 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil for frying

Preparation:

Eliminate the crust and crumble the fresh bread slices using a food processor.
In a dish mix the bread crumbs with the sesame seeds in another bowl pour the milk. Dip the seitan first in the milk then flour then again in the milk and last in the bread crumb mixture.

In a frying pan add 2-3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil and when it’s hot add the medaglioni and cook them until golden brown being careful when you turn them.

Now this tasty and easy dish is ready to be served. You can simply accompany it with a green or tomato salad seasoned with salt and olive oil.

The dish I prepared came out really good, but as I said before I’m the only one in the family who eats it. I made extra so I tasted the leftovers few hours later and I should say that they were really good if not even better. I thought it could be an interesting idea to bring them on a picnic or to a summer potluck party. If you want to make your dish even fancier use a cookie cutter, shape the Medaglioni smaller and serve them as a finger food, I’m going to try that next.


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