Potato Salad Seitan Sandwich

My mind is on non-stop summer foods. Again. I have already made a huge batch of my Oma's Noodle Salad (veganized, duh), experimenting with black bean burgers and next up...I had to fulfill my need for some good old fashioned potato salad. On a sandwich. With seitan. Oh yeah!!

Also, a lot of the food that I have been making reminds me of when I grew up in Germany. And I find it interesting how different the flavor palate was between the US and where I grew up. When I first moved over to the US, even as a kid, I was repulsed at how sweet everything tasted. Campbells Tomato Soup...yuck! Way too sweet for me. Pasta salad...sweet, no good. I even have memories of bbqs where people brought pasta salad, which literally was sweet tasting italian dressing with some peppers chopped and added. This left me longing for what I grew up with, food with pow. Alot of things that I remember having growing up had a lot of sass, a lot of tang...which is still with me to this day. I much prefer things that way. And this potato salad hits my flavor spot. Zingy, creamy and mustardy with a splash of vinegar to give it that added tangyness that I so love and remember.

So here is my idea of a perfect summer sandwich, cool and tangy potato salad on a layer of seitan and lettuce...Mmmmm.

Here is what you will need:

Parsley & Fennel Seitan
1 c. vital wheat gluten
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 tbsp. flour
1/2 c. cold water
1/4 c. soy sauce (I've also subbed Braggs for this)
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp dried parsley

Mustard Potato Salad
5-6 large potatos (2.5 - 3 lbs)
1/2 c. diced red onion
3/4 c. diced celery (about 2 - 3 stalks)
1/2 c. vegenaise
1/2 c. spicy brown mustard
1 tbsp. vinegar
salt/pepper to taste
parsley to garnish, optional


Begin with making the seitan, since it takes longer to make. The recipe is loosely based on the recipe out of Isa's Vegan with a Vengeance. I have made many variations based on it, and it always turns out fab. The addition of parsley and fennel seeds make it a nice compliment to the potato salad.

Begin by mixing all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate, smaller bowl combine all of your wet ingredients. Using a large spoon or spatula, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined. After everything is incorporated, knead for about 5 minutes and let the dough set for a few minutes. Get a large pot ready, and fill it with cold, well salted water. Shape the dough into a long-ish log, cut into 3-4 evenly sized pieces. Place these in your pot and bring to a boil. Once a boil has been reached, set to simmer, covered with the lid propped open a bit for one hour. Turn off heat and let cool in the broth. The seitan should be much bigger and lighter in color than before. And it will most likely looks like brains. Gross, but tastes to good.


While the seitan cools, start making the potato salad. I left the skins on my potatoes because I like the texture, color AND it saves a whole lotta work. Cut your potatoes into bite sized cubes. Add to boiling water and cook until it is tender enough for your fork to push through, about 10 minutes total. You do not want your potatoes to be mush, but rather slightly undercooked just a teeny bit. Drain and let the potato cubes cool. Spreading them out on a baking sheet is a great way of cooling them down a bit faster. While the hot potatoes cool down, begin by making the dressing. Finely dice your onion and celery, set aside. Mix your vegenaise and mustard until smooth and well combined. In a large bowl, add your diced potatoes, onion and celery. Pour over your dressing, using a spatula, fold carefully until everything is evenly coated. Add your tbsp of vinegar, any salt/pepper to taste if needed, giving one last stir. Set in fridge to let all of the yummy flavors mingle.

Back to the seitan. Take out each chunk, and to the best of your ability, cut it into long strips and slices. Store in a container, making sure to cover it in some of the broth. Now comes an important decision: hot or cold. If you say cold, just layer lettuce, sliced seitan and potato salad on some of your favorite bread and you are ready to rock 'n roll. I made mine with the seitan warmed up. Using a good non-stick pan, you can easily toast the seitan without the use of any oil. Cook on medium heat until each side of the seitan is lightly browned, then layer up your sandwich. Either way, this is really good.

I know know that this is not a mind-blowing new idea, but hey, if it is not broke, why fix it? Why reinvent the wheel? Sometimes, things are classics for a reason and this tangy (not sweet) potato salad is the perfect example. Layered with lettuce and seitan on a sandwich just lets it reach new heights.

Now make sandwichs, go on a picnic, enjoy good foods and the day!

Leek & Tomato Phyllo Squares

Ok, I know it has been a little longer than expected since the last time I added a recipe, but let me tell you what I have in store for you today. Little squares of deliciousness that are seriously out of this world!! I have been wanting to experiment with phyllo dough for a while now, but from everything I read, it only scared me away! After reading about how it dries and cracks instantly if you don't get everything together in under 30 seconds, then life is ruined and over...this is the sort of stuff that has kept me away for so long. But fear no more! And from personal experience, I can speak for myself and say this phyllo dough stuff isn't nearly as hard or scary as it has been made out to be. Just remember, this stuff preferably needs to sit in the fridge overnight, and then out at room temp. for 2 hours before using! So don't be an idiot the first time around like I was just to be let down.

