Seitan Mole & Polenta with Grilled Zucchini & Carrots

Mole sauce is complex and rarely is one recipe the same as another. Everyone has their own combination of spices and chilies that they like best. Not all moles have chocolate in them, but I never turn down a chance to add more cocoa into my diet. This sauce is rich and thick and tastes great smothered over seitan and grilled vegetables.

Thick and creamy polenta underneath grilled zucchini, carrots and seitan covered in spicy mole sauce.

Seitan Mole
mole:
4 dried ancho chilies
1/4 cup golden raisins
1-15 oz can diced tomatoes
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 tbl toasted sesame seeds
1 tbl cocoa powder
1 small white onion, small dice
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cloves

3 tbl extra virgin olive oil
8 oz seitan, medium sized chunks
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
salt and pepper

Bring two cups of water to a boil and pour over the dried chilies and raisins. Let sit for 30 minutes until soft. Remove the chilies and scrape out the seeds and stem. Place the chilies in a blender, along with the raisins. Keep the soaking liquid to the side. Add the remaining mole ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add 1 cup of the soaking liquid to thin out the sauce. Add more if necessary. Strain through a colander into a small pot. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
Preheat a grill top to medium-high heat. Brush with olive oil. Toss the seitan, zucchini and carrots with salt and pepper and grill for 10-12 minutes until the carrots are tender and the seitan has good char marks.

Polenta
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup coarse ground yellow cornmeal
salt and pepper

Bring the broth to a boil in a small pot. Slowly stream in the cornmeal and whisk so it doesn't clump. Cook over medium heat, whisking every couple minutes. If the polenta gets too thick and dry, add some more broth or water. Cook for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Chimi Seitan Salad with Grilled Vegetables

Welp, this is officially my favorite salad to date. Enough reading, more eating.

Peppered seitan tossed in chimichurri sauce with grilled corn, sweet potato, broccoli and red pepper, garlic croutons and ranch dressing. What's not to love?

Chimichurri Sauce
1 cup packed parsley leaves
1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tbl balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth, brushing down the sides to make sure everything is combined. Taste and season with more salt if necessary.

Ranch Dressing
1 cup vegan mayonnaise
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp pepper

Combine and taste to season if necessary.

Chimi Seitan Salad
8 oz seitan, small dice
1 tbl black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1 cup small diced, peeled sweet potato
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozan
1 small head of broccoli, cut in florets
1 red bell pepper, medium strips
1 head romaine, dark green parts, roughly chopped
2 slices seed bread, crusts removed, medium dice
1 tsp garlic powder

Prepare a grill to medium-high heat. Place a large piece of foil over the hottest part of the grill.
Toss the seitan chunks with black pepper and 1 tbl of olive oil. Spread evenly over the foil and grill for 7-10 minutes until lightly charred. Set aside.
Boil the sweet potato in salted water for 5 minutes then drain.
Toss the sweet potato and corn together in 1 tbl of oil and a pinch of salt. Spread evenly over the foil piece and grill for 5-7 minutes until the sweet potato is fully cooked and the corn has some char on it.
Toss together the broccoli and red bell pepper with 1 tbl of oil, salt and pepper. Grill on the remaining part of the grill for 7-10 minutes until charred and the vegetables are tender. Remove from the grill and roughly chop.
Combine the lettuce with the seitan and all of the grilled vegetables.
Toss the bread chunks with a drizzle of olive oil, garlic powder and a pinch of salt. Grill for 4-5 minutes, tossing occasionally so the croutons don't burn. Add the croutons to the salad mix.
Toss the salad with 3-4 spoonfuls of chimichurri sauce and some ranch dressing to taste.

Grilled Taco Salad

It's days like these and meals like this that really make me jealous I don't have a backyard or an outdoor grill. Until then, I can open up all the windows and use my trusty grill pan to get the job done.
I ate this just as is but it would also do well rolled up in some soft corn tortillas, in a tostada bowl or with some blue corn chips.

Grilled radicchio, bell peppers, onions and squash, creamy avocado, spiced pinto beans and chickpeas scented with lime and cilantro.


Grilled Taco Salad
1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 yellow squash, thin wide strips
1 head radicchio,core removed, thinly sliced
1-15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 jalapeno, seeded, thinly sliced
1/4 cup vegetable broth
juice and zest from 1 lime
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
salt and pepper
1-15oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbl cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 avocado, sliced into wedges

Preheat a grill and brush with oil. Grill the bell peppers, onion, squash and radicchio until slightly tender with grill marks. Season with salt.
While the vegetables are grilling, prepare both bean dishes.
In a small pot, combine the chickpeas, jalapeno, vegetable broth, lime juice and zest, turmeric, salt and pepper. Simmer until all of the liquid has evaporated and the jalapeno has softened, 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 2 tbl cilantro.
In another small pot, combine the pinto beans with cumin, garlic powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Mash to desired consistency and cook until warmed through, 5 minutes.
Serve both bean dishes with grilled vegetables, avocado and remaining cilantro to garnish.

Antipasto: Grilled Vegetables, Artichoke & Gigante Bean Stew, Meyer Soaked Yukons

This antipasto is great to take to an event or a picnic and tastes just as good at room temperature.


Crisp red bell peppers, zucchini and eggplant tossed in rich olive oil and grilled. Yukon gold potatoes drenched in Meyer lemon juice and a rich artichoke stew brimming with Gigante beans and herbed tomato sauce.

Grilled Vegetables
1/4c extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 red pepper, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 zucchini, cut on a bias
1 eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
1 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 tbl dried basil
1/2 tsp dried sage
1 walla walla onion, sliced into 1/4 inch strips
2 tbl meyer lemon juice
1 tsp meyer lemon zest
1 garlic clove, grated
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 large yukon gold potato, whole
1 package vegan meatballs

Artichoke and Gigante Bean Stew
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1/2 white onion, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large sprig of rosemary
2 tsp fresh thyme
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1c artichoke hearts
1c gigante beans in oil, drained but not rinsed
1-15oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes

Preheat a grill on medium high heat.
In a large bowl combine 1/4c oil, salt and pepper. Add the red pepper, zucchini and eggplant. Toss all the vegetables together. Grill them off, 4-5 minutes on each side until tender with nice dark grill marks.
In a small bowl combine 1 tbl oil, dried basil and sage and toss the onion slices in it. Grill off the onions.
Pierce the potato a couple times all over and pop in the microwave for 3 minutes. You only want to cook it 3/4 of the way. While hot slice into 1/4 inch rounds and toss with the meyer lemon juice, zest, pepper and minced garlic. Grill off the potatoes until fully cooked through.

Artichoke Stew
In a medium sauce pot heat the oil and brown the meatballs until fully cooked. Remove meatballs from the pot and set aside. Add the onions and saute until soft and translucent, 5 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir until garlic is browned. Add the artichoke hearts and beans, saute for 4 more minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes and season more to taste.