Pretzel crusted vegan apple sausage
Hi!
Here is my special Labor day recipe. It definitely is not typical Labor day cuisine, but my compulsions come at random times and I cannot help but satisfy them. This recipe was inspired by the TV show Chopped. Have you seen it? I may be wrong but I think it is basically four chefs who compete for 10,000 dollars. An appetizer, entree and dessert are created using four ingredients which are a secret until about a minute before they have to start cooking. They are timed and after each course is served one person is eliminated. For the entree on this particular episode they were given pretzels, bratwurst, and rams (there was one more ingredient but now I cannot remember it). In my head I thought of what I would do with these ingredients and actually one chef did something very similar. My version is, of course, vegan and this is what I came up with:
Vegan pretzel crusted apple sausage with homemade pesto, ciabatta bread, and mixed greens.
What you will need for this recipe:
Sausage:
smoked vegan apple sage sausage by Field Roast
pretzels
dijon mustard and water
flour
Pesto:
1/4 cup Green olives with some olive broth
1/8 cup of fresh parsley
1 1/2 cup of fresh basil
1/2 tbsp of lemon juice
1 clove of garlic
1/8 cup of cashews or pine nuts
1/8 tsp of salt
Ciabatta bread (I bought mine at Trader Joes)
Mixed greens (I used a baby lettuce mix) tossed in your favorite dressing.
I started by making the pesto. Basically, toss all of these ingredients into a blender and blend until creamy. Of course pesto is supposed to be somewhat chunky and it will be but be sure there are no thick nut pieces. If you do not have a lot of olive broth or you do not want too strong of an olive taste add a little but of water to the mix before blending. Put the pesto in the fridge until the sausage is finished. This recipe is plenty for two pesto lovers and will still provide you with some leftover. My boyfriend and I spread it all over the bread AND the sausage and we still had extra.
You will need to blend the pretzels in a blender or food processor until they become very small bits. The texture you are aiming for is not quite as fine as bread crumbs, but close. Then prepare three small, shallow bowls, one with a good amount (maybe 3 tablespoons) of flour, one with the mustard mix, and one with the pretzels. The mustard mix is approximately two tablespoons of mustard with two tablespoons of water and then mixed together. After cutting the sausage into whatever style pleases you, dip the pieces into the flour (be sure to roll the entire piece around in it) then coat it with the mustard and finally roll it around in the ground pretzel. Next you will sautee the sausage on a skillet with some oil and on medium heat. Be sure to keep an eye on them as they will cook fast! Keep rotating them so every side gets cooked (8-10 mins for the entire peice).
Toast the ciabatta bread and toss your greens in your preferred vegan dressing and, VOILA, you are now a gourmet vegan cook. The pesto is great on top of the warm bread as well as the sausage so you may want to spread some on the bread as well as serve some on the side for the sausage.
Here is my special Labor day recipe. It definitely is not typical Labor day cuisine, but my compulsions come at random times and I cannot help but satisfy them. This recipe was inspired by the TV show Chopped. Have you seen it? I may be wrong but I think it is basically four chefs who compete for 10,000 dollars. An appetizer, entree and dessert are created using four ingredients which are a secret until about a minute before they have to start cooking. They are timed and after each course is served one person is eliminated. For the entree on this particular episode they were given pretzels, bratwurst, and rams (there was one more ingredient but now I cannot remember it). In my head I thought of what I would do with these ingredients and actually one chef did something very similar. My version is, of course, vegan and this is what I came up with:
Vegan pretzel crusted apple sausage with homemade pesto, ciabatta bread, and mixed greens.
What you will need for this recipe:
Sausage:
smoked vegan apple sage sausage by Field Roast
pretzels
dijon mustard and water
flour
Pesto:
1/4 cup Green olives with some olive broth
1/8 cup of fresh parsley
1 1/2 cup of fresh basil
1/2 tbsp of lemon juice
1 clove of garlic
1/8 cup of cashews or pine nuts
1/8 tsp of salt
Ciabatta bread (I bought mine at Trader Joes)
Mixed greens (I used a baby lettuce mix) tossed in your favorite dressing.
I started by making the pesto. Basically, toss all of these ingredients into a blender and blend until creamy. Of course pesto is supposed to be somewhat chunky and it will be but be sure there are no thick nut pieces. If you do not have a lot of olive broth or you do not want too strong of an olive taste add a little but of water to the mix before blending. Put the pesto in the fridge until the sausage is finished. This recipe is plenty for two pesto lovers and will still provide you with some leftover. My boyfriend and I spread it all over the bread AND the sausage and we still had extra.
You will need to blend the pretzels in a blender or food processor until they become very small bits. The texture you are aiming for is not quite as fine as bread crumbs, but close. Then prepare three small, shallow bowls, one with a good amount (maybe 3 tablespoons) of flour, one with the mustard mix, and one with the pretzels. The mustard mix is approximately two tablespoons of mustard with two tablespoons of water and then mixed together. After cutting the sausage into whatever style pleases you, dip the pieces into the flour (be sure to roll the entire piece around in it) then coat it with the mustard and finally roll it around in the ground pretzel. Next you will sautee the sausage on a skillet with some oil and on medium heat. Be sure to keep an eye on them as they will cook fast! Keep rotating them so every side gets cooked (8-10 mins for the entire peice).
Toast the ciabatta bread and toss your greens in your preferred vegan dressing and, VOILA, you are now a gourmet vegan cook. The pesto is great on top of the warm bread as well as the sausage so you may want to spread some on the bread as well as serve some on the side for the sausage.