Cornbread Stuffed Seitan with White Bean Gravy and Toasted Cornbread Crumbles

SOMETHING HAS GONE HAYWIRE WITH THIS POST. NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I TRY TO FORMAT IT CORRECTLY, IT GOES BACK TO PARAGRAPHICAL FORM. IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO FIX IT, I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT! I'VE WORKED IN BOTH THE HTML AND COMPOSE AND CAN'T GET IT TO COOPERATE FOR ME. I WILL KEEP TRYING.

I've been feeling more and more comfortable experimenting with my own seitan. It's actually been fun trying to see how versatile it is and how far I can push the flavors. I decided to try my hand at stuffing it; I added a long name, and voila! - I have another tasty dish. My husband especially seems to like hearty meals like this after a long day at work. Now that I'm trying my hand at seitan on a regular basis, the Blessings never know what's going to show up at dinner! This turned out very well, and the gravy was just the right complement to the meal. The crumbles were a fun addition. There seems to be a lot of steps, but things come together really easily. Hope you like it.

Cornbread Stuffed Seitan with White Bean Gravy and Toasted Cornbread Crumbles

Seitan before steaming

Stuffed seitan before baking

Cornbread Stuffed Seitan with White Bean Gravy and Toasted Cornbread Crumbles

Ingredients:

Seitan:

1 cup of slow-cooked Great Northern Beans

2 cups of water

1 and 1/2 tsp. of ground thyme

1 and 1/2 tsp. of rubbed sage

2 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. garlic powder

1 Tbs. onion powder

2 and 1/4 cups of gluten flour

Stuffing:

(I realized as I was writing up this recipe, that the cornbread here is the only part I didn't measure. I cut a wedge from the cornbread I made, and it looks to be just less that 1/4 of a pan, which is probably close to 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups ground.)

Unsweetened cornbread - you can use my Ozark Cornbread recipe - a large wedge

1/4 tsp. ground thyme

1/4 tsp. rubbed sage

Gravy:

1/2 cup of slow-cooked Great Northern Beans

1 and 1/2 cup of water

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. ground thyme

1/4 tsp. rubbed sage

1 Tbs. soy sauce

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

2 Tbs. vegan margarine

2 Tbs. flour

Crumbles:

1 cup of ground cornbread (in food processor)

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

For the seitan: In a blender, add all the seitan ingredients, except the gluten flour. Blend well. Pour into a large mixing bowl and add the gluten flour. Stir well, and knead for a minute or two until the dough has no wet or dry spots. Divide into five mounds and shape into rough ovals. Wrap in enough foil to cover the seitan at least three times. Place in a large pot with a lid with water and a steamer basket. Steam on medium heat for 45 minutes. Remove and unwrap each seitan oval. (I make the cornbread, while the seitan is steaming, to keep things moving along.)

For the stuffing: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Break up the cornbread and put chunks into a food processor. Add the seasonings and process until crumbly. Along the side of each seitan oval, use a sharp knife to cut a deep slice. Don't go all the way to the edges or all the way to the back. Divide the cornbread mix evenly, and fill each seitan cavity with it. Put the seitan in a large baking pan, and pour 3/4 cup of water on the bottom of it. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully flip the seitan over, and pour another 3/4 of water on the bottom of the pan. Bake for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven.

For the gravy: In a blender, combine all the gravy ingredients except for the flour and margarine. Blend until smooth. In a medium pot on medium heat, melt the margarine. Add the flour and whisk well. Add the blended gravy ingredients and continue stirring constantly on medium heat, until it bubbles, about five minutes. Turn the heat to low and continue stirring for one minute. Remove from heat.

For the crumbles: Turn oven heat up to 400 degrees. In a food processor, put in enough cornbread to get about one cup's worth. Add the seasonings and continue to process until mixed. Place crumbles in small baking pan and bake for five minutes.

To assemble: Plate each stuffed seitan with gravy spooned over the top. Sprinkle the cornbread crumbles over the gravy. Serve with the rest of the cornbread and a simple vegetable. Fancy, yet satisfying! Feeds five hungry vegans.