Quick and easy vegetarian recipes

Oven-Roasted Seitan

MAKES: 4 to 6 servings

TIME: About 1 hour with prepared seitan, largely unattended

With a crunchy crust and a tender interior, this is one of my favorite ways to cook seitan. When it's done, you just slice it thinly and eat, either as you would meat with vegetable and starch side dishes or stirred into rice, noodle, or bean dishes.

1 to 11/2 pounds seitan, cooled and patted dry

2 tablespoons neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, plus more as needed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350В°F. Put the seitan loaf or loaves on a roasting rack in a large pan and brush with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Roast, undisturbed, until they start to turn golden, about 30 minutes.

Use tongs to turn the loaves over and brush with more oil if you like. Continue roasting until the seitan is deeply colored, another 15 to 20 minutes. Cool slightly before slicing. Taste and sprinkle with salt and pepper if you like.

Variations

Oven-Roasted Seitan with Garlic. Crush 2 cloves of garlic. In Step 2, when you turn the loaves, use a fork to smear the crushed garlic over the top. Proceed with the recipe, roasting until the garlic is lightly browned.

Oven-Roasted Seitan with Ginger. Use dark sesame oil. Follow the preceding variation, replacing some or all of garlic with ginger.

Oven-Roasted Seitan with Chile. A spicy filling for tacos or in a pot of beans: In Step 2, when you turn the loaves, sprinkle them with a tablespoon of chili powder (to make your own, see Chili Powder).

Oven-Roasted Seitan with Curry. In Step 2, when you turn the loaves, sprinkle them with a tablespoon of any curry powder (to make your own, see Hot Curry Powder).

23 Sauces and Accompaniments for Seitan

1. Fresh Tomato Salsa
2. Fresh Tomatillo Salsa
3. Sea Green Salsa
4. Traditional Pesto or any herb pure
5. Grainy Mustard, Many Ways
6. Basil Dipping Sauce
7. Fishless Fish Sauce
8. Soy and Sesame Dipping Sauce and Marinade, Korean Style
9. Teriyaki Sauce
10. Ginger-Scallion Sauce
11. Dashi Dipping Sauce
12. Ponzu Sauce
13. Raw Onion Chutney
14. Crunchy Nut Chutney
15. Tomato Chutney
16. Miso Sauce
17. Fast Fresh Tomato Sauce
18. Mushroom Ketchup
19. Ketchup (to make your own, see Homemade Ketchup)
20. Barbecue sauce (to make your own, see Fast, Down-Home Barbecue Sauce)
21. Spicy Indian Tomato Sauce
22. Peanut Sauce, Six Ways
23. Rustic Pine Nut Sauce