Rebecca B
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I made this recipe today and then used the bolognese in the Rouxbe risotto recipe. It was great!
However, I had a couple of questions about cooking with the seitan. I purchased an Italian flavored seitan at my local natural foods store. The flavors were not as intense as I am accustomed to in standard Italian sausage. In particular, I thought that the chili level was way too low and that the anise was under spiced. I corrected the chili level in the sauce at the end of cooking by adding about a teaspoon of sambal oeleck. I didn't add any dried fennel at the end of cooking as I was concerned it would taste too unbalanced. Do you have a brand recommendation that is more close in alignment with standard Italian Spicy sausage than the one that I used? If not, I will grind and add some fennel at the beginning of the cooking process so that I can compensate for the mild flavor of the pre-packaged seitan that I purchased.
Also, I was wondering if the seitan absorbs some moisture in the cooking process? I cooked the sauce for 1/2 hour on medium low heat and it was more concentrated than I expected. I actually added back about 1/2 cup of water to soften the sauce.
I really appreciate having access to these plant based recipes, while not a vegetarian or vegan, I enjoy learning how to work with less common ingredients, and also-- as in the case of this sauce -- having a healthier way to lower some of the animal fat from our diet while still maintaining flavor.
