Vegan Poulet Sauté

[Vegan Sautéed Chicken]

Julia says that a true sauté is cooked entirely in butter...no liquid comes in contact with it until the very end...

...I did not know that...

...I made Tracey's Compassionate Breast...just like I did for the VEGAN SUPRÊMES DE VOLAILLE À BLANC...Tracey's blog no longer exists...so just email me if you want that recipe...

...they're pretty dry already...so I didn't follow Julia's drying advice...

...melted some Earth Balance and oil in a heavy skillet...

...put the seitan chicken in the hot oil/Earth Balance...

...Julia specifies turning with tongs...so I did...nicely browned...

...remove the seitan to a hot plate...and then add some finely chopped onion...

...and some white wine...optional...

...return the seitan to the pan...season with salt and pepper...

...add some herbs...

...cover and Julia says to set the pan over hot water...but I didn't do that step...

...Julia says to finish the sauce except for the final (butter) Earth Balance enrichment...

...so right at the end...just before serving...stir in some more Earth Balance...

...and pour the sauce over the seitan chicken...

...and your ready to serve...

...we had ours with sweet potato and Julia's take on frozen spinach...so I'll have to get that post up soon too...

Substitutions:

Seitan Chicken for the chicken
Earth Balance for the Butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 254 - 256

VEGAN BOEUF À LA MODE

[Vegan Beef Braised in Red Wine]

...Julia describes this dish as a 'wonderful party dish'...and of course she uses one large piece of meat...and I chose to use TVP strips instead of a large seitan roast this time...

...you marinate the TVP strips with aromatic vegetables, herbs, cloves, bay leaf, halved garlic cloves...

...and red wine...of course...Julia says to make it a young one...

...then when you're ready to cook...drain the marinade...and add a few cups of stock...I used G. Washington's Rich Brown Seasoning and Broth...and I omitted the other ways Julia says to add body to the sauce...

...while the braising is in process...Julia says to cook some carrots and onions and set them aside...

...remove the bay leaf and the halved garlic cloves after the braising is complete...

...we served ours with some parslied turnips (Vegan Navets Persillés), mashed potatoes, peas and cornbread...

...garnished with the carrots and onions...the Vegan Beef Braised in Red Wine was delicious...

Substitutions:

Beef Flavored TVP Chunks for the Beef
G. Washington's Rich Brown Broth for the Broth

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 309-312

Vegan Navets Persillés

[Parslied Turnips]

This recipe is just the VEGAN NAVETS À L'ÉTUVÉE...with the addition of some parsley...

...Julia says that yellow turnips or rutabagas as they are commonly called here...are almost unknown in France 'as food for humans'...I'm guessing that means they feed them to their animals...but she says you can use them interchangeably...

...Scout definitely prefers the sweet yellow turnips to the stronger flavored sometimes peppery purple and white variety...

...we just boiled the turnips (rutabagas) for a really long time until the water was almost completely evaporated...

...then added some more Earth Balance and a generous sprinkling of chopped parsley...

Substitutions:

Earth Balance for Butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 487

Egg Yolk and Cream Enrichment

[Sauce Parisienne - formerly Sauce Allemande]

...not sure why this title is in English...and the bracketed subtitle is in French...that's sort of backwards...

...we had this for breakfast...as a sort of tofu Benedict dish...it was delicious...

....Julia says there are many varieties of Sauce Parisienne...flavored with fish, onion or mushroom...

...but to get the sulfur-y flavor of egg yolks...I simply used some Kala Namak...the sulfur tasting black salt from the Himalayas...

...so first you make the VEGAN SAUCE BÉCHAMEL

...then just add the cream...I simply used homemade cashew cream...1 cup cashews and 4 cups water blended in the Vitamix until creamy and smooth...

...a little bit of lemon juice..

...the Kala Namak...(black salt)...not much...just an egg-y hint of flavor...

...some white pepper...

...then finish with a couple of tablespoons of Earth Balance...

...off heat...just before serving...

...we spooned it over some fried tofu...which we often sub for fried eggs...

...to make a sort of vegan version of Eggs Benedict...

...it was really good...

...Julia spends quite a bit of time explaining how to keep from curdling the eggs...and how to remedy any stringy bits in your sauce...but with the Kala Namak none of that is a problem...

Substitutions

Kala Namak (black salt) for the eggs
Earth Balance for the butter
Cashew Cream for the cream

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 60 - 61

VEGAN FONDUE DE POULET À LA CRÈME

[Chicken Simmered with Cream and Onions]

...Julia describes this dish as 'rich and delectable...and Scout for one would agree...he loved this sauce so much...

...of course Julia starts with directions of how to handle and cook the chicken...drying it thoroughly...

...I made my regular Chicken Seitan...recipe for VEGAN SUPRÊMES DE VOLAILLE À BLANC...

...turning it in hot butter (subbed Earth Balance)...for 4-5 minutes...

...then removed it to a dish...

...add thinly sliced yellow onions...covered and cooked for about 5 minutes until fairly tender...but...you guessed it...NOT browned...

...return the seitan...

...cover and cook...

...Season with salt...white pepper and curry powder...

...pour in some dry white wine...

...and cook until the liquid is almost entirely evaporated...

...bring some vegan cream to a boil in a small saucepan...

...and pour it over the 'chicken'...

...keep it at the barest simmer...

...baste the 'chicken'...Julia says the cream may look a little curdled...but will be smoothed out later...so don't worry...

...remove the 'chicken'...

...and boil rapidly...

...until the cream coats the spoon...

...juice a small lemon...

...correct the seasoning and add the lemon juice...

...smother the 'chicken' in the sauce...

...Julia suggests rice and peas with this dish...

...so that's exactly what we had...

...it was truly delicious...

Substitutions:

Vegan Chicken of your choice...we used VEGAN SUPRÊMES DE VOLAILLE À BLANC...but baked tofu or a store bought vegan chicken would be good oto...it really is the sauce that makes this dish...
Vegan Cream for the Cream
Earth Balance for the butter


Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 262-263