29-03-2013
A detail of the Sweet and sour seitan with Monk’s Beard and sauces made with beetroot, curcuma, red cabbage, pumpkin, peas and aromatic herbs by Daniela Cicioni
The Easter meal should be lively and colourful, it should enclose a multitude of sensations and contrasts because this is how spring is. It should also contribute to safeguard health, without which one would not be able to fully enjoy the pleasures of the approaching sunny season. There’s a dish which encloses all these characteristics, namely the Sweet and sour seitan with Monk’s Beard and sauces made with beetroot, curcuma, red cabbage, pumpkin, peas and aromatic herbs.
The range of cooking procedures used (from roasted to lightly browned to raw) and the contrast of flavours (from sweet to sour, from bitter to spicy), of the textures and the colours, all contribute to creating a dish with a dynamic and stimulating effect.
Recipe for 4 people
INGREDIENTS for the marinated seitan 400 g seitan cut into 2 cm dices 50 ml Modena balsamic vinegar 15 ml agave syrup 10 ml Shoyu (soya sauce) 2 g chopped coriander seeds 30 ml extra virgin olive oil 15 ml ginger juice 2 g sweet paprika
for the Monk’s Beard 400 g clean Monk’s Beard salt 15 ml extra virgin olive oil
for the lemon and curcuma sauce (yellow) 50 g cashew nuts (left to soak for 8 hours and then rinsed) 15 ml lemon juice and the zest of half a lemon 1 g powdered curcuma ½ scallion salt 30 ml water
for the beetroot and ginger sauce (red) 50 g cashew nuts (left to soak for 8 hours and then rinsed) 30 g raw beetroot 15 ml lemon juice ½ scallion 5 ml apple vinegar salt 40 ml water
for the red cabbage sauce (purple) 50 g cashew nuts (left to soak for 8 hours and then rinsed) 50 g red cabbage 15 caraway seeds 5 g ancienne mustard salt 40 ml water
for the peas and fresh aromatic herbs sauce (green) 100 g fresh peas 10 g chives 10 g of mixed oregano, marjoram and parsley 15 ml extra virgin olive oil salt 40 ml water
for the carrot sauce (orange) 10 g cashew nuts (left to soak for 8 hours and then rinsed) 100 g pumpkin 100 g carrot 15 ml extra virgin olive oil ½ scallion 2 g coriander salt 40 ml water
METHOD for the seitan Put all the ingredients into a casserole dish and leave them to marinate for at least two hours. Bake at 180°C for about 30 minutes.
for the Monk’s Beard Using a large pot, bring a large quantity of salted water to the boil, add the monk’s beard and then drain them after 10 seconds. Cool them in very cold water and season them with oil.
for the sauces Blend the ingredients with a powerful blender, gradually adding the water until the texture becomes smooth and thick. Put each sauce into a piping bag or a sauce bottle with a small nozzle and leave them in the fridge until you need to use them.
FINAL COMPOSITION Place the Monk’s Beard in the centre of the dish and put the (warm) seitan on top. All around, draw some dots of colour alternating the different sauces. Finish with some edible flowers such as primroses, violets, daisies (on top of being visually pleasant they also have remarkable nutritional proprieties), some sprigs of fresh aromatic herbs and some black sesame seeds. See also Vegan Easter
A dish full of colors
Daniela Cicioni, vegan chef
Healthy, natural and vegetarian cuisine
by
Vegan and rawist chef based in Como