Sep 16, 2015

veganmofo - late summer + sin carne asada

Day 16 #vgnmf15 - what is your favorite late summer food? A cookout, of course! And our favorite cookout is Sin Carne Asada tacos, made with Seitan SteaK.




So, yeah, a cookout is our favorite late summer "food." Especially this cookout below.

The first step is to make a robust seitan that stands up well to grilling. Then marinate the seitan in a mojo-garlic mixture.




Next, throw those seitan steaks onto the grill with plenty of onions. Make your Arbol Salsa and Guacamole and warm your tortillas. Prepare your garnishes: lime, cilantro, crumbled vegan  cheese, vegan sour cream, jalapenos, etc.

Finally, slice the seitan, and stuff them into those warmed tortillas with all the condiments your heart desires.









You can also grill some corn on the cob, make a potato salad or a Mexican Pasta Salad (the recipe in Everyday Vegan Eats is phenomenal) and just scarf the tacos down while they last.

I usually make 2 to 3 pounds of seitan for this; our family of five will literally fight over the last few tacos, so it's always best to err on the side of leftovers. Tip: serve your tacos in small corn tortillas but double them up to help hold the tacos together.

#truthtalk  We are having this next week, too, to get one more cookout in before the summer ends.


{Kindle edition of Vegan Bowls (AmazonB&N)  is up for grabs in this week's giveaway. Enter HERE. Both international and domestic contest!}









Sin Carne Asada Tacos
Makes 6 to 8 servings

Marinade:
3 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari
4 scallions, coarsely chopped
10 garlic cloves
2 serrano or jalapeno chiles
½ teaspoon sea salt
Ground black pepper
2 pounds SteaK Seitan

2 onions, cut into ¾ -inch thick rings
Oil for the grill, as needed

Other:
Small (3-inch) corn tortillas, as needed
Arbol Salsa, recipe below
Guacamole, recipe below
Vegan cheese, crumbled
Vegan sour cream
Pickled jalapenos
Cilantro leaves
Lime wedges

1. Marinade: Combine the oil, juices, tamari, scallions, garlic, chiles, salt and black pepper in a blender. Blend well and transfer to a large baking dish. Add the seitan and mix well to coat. Set aside to marinate overnight.
2. Heat your grill or grill pan. Oil the grates or pan. Grill the seitan, basting with the sauce as needed, and onions until lightly charred, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a work surface and cut into slices. Heat the tortillas on the grill, about 30 seconds to 1 minutes. 
3. Place two tortillas on top of each other and fill with seitan, onions and choice of toppings. Enjoy!

Arbol Salsa
2 to 6 dried arbol chiles
2 California chiles (also known as dried Anaheim peppers)
2 medium ripe plum tomatoes, cut into 6 wedges
½ medium onion, cut into ½-inch slices
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
Sea salt and black pepper
2 to 3 splashes sherry vinegar

1. Remove the stems and most of the seeds of the chiles. Heat the chiles in a pan (or grill pan)  until soft and lightly colored. Transfer to a bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside to rehydrate for 20 minute. Drain the chiles and transfer the chiles to a blender. 
2. Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Grill the tomatoes, onion and garlic until lightly charred. Transfer the tomatoes and onion to a blender. Peel the garlic and transfer to the blender. 
3. Blend the mixture until smooth. Season with salt, black pepper and vinegar. Blend again and adjust seasoning. 
4. Salsa will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month. 

Guacamole
5 medium ripe Hass avocado, mashed 
1 small ripe tomato, diced
3/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1 to 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and black pepper

1. Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl using a spoon. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, black pepper and lime juice.


 © 2015 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.



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16 comments:

  1. yum! I've always want to try grilling seitan bbq-style, so far I've only really steamed it, boiled it once and I think I baked it once.

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    1. This one is cooked first to get it from gluten to seitan, and then it is grilled. I think if you grilled gluten without first cooking it, it'll get this bread texture, kind of like when you bake it. It might be interesting to try, though!

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  2. This sounds so full of amazing flavours! I love cooking outdoors. Sadly our summer has been so dismal and rainy we've not done it at all this year! The only time it was sunny we were away from home. The joys of British weather!

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  3. This looks like the perfect late summer cookout...I can totally imagine myself cooking those seitan steaks on my BBQ during summer (just starting here in the southern hemisphere).

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  4. I need to get into Seitan more! I've had it a few times but not recently. Everything you make with it looks amazing!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jennifer! You have some awesome looking food yourself :)

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  5. Oh wow! I really want to try that... especially eat it. I may keep this in mind for the taco/burrito prompt.

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    Replies
    1. Agreed - eating is the best part!

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    2. How many pounds of seitan will your steak seitan recipe yield?

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    3. 1 recipe of SteaK will yield 2 pounds. I should have noted that in the recipe. Will do so now. Thanks, Babette!

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    4. Thank you. The steaks are done, but I have yet to make the tacos. Can't wait!

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    5. Oh My Gosh.

      Those tacos were just out of this world!!! We finally ate them tonight and it was heaven in my mouth. Everything was just perfect. Thank you!

      You can see the pics here :
      http://veganamontreal.blogspot.ca/2015/09/tacos-ou-burritos.html

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  6. Sounds so good!!! I like the tomato in the guac =)

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Thanks for your comment! I'll check if it's spam and post if it is not. I appreciate your time and effort for commenting! ~ Zsu