RECIPE: Autumn Seitan Salad Sandwich (from I Can Cook Vegan by Isa Chandra Moskowitz)
Thyme, cranberries, and celery work to create a sandwich that tastes a little like a Thanksgiving dinner—and, in fact, this sandwich is inspired by holiday pregaming. It’s my favorite recipe to turn to as soon as the leaves start to change colors. I don’t usually say this, but the fresh thyme is crucial here. Dried just doesn’t have that same woodsy flavor. Vegan pretzel buns are widely available these days, and that’s my absolute fave to use for these, but honestly any old bun will do. Or just enjoy the seitan salad on top of a pile of arugula if you need more greens.
Makes 4 sandwiches
1 small yellow onion, chopped into medium dice
½ cup (50 g) thinly sliced celery
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt, plus more for sautéing
1 (8-ounce/225 g) package seitan, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons vegan mayo, store-bought or homemade
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¼ cup (35 g) fruit-sweetened dried cranberries
4 pretzel buns
Big handful baby arugula
Preheat a large cast-iron pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion and celery in the oil with a pinch of salt for about 3 minutes, just until slightly softened. Add the seitan, thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Cook for about 10 minutes, flipping the seitan occasionally, until it is browned.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the mayo and mustard. Transfer the cooked seitan mixture to the bowl and toss to coat. Fold in the cranberries. Let cool a bit.
Split the pretzel buns in half and fill the sandwiches with the seitan salad and a little arugula.
From Isa Chandra Moskowitz—the bestselling author of Veganomicon—comes a book dedicated to her true love: the home cook.
Isa Moskowitz learned to cook from cookbooks, recipe by recipe. And after a few decades of writing her own cookbooks, she knows what the people want: easy-to-follow instructions and accessible ingredients.
I Can Cook Vegan is for cooks of all stripes:
The Just-Born, Brand New Cook
The Tried-and-True Seasoned Cook Who Is Tofu-Curious
The Busy Weeknight Pantry Cook (this is everyone)
The Farmers’ Market Junkie Who Looks at All the Pretty Colors
The Reluctant Parent to the Vegan Child
For Anyone Doing Vegan for the Animals
For Anyone Doing Vegan for the Health
Each chapter is a building block to becoming a better, more competent cook. The book teaches readers to cook the way someone might learn a new instrument: master a couple of chords, and then start to put them together to form songs.
Each chapter starts with a fresh mission, and readers will cook their way through pastas, salads, sandwiches, bowls, sautés, sheet-pan suppers, and sweets—more than 125 recipes!—until they are ultimately the Best Cook Imaginable.
For more information, click here.














