Ingredients

• 1/2 Saved by Seitan loaf, thinly sliced or shaved (recipe for Saved by Seitan follows) (we shaved our loaf)
• The nacho cheese, warmed (recipe follows)
• 2 cups thinly sliced onions (about 2 onions) (we used yellow onions)
• 2 cups thinly sliced green bell peppers
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire
• 2 tablespoons water
• Sea salt and ground pepper
• 6 hoagie-style buns
• 6 tablespoons vegan butter

Directions

1. Take a large cast-iron skillet or frying pan and pour the oil in, setting the skillet over medium heat. Once the oil’s hot, add the onions and bell peppers in, stirring them around for 10 to 12 minutes or until they’re soft and fully cooked. Add the shaved seitan into the skillet and let it get browned, stirring frequently for 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Take a small bowl out and whisk the Worcestershire and water together in it. Pour the mixture over the seitan and vegetables, tossing to coat. Let the mixture cook for another 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. While the seitan and vegetables are cooking, take your buns and cut them in half. Take 1 tablespoon of butter per bun and spread it over the cut sides of the bun. Toast the buns. Spread the nacho cheese over the toasted sides, topping with a “generous” amount of the seitan mixture. Drizzle more cheese on and eat right away.

Saved by Seitan

Ingredients

• 3 cups vital wheat gluten
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper (we used freshly ground black pepper)
• 2 vegan beef-flavored bouillon cubes, dissolved in 3 cups hot water, or 3 cups low-sodium vegetable stock (we used the bouillon cubes dissolved in water)
• 1/4 cup vegeetable oil
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari or soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, spices and herbs together.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the stock, vegetable oil, tamari, vinegar and tomato paste until thoroughly combined. Take the stock mixture and add it to the vital wheat gluten mixture, stirring just until combined.
4. The mixture will be very moist but able to stay in one piece. When you get it in your hands, it should be slippery, not sticking to your hands. You’ll be able to feel the stretchiness due to the gluten that’s binding the whole thing together. Place the dough on a large work surface and knead it, pulling and stretching, folding the dough over itself a few times. Now shape the dough into a log that’s around 10 inches long and 5 inches in diameter (this was the trickiest part of the recipe for us*).
5. Lay out a large enough piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil and put the dough log on the foil, wrapping it up so tight that there are no gaps (you may even need 2 pieces of foil to make sure the log is secure). Make sure the ends of the foil are tight and twist them to seal.
6. Place the log on a baking sheet and place it in the oven to cook for 90 minutes. The log should feel pretty firm once it’s done. Cool the log down at room temperature, placing it in the fridge afterwards and letting it sit overnight before it’s used for sandwiches.
7. If you’re going to slice this real thin they recommend using a sharp knife but if you’re going to shave the meat they recommend using a mandolin**.
8. Store any leftover seitan in the fridge and eat within 10 days of making it. It will stay good for up to 2 months if it’s wrapped up and put in the freezer. Make sure to thaw the seitan completely though before slicing it if you’re gonna freeze it.

*When we were shaping the dough into a log, we’d reach the desired length and diameter and it’d start to tighten back up, causing it to shrink in size, so we had to move really fast in wrapping the log up once it got the right size shape to it.

**The mandolin would guarantee you identical cuts but we chose to shave our seitan using a knife.

The nacho cheese

Ingredients

• 1 cup peeled, cubed white potato (about 1 small potato) (we used russet potato)
• 1/2 cup peeled, diced carrot (about 1 carrot)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup nondairy milk or water (we used plain soy milk)
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons arrowroot flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 6 pickled jalapeño slices or to taste (we used 6 slices), plus 3 tablespoons brine
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

Directions

1. Take a pot (we used a large saucepan) of water and bring it to a boil. Add the potato and carrots to the water, letting it cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until the potatoes are just fork-tender*. Drain the carrots and potatoes and add them to a high-powered blender right afterwards.
2. Add all of the other ingredients to the blender and put the lid on afterwards, mixing on high speed just until smooth. If the cheese sauce has cooled down too much, you can reheat this in a saucepan for a few minutes over low heat until it’s bubbling or microwave the sauce (we chose to reheat this in a saucepan). If you think the sauce loses it’s smooth consistency during reheat, try adding in a small amount of water or nondairy milk.

*You don’t want to cook the potatoes too long or else they can get starchy and therefore prevent you from getting a nice smooth cheese.

Alright so yes, this sandwich does take a bit of prep and work to get made but the taste made it worth it ! While the seitan won’t fool you into thinking that it’s actually beef, it tastes so good paired with the nacho cheese and vegetables ! It was hard to restrain myself to just one or two sandwiches !

These recipes came from Vegan Comfort Classics by Lauren Toyota.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Vegan Comfort Classics by Lauren Toyota.

Take care everybody !