Tuesday, November 25, 2008

seitan and polenta skillet with fresh greens



I can't believe I made this and forgot to take a picture of it. Above is a picture that I stole from another blog, and since the recipe is posted there I figure it's safe to post here as well. I'm still not sure about the blog-etiquette of posting recipes from cookbooks! Is there anyone more knowledgeable who can fill me in on that? But anyhow, the reason that I forgot to take a picture is because this looked and smelled so delicious that I just DEVOURED IT. My husband was actually looking at me strangely because I was eating so fast. And I ate so fast that I was a bit woozy afterwards from it, ha. I guess I should make food that looks less appetizing when I feel starved!

Ingredients:

One 18-ounce tube polenta
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Cooking oil spray, optional
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 pound seitan, cut into bite-sized pieces or strips
4 large or 6 medium stalks bok choy, with leaves, sliced crosswise*
5 to 6 ounces baby spinach**
4 scallions, sliced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, or more to taste
1/4 cup oil-packed sliced sun-dried tomatoes, optional
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cut the puckered ends off the polenta, then slice 1/2-inch thick. Cut each slice into 4 little wedges.
2. Heat a wide nonstick skillet. Add a drop of the oil and spread it around with a paper towel to create a very light coat, or use cooking oil spray. Add the polenta wedges; cook in a single layer over medium heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes on each side.
3. Transfer the polenta to a plate. Heat the oil and soy sauce slowly in the same skillet. Before they get too hot, add the seitan and stir well. Raise the heat to medium-high and saute, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Stir in the bok choy, spinach and scallions, then cover and cook until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Sprinkle in vinegar to taste. Gently fold in the polenta wedges and sun-dried tomatoes, if using. Season with salt and pepper, and serve at once.

* I had no bok choy when making this, but it was still really good.
** When I saw this number I was like "Holy crap, that's a whole package of spinach!" But I learned something new about cooking -- spinach shrinks down a lot when it wilts, so even though I felt like I was putting in a ton of spinach I probably could've thrown in more (I put in about half a package, ~3 oz)

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