Pan-Seared Seitan with Mushrooms and Port

I’ve gotten into the habit lately of making a seitan pot roast in my slow cooker just about every Sunday (see March 7 post). The benefits are many:

1. it’s easy to put on to cook and walk away until serving time
2. the amazing fragrance fills the house all day
3. it makes a great “comfort-food” dinner, and
4. there are always enough leftovers for other terrific meals later in the week

Which brings me to the point: this week I used my “leftover” seitan to make a scrumptious sauté of seitan and mushrooms with a port wine sauce. The luscious sauce is absorbed by both the seitan and the mushrooms for an out-of-this-world flavor. I served it over brown rice and accompanied it with roasted broccoflower. So good. Here’s the recipe.

Pan-Seared Seitan with Mushrooms and Port
I adapted this from the recipe in Vegan Planet that uses cremini mushrooms, shallots, and red wine.
1 pound seitan, cut into 1/4-inch thick strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 scallions, finely minced
6 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/2 to 3/4 cup port wine
3/4 to 1 cup vegetable stock
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Brown the seitan in the oil in large skillet over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes. Remove the seitan from skillet and set aside on a plate.
2. In the same skillet, add the scallions and cook for 2 minutes to soften. Add the mushrooms and wine. Simmer, stirring, to cook off the alcohol and reduce the liquid slightly, about 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms from the skillet and set aside with the seitan.
3. Add the stock to the skillet, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. For a thicker sauce, stir in a cornstarch slurry (about 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water).
4. Transfer the seitan and the mushrooms back to the skillet, season to taste with salt and pepper, and simmer over medium heat until hot. For a more pronounced port flavor, add an extra splash of port while heating the seitan.
Serves 4