Saturday, March 16, 2013

Vegan Corned Beef And Cabbage With Seitan Or Gluten Free Soy Curls - Perfect For St. Patrick's Day!

Soy curls are used for gluten-free corned beef and cabbage.

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Or make with seitan.

Corned Beef and Cabbage For Saint Patrick's Day
Skip the Corned Beef!
Corned beef and cabbage is a pretty healthy dish, except for the corned beef.
Each three ounce serving of cooked corned beef is 213 calories, 16 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat and 83 mg of cholesterol, 0 carbohydrates and 0 fiber. It is, of course, a source of protein (15 grams per 3 ounce serving). 

But you can get protein without the fat and a lot fewer calories when you substitute corned beef with seitan (a vegan meat substitute made from wheat gluten) or Butler's soy curls (a gluten-free, vegan meat substitute made from minimally processed soy). In fact, ounce per ounce, seitan has even more protein than corned beef!

A 3 oz serving of seitan provides:
124 calories
2.25 g total fat
0 g saturated fat
0 mg cholesterol
3 g carbohydrates
22.5 g of protein
0 fiber
A 3 oz rehydrated serving of soy curls  (1 oz dry) provides:
100 calories
4.5 g total fat
0 g saturated fat
0 mg cholesterol
5 g carbohydrates
10 g protein
3 g of fiber

Soy curls are gluten free, non-GMO and grown without pesticides

No Food Coloring in This Dish!
You'll probably be getting enough food coloring today in your beer so to make the "meat" in this recipe that reddish, corned beef color, I soaked the seitan and soy curls in beet juice and pickling spices. 


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Corned Beef and Cabbage
Vegan, Gluten Free (when made with soy curls)
[makes 4 servings]

3 medium beets, peeled and sliced (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt plus more for potatoes
4 teaspoons pickling spice, divided
water
1 T Earth Balance vegan buttery spread
1 onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 head cabbage, cut in 8 pieces
3 to 4 cups vegetables broth (or water and bouillon cube)
4 medium, red skinned, new potatoes, quartered
4 ounces (1/2 package) Butler's soy curls OR
OR 8 ounces seitan strips or slices

If you want your "meat" to be reddish, you will be dying them in natural beet juice.
To prepare the beet juice, place the beets in a medium saucepan and cover with about 3 to 4 cups of water. Add salt, cover and cook until the beets are tender. 
Remove the beets and set aside for a little salad (see below). 

Boil beets for food coloring.
Remove beets and save the liquid.

Keep the remaining beet water in the saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon of pickling spice, (reserving 1 teaspoon for the vegetables), and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Soak seitan or soy curls in the hot, spiced beet water and set aside until needed. 

Soak seitan in spiced beet juice

Or soak soy curls in spiced beet juice

Heat the Earth Balance in a 5 quart Dutch oven. Cook the onions until soft, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the carrots, cabbage and 1 teaspoon of pickling spice. Cover with 3 cups of broth and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage wilts, about 15 minutes. 

Cook cabbage until it wilts

Add potatoes last 

Stir in the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. If it looks like the pot needs more liquid, add another cup of water or broth.
Cover and cook until the potatoes are tender but not overcooked, about 15 to 20 minutes.

The seitan is ready to serve. Place the vegetables in a plate and top with the seitan.

Corned beef and cabbage with seitan

If using soy curls, drain them well and cook them in a slightly greased hot skillet for several minutes until they begin to brown. Serve with the vegetables.

Cook soy curls before serving

Corned beef and cabbage with soy curls

If you don't care about the color of the meat and want to make this easier:
Heat 2 to 3 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of pickling spice. 
Soak the seitan and soy curls in the hot, spiced water, omitting the beets.
Continue as stated above.

About those leftover beets. Toss with a bit of apple cider vinegar and hemp (or extra virgin olive) oil. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!


Serve the leftover beets as a side salad




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