Satan Stew for Halloween (Seitan Stew on the other 364 days)

Two posts on one day!?  It MUST be a holiday.   First and foremost, happy halloween, everyone!  I hope that you all fill your candy quota and have fabulous costumes.  If you're not into the whole dressing up thing, that's cool too - but I do hope you get to enjoy some delicious pumpkin flavored foods at the very least.

Now, onto the subject of this post.  Seitan Stew, which I continue to pronounce as "Satan" Stew, is so delicious it's scary.  After Sar concocted a lifetime supply of seitan, my first impulse was to make stew.  It's one of my favorite comfort foods, but since I've stopped eating meat for the most part, I haven't gotten to enjoy it.  Tofu stew just doesn't sound right...and veggie stew is good, but it's missing that certain something (beef?) that makes it such a hearty and wonderful dish.  Seitan has the right combo of flavor and texture to fit right into a vegetarian stew and the name makes it perfect for a Halloween post :)

"Satan" Stew
(Printable Recipe)
Serves 6

1 lb of seitan, cubed
1 medium white onion, finely diced
2 carrots, chopped
2 ribs of celery, finely diced
2 cups of mushrooms, chopped
1 turnip, chopped
1 sweet potato, chopped
1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, chopped
1/2-3/4 cups red wine
4 cups veggie broth
1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
2 teaspoons dried parsley (or a few tablespoons chopped fresh parsley)
salt & pepper to taste
1 teaspoon corn starch
2 tablespoons cold water
1 lb egg noodles, cooked and drained

What to do:
In a frying pan, saute the seitan until it's well browned.  In a large pot, saute the onions, celery, and peppers until softened.  Add the rest of the veggies, salt & pepper, and seitan and cook together for a few minutes.

Now pour in the wine and get the party started.

Add the seasonings and broth bring it up to a boil.  Place the lid over the pot so that it's not fully sealed, but mostly covered.  (I hope you understand what I'm saying there, because I forgot to take a picture of that part.)  Allow the stew to bubble away for about half an hour, or until the veggies are all cooked.  In a small dish, mix the cornstarch and water to make a slurry and then stir this into the stew.  You should notice it thicken up a bit after a few minutes of cooking.  This is optional if you're into thinner broth, for the record.  

Serve over egg noodles immediately.  Enjoy with a glass of the red wine, if you're feeling festive - which I always am.

This stew was delicious right off the stove, but it was even better the next day reheated for lunch because the flavors really got a chance to blend and deepen over night.  If you're a vegetarian and tend to get made fun of at work for the "weird" lunches you bring (tofu-phobes are the worst...am i right??) this is the perfect solution.  Two of my coworkers asked me if it was beef stew!  Seitan is such a trickster.

Boo x 2!
Lil

PS - Sar and I like to eat ourselves out of house and home before grocery shopping (we've never been labeled wasteful or excessive) and one morning I found myself with nothing to eat for breakfast.  No milk, no eggs, no cereal, no bread, no yogurt.  Nothing.  I heated myself up some of this stew and it was a fabulous way to start the day.