So, what is seitan you ask? Great question! Pronounced satan, it is a vegetarian meat substitute made from wheat gluten, commonly known as the wheat meat. It can easily be found at health food stores, or you can make it at home. There are numerous seitan recipes out there with various results. It all depends on the cooking method and the desired texture. Someday I will make a post all about cooking seitan, but today we are looking at these skewers with blueberry balsamic relish!
This is a fun and different way to enjoy a summertime treasure, blueberries. I picked up my blueberries from the farmers market. Here in Southern Illinois, fruit is a popular agricultural crop because of the rocky soils. Blueberries need a more acidic soil, and do well in our rocky landscape.
I used basil, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice to make a quick bright marinade for the skewers. I tried both pan frying and broiling the seitan skewers and found that I preferred the pan fry method. Broiling requires you to skewer after you cook, and the outsides got a crispy texture. I preferred the even texture of the pan sear and thought that the seitan stayed more moist. The instructions below are for the pan fry method. Let me know if you try this recipe, Enjoy!
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ cup basil, finely sliced
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 1½ tsp lemon juice
- ½ cup blueberries, divided
- 1 TBS balsamic vinegar
- ¼ tsp sugar
- 1 slice pickled jalapeno, minced
- pinch salt
- 8 oz chunk style seitan
- 3-4 bamboo skewers
- Combine all ingredients for the marinade. Toss with seitan and let sit until while you prepare the relish.
- Place ¼ cup of blueberries into a small skillet with balsamic vinegar and sugar. Cook over low heat stirring frequently until the blueberries are burst, about 5 minutes.
- Cut remaining blueberries into quarters. Mix together burst blueberries in vinegar, chopped blueberries, salt and jalapeno. Set aside.
- Skewer seitan pieces and cook in a grill pan over medium high heat until heated through and browned. Top with relish and serve.
