Recipe - Deep December Ragout Of Seitan Shiitakes And Winter Vegeta

Oil spray
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 lg Onion, cut vertically into
crescentshaped slivers
One fourth cup Unbleached white flour
3 One half cup Vegetable stock
One fourth cup Nutritional yeast
One fourth cup Tamari/Shoyu soy sauce
1 cup Hearty, fullbodied, tannic
red wine, such as a
Cabernet, Barolo, or
Barbaresco
1 tablespoon Umeboshi vinegar
1 tablespoon Honey
A major grinding of fresh
black pepper, One half to 1
teaspoon or so
1 cup Canned minced tomato in
tomato puree
8 Cloves garlic, peeled,
quartered or thickly cut or sliced up
(8 to 10)
One fourth teaspoon Salt
6 Dried Shiitake mushrooms,
broken roughly into
quarters (6 to 8)
1 pack Seitan, (8 ounce) well
drained, minced into
stewbeef size squares, 1 to
1 1/2inch or so
4 small Potatoes, scrubbed, peel on,
cut in large pieces
2 Carrots, scrubbed, peel on,
cut or sliced up in 1/2inch rounds
1 Parsnip, halved lengthwise,
cut or sliced up in 1/2inch
halfrounds
2 cup Green beans, stemmed and
cut or sliced up into 2 to 3 inch
long pieces
1 Zucchini, halved lengthwise,
and cut or sliced up into 1/2inch
halfrounds
Minced Italian parsley,
optional, for garnish

If using a conventional Dutch oven, spray it with oil and be prepared to
stir often; it's better to use a nonstick one. Heat with the oil over
medium high heat. Add onions, stirring to saute for about 6 minutes, or
until they start to brown but are still a little crisp. Sprinkle the onions
with flour, and, lowering heat to medium, continue to cook for about 4
minutes. Add about One half cup vegetable stock, stirring it in to smooth it
into the flour. When the flour is incorporated and the liquid is free of
any flour lumps or clumps, add a little more stock, then, finally, the
entire remaining amount, stirring often. Add nutritional yeast (you will
think it's going to lump, but the flakes will dissolve), soy sauce, red
wine, Umeboshi vinegar, honey, black pepper, tomato, garlic, and salt.
Bring mixture to a boil, then turn down to simmer. Drop in the dried
Shiitake mushrooms (they will hydrate as the stew cooks), with the seitan,
potatoes, carrots, parsnip, and green beans. Lower heat slightly, cover,
and let ragout barely simmer, stirring every so often, for 35 minutes, or
until potatoes are nearly done. Lift lid, drop in zucchini, recover, and
let cook another 10 to 15 minutes more, or until vegetables are tender but
still distinct. Serve, hot, if desired with a sprinkle of parsley. Yield: 4
to 6 servings

Recipe by: CHEF DU JOUR CRESCENT DRAGONWAGON SHOW #DJ9339 Posted to
MCRecipe Digest V1 #632 by "Ed Bauman" BIRCHCREEK@msn.com on May 31, 97