Veganomicon: Chickpea Cutlet, Brussels Sprouts, and Broccoli Polenta

Tonight's dinner was Chickpea Cutlets from the Veganomicon with Miso Gravy from Vegan with a Vengeance, broccoli Polenta from Veganomicon, and Roasted Brussels Sprouts. We love Brussels sprouts, they are a staple of our holiday meal planning. I also love broccoli, and the broccoli polenta is very good, and wicked simple. I have made the broccoli polenta twice so far, and I must say that the first time I made it using baby broccoli and the Imagine No-Chicken broth and I think it came out far superior than this time when I made it with mature broccoli and generic vegetable broth.

Tonight's dinner was also a little experiment. I made all 4 chickpea cutlets according to the recipe, except that I pan-fried 2 in Paul's grandmother's cast iron skillet, and I baked 2 in the oven, both methods are listed in the book and I wanted to see if it made a substantial difference. The pan-fried cutlets came out darker and crispier on the outside, while the inside of the cutlets remained quite moist and squishy. The baked cutlets were more uniformly brown, cooked through evenly though a bit tougher and required an actual knife to be cut rather than cutting easily with the edge of the fork tines. Overall I greatly preferred the oven baked cutlets over the pan-fried. I liked that they were more evenly cooked through, I liked their resistance to being bitten, and I liked that it was much more fool proof to set the oven to specific temperature, set the timer and do something else without having to keep an eye on them, which clearly the pan-fried cutlets required.

The chickpea cutlets themselves are a brilliant combination of chickpeas and wheat gluten, with all the benefits of the latter without the time commitment of making seitan from scratch. Not that making seitan isn't a worthwhile endeavor, but for a weeknight, this meal comes together quickly and easily. I think the one miss here was that the Miso Gravy was just far too overpowering for the chickpea cutlets. I think it was the wine that I used and perhaps a different white wine would make a more subtle gravy, though I haven't had any problems with using this wine in other recipes, so perhaps it isn't the wine but just a poor pairing of sauce and entree. This was a very Meat & Potatoes kind of meal, which I think Paul definitely enjoyed. I am more of a one-pot-wonder type of girl, but variety is the spice of life!