German Inspired Beet and Apple Relish

(pictured: Seitan paillard with beet and apple relish)

My 80-year-old parents like my seitan, which still blows my mind. They seem to prefer it when I make meals with the seitan, as it more closely resembles the meals they are accustomed to. Tonight we had the seitan paillards from yesterday topped with a German inspired relish. This relish has a lot of flavor, which is a nice counterpoint to the subtle flavors of the seitan and creamed cabbage and spinach.

To reheat the seitan paillards, I place them in my cast iron skillet with a couple of tablespoons of water and turn the fire to high. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for a few minutes until the water evaporates (the sound coming from the skillet will change to tell you to uncover the seitan). This will happen in less than 5 minutes. Now cook the cutlets uncovered, on both sides to recrisp them.

The relish is meant to add a pop of flavor and color to the plate. I combined classic German flavors in an unexpected way to make the relish. Here is what I did.

German Inspired Beet and Apple Relish
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 medium beet, finely diced
1 apple, finely diced
¼ red onion finely diced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ tablespoon walnut oil
1 tablespoon apple cider
2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced

Directions:

Place the diced beet in ice water. Allow the beet to sit in the water for 10 minutes to pull the excess color from the beet. This will keep the entire relish from turning fuchsia. Thoroughly drain the beet of water before the next step.

Combine the beet, apple and onion and stir to combine. Whisk together the mustard, walnut oil, and apple cider. Stir the dressing into the relish. Add the fresh dill and refrigerate until needed.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 40.13
Calories From Fat (29%) - 11.74

Total Fat - 1.34g
Saturated Fat - 0.12g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 42.66mg
Potassium - 91.88mg
Total Carbohydrates - 7.31g
Fiber - 1.43g
Sugar - 4.79g
Protein - 0.49g

Comments:

The most dominant flavor in this relish is the raw onion. Make certain you cut it finely and evenly distribute it throughout the relish. If you think your onion is too pungent soak it in water for 10 minutes or so to pull out some of the sulfur. I prefer the acrid punch of flavor from the onion but I am odd like that. The secondary flavor is apple, followed by walnut oil. The beet, dill and mustard flavors are more background notes that are not as easy to identify.

No one could pick up all the specific flavors in this relish tonight. The hubby, not a big onion or mustard fan, liked it and told me he would gladly eat it again.

Now I am off to finalize the Thanksgiving menu and check the pantry to see if I need to run to the grocery store tomorrow. I will post the menu and timeline as soon as it is ready and the individual recipes as I make then. For big meals like Thanksgiving I try to start cooking a few days before the actual meal. By precooking some the dishes I avoid the dreaded "chaotic day of cooking" that happens in many homes.

I hope you all have a great evening!