Balsamic-Maple Glazed Vegan Sausage w/ Figs and Red Onion

At the risk of posting a dish that has the gnarly aspect of meat, I had to post about these seitan skewers we had over the weekend. They made a wonderul fall meal along with some braised fennel, fresh kale salad, and crusty bread.

I used Field Roast Italian Style sausages, which are my favorite store-bought sausages, and come in handy for quick fix meals. Any Italian-style vegan sausage that you prefer, homemade or otherwise, would be good this way, I think.

Just in case anyone is interested:

In general, I recommend browning these sausages off before you use them in whatever recipe. I definitely did that in this case, because I knew they wouldn't have enough time to get brown and nicely cooked before the onions and figs were done.

Maple/Balsamic Glazed Seitan Skewers:

(Makes 8, so serves two to four people depending on how many skewers each)

1 punnet fresh figs ( ~ 8 figs) I used  fresh Turkish figs, cut in half lengthwise

1 large red onion, cut into 1/2 inch wedges

4 Italian-style vegan saugages, cut into 2-inch peices

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Black pepper to taste

Fresh rosemary for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 F (~ 200 C). Brown off the sausage peices in the oven or a fry pan...not too dark, because they will cook a little more on the skewers. Slide the figs, onions, and sausages onto the skewers and brush with the glaze on all sides. Let the skewers cook in the oven for ~ 10-12 minutes, turning halfway though. Serve sprinkled with fresh rosemary and black pepper to taste.

Note: if you use wooden skewers, it's probably a good idea to soak them in a little water for about an hour or so before going into the oven. (To speed up the process, soak them in hot water.)  I usually do this if I'm going to use them on the BBQ, but not sure that it's strictly necessary here, as they are in the oven for a relatively short period of time...I soaked them anyway to be on the safe side.

The kale salad was fantastic...so much flavor out of a few simple ingredients. I highly recommend it. I followed this recipe from 101 Cookbooks. Of course, I omitted the pecorino cheese, and replaced it with some raddichio and sliced almonds.

Also wanted to thank Jessica, for the info on making photo collages in Picasa. I haven't entirely got the hang of it yet, but it is fun.

Roseann LaPonte

Rosanne Tobin