Alright, let me set the scene for you, 6 layers of phyllo dough folded over and doubled to form 12 crispy layers, topped with a garlic basil tofu ricotta spread, a bit of FYH mozzarella, leeks and grape tomatoes.....all baked to perfection...mmmmm. Ok, enough already! Here is how to make these little treasures.

What you'll need:

6 sheets phyllo dough

1 batch of garlic basil tofu ricotta (listed below)

1/3 block FYH mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 pint grape tomatoes

1 leek, sliced

6 tbsp, Earth Balance butter, melted

garlic basil tofu ricotta

1 block firm tofu

5-6 cloves of garlic

1/4 c. nutritional yeast

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

First step, the day BEFORE you want to enjoy these squares, put your phyllo dough in the fridge for 8 hours, or just leave it there overnight. Then, let it sit out at room temp for another 2 hours. During the last hour of the dough thawing, get your tofu ricotta ready and all of your other ingredients. That way you will be ready to go when the phyllo dough is.

In a food processor, throw in your 5-6 cloves of garlic (I know it is a lot, but this is what makes it taste so, so good!), pulse a few times to finely chop it. Crumble your tofu into manageable chunks, add this to your food processor, while pulsing, slowly add your olive oil as your mixture is blending up. Add your nutritional yeast, basil, nutmeg, salt and pepper. I would recommend starting with 1/4 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Pulse a few more times until everything comes together into a nice, creamy sort of paste. Set aside.

Now onto the veggies. Wash and rinse your leek, and finely slice. Wash your grape tomatoes and slice them in half lengthwise. Set both of these aside in some prep bowl, along with your tofu ricotta. Now you simply must wait until the 2 hour mark for your phyllo dough has been reached.

Waiting, waiting, annnnnd done. Now it is onto the part that seemed scary but is not so bad. You want to either have some saran wrap or a damp cheese cloth to cover the phyllo dough sheets that are waiting to be layered. First, melt your 6 tbsp Earth Balance so everything is ready and prepped for your sheets.

Ok, open up your phyllo dough package, grab 6 sheets and set them aside to your work station, roll up the rest, place it back into the plastic and back into the freezer. Start with one sheet of phyllo dough, and place your saran wrap or damp cheese cloth over the remaining 5 sheets to keep them from drying. Lay out your first sheet of phyllo, and brush your melted Earth Balance over the whole sheet, starting with the edges first, working your way inwards. This first sheet is tricky because it wants to move around. But the following sheets will stick to the first, making it easier to coat each remaining sheet.

Repeat this until you have layered all 6 phyllo sheet on top of one another, each with a coating of the Earth Balance. Now, fold your 6 sheets in half, matching up the shorter sides with one another from left to right, or top to bottom, depending on how your sheets are set out. Since all the sheets are basically glued together, this should be much easier than it sounds.

Now you have a much smaller rectangle. And you can go two ways from here. You can make 6 larger squares, or 24 bite sized squares. Either way, begin by cutting the rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut into thirds, and you will have 6 squares. If you want your squares big and bold, stop here. If you want them bite sized, cut each of your large squares into fourths. I have made both sizes, which you can see in the pictures for comparison.

Top each of the little squares with a well rounded tsp of the garlic basil tofu ricotta, and each larger square with 2 tsp. Spread out to coat most of the square. Here is a peek at how things will look like at this point:

Shred up your mozzarella, I used Follow Your Heart and used about a 1/3 of a block for all of the squares. You don't need to go crazy with the cheese on these squares, you don't want to think ooey gooey pizza loaded squares, just a sprinkle since you also are working with the tofu ricotta. Then, top each square with your leeks and tomatoes that are ready to go.

Voila! Here are the little and big squares ready to go into a pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until the phyllo dough is a nice, golden brown, the cheese is getting bubbly and the leeks & tomatoes are nice and toasted.

And you're done! You now have an amazing appetizer that is yummy enough for any day and kind of fancy enough for a dinner party. The best thing about these are that they taste as amazing warm out of the oven as they do later on, cooled.

Fair warning, these little suckers are very rich and delicious. Not recommended for those on diets. But the fact each of the phyllo dough sheets are layered with the Earth Balance butter, this adds a very delicious richness to the tofu ricotta and the vegan cheese, seriously making these impossible to tell from the real thing.

Now go and play with phyllo dough! It is fun, the possibilities are endless and the results are yummy!