As long time readers of the blog will know, I live in Montréal, Québec. Montréal is a city known for its fantastic food scene with a broad variety of cultures contributing to make this a  wonderful food town. The restaurants are mostly reasonably priced and can be enjoyed by all. However, one thing that can sometimes get overlooked is Québecois food in itself. Of course, there is the obvious dish which gets the recognition it rightfully deserves, la poutine. But another, lesser known classic is the hot chicken sandwich. Typically it is a sandwich made with buttered white bread, chicken, hot gravy and peas and then eaten with a fork and a knife. 

I have fond memories of this sandwich as a kid and decided it was time to recreate it. I love taking the time to recreate a meat-centric, classic comfort food in a way which is vegetable forward and still as delicious. Yes, it can make the recipe take substantially longer, but to me, the journey is as important as the end goal. The labor of love makes the end product that much more delicious. 

The main elements to this dish which make it shine are twofold, first off is the seitan base replacing the chicken. It is full of protein, has fantastic texture and a delicious taste. However, what brings this recipe over the top, is what is served over the top –  a delicious vegetarian gravy. I believe that as part of this recipe, I have nearly perfected vegetarian gravy. This gravy recipe will be a staple of many thanksgivings to come in our household. I hope you take the time to recreate this Québec classic in your home soon!

Active time: 60 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Seitan

• 260g vegetable broth
• 70g neutral oil
• 30g sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp MSG
• 270g vital wheat gluten, divided

The rest

• 1 large head cauliflower, broken into small florets
• 2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 medium carrots, finely diced
• 2 medium stalks celery, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlics, pressed
• Few sprigs thyme, leaves removed
• ½ cup flour
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• ½ tsp dried sage
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 ½  cups vegetable broth, divided
• Neutral oil, for cooking, roughly ½ cup
• Frozen peas, thawed
• Loaf of favorite sandwich bread
• Salt & freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Begin by making the dough for the seitan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the broth, oil, sugar, soy sauce, liquid smoke, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and MSG. Then incorporate in 200g of the vital wheat gluten with a fork. Once complete add in the extra 70g. The dough should be stringy and moist. 
2. Heat an oven-safe skillet on medium heat. Add in a dash of neutral oil and add in the seitan. Sauté until nicely browned on all sides then add in water with a tsp of salt until seitan is fully submerged. Bring to a simmer and simmer with a lid on for 20 minutes. 
3. While the seitan simmers, prepare the vegetables for the rest of the recipe. Toss the cauliflower with a dash of neutral oil, a ½ tsp of salt and lots of freshly cracked black pepper and place on a lined baking sheet. Add to the oven and bake for 22-24 minutes until well roasted. Set aside when done. 
4. Once the seitan has simmered for 20 minutes, we will need to pour off the liquid. There are multiple options for this either pouring it off into a strainer, or removing it with a slotted spoon and then dumping off the liquid – do what is most convenient for you. Return the seitan to the pan and place in the oven to cook for an additional 15 minutes. When complete, combine with the cauliflower to form the protein element of the sandwich. 
5. Now it is time to make the gravy, add ⅓ a cup of neutral oil to a medium saucepan on medium-low heat and sauté the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and thyme with a generous pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper. 
6. Once the onions are beginning to translucent and the other vegetables are softening, add in the flour, nutritional yeast, dried sage and ½ tsp salt. Stir in and let cook for a minute while stirring constantly. Pour in 2 cups of vegetable broth and begin to whisk. Cook on medium low heat whisking constantly for 5-7 minutes. Add more vegetable broth if the gravy begins to be too thick. 
7. Assemble the sandwiches. Begin with a slice of bread in the middle of a large plate. Add a thin layer of gravy to the bottom slide. Then add a heaping scoop of the seitan & cauliflower mix. Complete the sandwich with the top slice of bread and finish it off with a large helping of gravy and about a ¼ cup of green peas. Enjoy!