Pan Seared Seitan with Salsa Verde and a Mesclun Salad

Dinner tonight was a typical Monday night quick and easy affair. I wanted something that I could whip together mostly ahead of time and have ready in well under thirty minutes. So, what was for dinner tonight? Pan Seared Seitan with a Salsa Verde and a Mesclun and Grape Tomato Salad with a Sherry Vinaigrette. If you keep a seitan roast or two in the freezer you can always make a fast dinner. For this one I used a 6 ounce roast that I sliced on the bias into ¼ inch slices. I dredged the seitan slices in whole wheat flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Then I sautéed the seitan in a little extra virgin olive oil and held it in a 200 degree oven until my husband was on his way home from work.

I made a quick salsa verde to top the seitan. This sauce can be held in the refrigerator in a covered dish for a couple of days. The recipe for this sauce is later in the post. The acid in the sauce cuts through the fat in the pan seared seitan and is a nice counterpoint to the protein.

A simple mesclun and grape tomato salad rounded out the meal. I made a very simple vinaigrette of equal parts sherry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil seasoned with salt and pepper. I also made the salad dressing ahead of time and tossed the greens and tomatoes with the dressing a few minutes before dinner.

Salsa Verde

Ingredients:

Zest and juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon of brined capers
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
12 stalks of fresh parsley, finely minced (approximately ½ cup)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine ingredients lemon through parsley. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve:

Use this sauce to top pan fried tofu or seitan. The acid in the sauce is a nice counterpoint to fried food. The sauce is also good stirred into brown rice.