Hear ye! Hear ye! These sausages are pig-free and gluten-full. I have neither a pig-full nor a gluten-free version, so enjoy this one that will blow your mind. You can also watch a video demonstration I did on a Live Facebook Broadcast. See below.
ADVANCE PREPARATION REQUIRED to make the lentils. Brown lentils take less than 30 minutes to make from scratch, but you can use canned, if you wish. Drain first, and you’ll still want to puree them. Makes 6 sausages
Corn not included.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup cooked brown lentils, mashed or pureed
1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten (I always buy a box of 4 packages to keep them on hand.)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon anise seeds (you can also use 1 tablespoon crushed fennel seeds)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (my favorite is chipotle)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (regular paprika will do)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
DIRECTIONS
Cook your lentils so you have 1 cup cooked. I always make a little more than I need for this recipe so I have another batch on hand for another. When they are cooked, puree them in a food processor or mash them by hand.
Have at the ready 6 square sheets of aluminum foil. Set aside.
Combine all the dry ingredients, then add the pureed brown lentils, the vegetable broth, and the tamari. Combine thoroughly. It will come together pretty quickly. The more you mix once it’s combined, the more you’re working the gluten, which will result in chewier sausages. You’ll get a feel for how much you want to mix the more you make these.
Divide the mixture into 6 equal parts. I usually just eyeball this, but don’t worry about being perfect; you can always break up or add to a sausage once you make one, so just do your best. (See the video for how I do it.)
Place one part of the mix onto a sheet of foil, and mold into a 6-inch log. Roll it up in the foil. Place each of the 6 sausages in a steamer, and steam for 30 minutes.
Once they’re steamed, you can store them in the refrigerator for future eating, but why would you do that? Eat now. Unwrap them, grill them up or pan-fry with a little oil. Then, stick them in a bun with all the fixings, chop them up to make sausage biscuits and gravy, or cut them up and add them to a stew. They’re absolutely delicious, and yes, your Uncle Harry will think you just fed him a sausage from a cut-up pig, so even he’ll be happy. They’re that good.
VARIATIONS
Consider this a base and vary your herbs and spices to your liking. It’s a flexible recipe waiting for your special touch. Just don’t add pigs. Thank you.
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