Vegan Italian Sausage - You won't believe it's not meat!

I recently did a 40 Day Yoga Challenge where I wasn’t eating any meat other than seafood. During that time Evan and I went to a party at our good friends Liz and Kyle’s house for some Paella! She made vegan Spanish chorizo for some of the other non meat eaters and I instead of using real meat (thanks Liz)! It was awesome, texture and all, that’s right… I said it… texture and all- and even better it wasn’t made from tofu! I made her version during my 40 Day Challenge in my own Paella at home with great results. So I decided to make an Italian version for fun a couple of nights ago. It turned out fantastic, even Evan was a big fan!

This Italian sausage goes great in pasta dishes or in a salad like you will see below. I’ll also include the nutrition facts  It contains 16 grams of PROTEIN!, pretty good for a vegan “meat”

I made this simple salad today for lunch: Baby Kale, Spinach, Red Onion, Cucumbers, Grape Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, and of course my Italian Vegan Sausage. With a Greek Yogurt, Lemon, Sage, Sirracha Dressing. It hit the spot!

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 40 min

Serves: Approximately 9 : 2 oz servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C. Pinto beans, rinsed. You can use canned beans- I used canned organic beans…
• 1 C. Organic vegetable broth
• 1 TBS. Olive oil
• 2 TBS. Light soy sauce
• 2 tsp. Lemon zest
• 2 Cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 1/4 C. Vital Wheat Gluten
• 1/4 C. Nutritional yeast
• 1 TBS Basil, chopped very fine
• 1 TBS Oregano
• 1 TBS Marjoram
• 1/2 TBS Onion powder
• 2 tsp. Red pepper flake
• 1/2 TBS Black pepper

Instructions:

1. Set up steaming apparatus. (Large pot, little bit of water, steam tray, and lid.)
2. Lay out 3 sheet of foil to wrap sausage in. A sushi roller will help for this later.
3. Mash beans well in medium bowl.
4. Add all ingredients IN ORDER to bowl.
5. Once all ingredients are added, knead “dough” with hands until all ingredients are incorporated.
6. Divide dough into 3 balls, roll each ball out into a link shape and place each one on a separate sheet of foil. This is where the sushi roller comes in handy… Roll the foil around the link and use the sushi roller to roll and compact your link making it nice and firm. Twist off ends of foil and repeat with the rest.
7. Place sausages in steaming apparatus and steam for 40 min on low/medium.
8. Unroll- careful they will be hot and let cool. Then you can slice and cook up on the stove to get some crispiness if desired. DO NOT USE HIGH HEAT, they will burn.

Serve as you wish! On a salad, pasta, sandwich, wrap, the possibilites are endless.

Paella Made with Vegan Spanish Chorizo!

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