Cajun style sausage (vegan)

When I decided to have some vegan sausage, I was really skeptical. I don’t mind eating a meal without meat or dairy products, but I never cared for imitation meat. I thought to myself that they couldn’t taste like meat; if you’re vegan, what’s the point of trying to get something to taste like animal products when the whole point is to stop eating them.

But I can say that another point of making meat-like food is to have something hearty and high on protein in the plate. A little something different other than vegetables that are high in protein. And if you are wondering where does the protein come from in this recipe, it’s mostly the vital wheat gluten flour, and the beans.

Now that the protein issue has been taking care of, the flavor needs to come in the fore front. And I chose Cajun seasoning because it’s one of my favorite flavor profile. For me it’s always a safe place to go when trying something new.

Here are the ingredients needed:

Ingredients:
1 can (16 oz) of chickpea
1 cup vital wheat gluten flour
1/4 cup of flour
1 tbsp of miso paste
3/4 cup of vegetable broth
1 tbsp of maple syrup

For the Cajun blend:
1 tbsp of salt ( I am using sea salt)
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of onion powder
1 tsp of cayenne pepper
1 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of dried thyme
1 tsp of Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp of chili powder
1/2 tsp of black pepper

For the quick broth:
1 stalk of celery
1 scallion
a few springs of fresh thyme
2-3 bay leaves
For a quick broth, simply use any fresh spices that you have, like garlic, parsley, ect

Let’s start this sausage fest!

Start with the broth. Add the fresh spice to a pot of water, and let it come up to a simmer on a low flame. Remember, broths are always low and slow.

Mix the gluten wheat, flour and spice blend together. Use a whisk or fork to mix them, that way the spices will be distributed throughout all of the flour

Mash the chickpeas with the miso paste and maple syrup. It doesn’t matter which miso paste you’re using or which syrup. What matters is adding flavor to the dough. But keep in mind that honey is not vegan, if you’re interested in keeping this whole thing vegan

Once the chickpeas are done being mashed, add the flour mixture in and mix it in. It will form a though dough. Just knead it a bit until the whole dough comes together; about 1 minute.

After that, cut the dough and start shaping them into logs to get some sausage out of them. I thought this dough would give me 4 sausages, but I was able to get 5 sausages out of them.

Envelop them in foil, twist the ends of the foil and put them in a steamer. I never bothered with a steamer. I simply use my metal strainer for that and a tight cover. One of these days I will have to buy a steamer for a Chinese dish.

Steam them for about 40-45 minutes. When they are done steaming, take them out of the pot and let them cool completely before using them for anything else.
I fried mine to side a cheesy vegan pasta. That recipe is coming in a few days.

Enjoy your food
Thank you for your time.