VEGAN VEAU POÊLÉ

[Casserole Roasted Veal]

...so this was our Christmas Dinner!...and it was delicious...

...start with some Earth Balance...get it hot...

...add your seitan veal...I just used a mildly flavored seitan...I have detailed instructions here...I just added some beef flavored bouillon...and I must say that vegans probably shouldn't read Julia's descriptions of the meat she's cooking...which are just graphic and horribly sad to think about...

...anywhoo...brown the seitan on both sides...

...add some onion and carrots...

...and your herbs...Julia says tied up in cheesecloth...but y'all know that I prefer to use my reusuable tea ball for this purpose...

...you're supposed to wrap the seitan with bacon...mine is frozen here - I used Smart Bacon...

...Julia says that the roast (and vegetables) will produce about 1 cup of juice...I knew that my seitan wouldn't be producing any 'juice'...so I added about a cup of water...

...popped it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours...

...meanwhile...Julia usually gives suggestions for accompaniments...so I cut up some organic potatoes...

...and roasted them alongside the 'Veau'...

...and put everything on a pretty platter...

...while I made the gravy...

...Julia says to mash up the roasted vegetables in the 'juice'...I mashed up about half of the onions and carrots in my gravy...actually I ran it through the food processor so it'd be perfectly smooth...

...poured it in a gravy boat...

...and served it alongside the roast...

...we had VEGAN CAROTTES GLACÉES as well...

...all served on our Christmas plates...

...it was a perfect meal...the sauce really makes this dish special...savory and a little bit sweet from the onions and herbs...

...it was delicious...

Substitutions: Seitan for the Veau

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 353-354