Spicy Seitan Garlic Mustard Sausages
These vegan sausages are spicy and flavorful, and a lot of that flavor comes from an invasive plant- garlic mustard! These garlic mustard sausages are seitan-based, and stay tender on the inside while being crispy on the outside. They work great on the grill or stove-top, and are excellent topped with a slaw or some kraut.
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Foraging for Garlic Mustard
Garlic mustard is one of my favorite things to forage, since it’s plentiful and everywhere, invasive, and very versatile. It shoots up quickly in the spring, and takes as much of the available landscape as it can. It spreads chemicals through it’s roots that impede the growth of other plants. As the season continues, it creates an abundance of seeds to throw into the wind, furthering it’s reach. Garlic mustard, while tasty, is not great for American ecosystems. Where it’s native- throughout most of Europe- it is an important part of the environment, playing host to native caterpillars and butterflies. But here in the Americas, where garlic mustard is present in the majority of states, the persistent growth of garlic mustard competes with native plants, and has been shown to be harmful to some insect species.
Disclaimer- use caution when foraging wild edibles, and always be certain of your identification. While I assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided on this site to the best of my knowledge, I can’t be responsible for the accuracy of your information. Consult multiple websites, books and local experts, and when it doubt, do without.
While garlic mustard is pretty easy to identify, it can be confusing because it is a biennial. That means it takes two years to bloom, and looks very different depending on if it’s in the first or second year of it’s life cycle. The leaves of both years are edible- as are the roots, flowers, and seed pods. The first year plant comes in large rosettes of kidney-shaped leaves, that smell garlicky when you crush the leaves. They pop up very early in the spring, and remain throughout the summer. I usually eat the second year plant, which is a little easier to ID. Unlike the first year plant, where the leaves grow singly or in clusters, the second year plants grow on thin stalks, 2-3 feet tall with leaves growing alternately from the stem. The leaves are sharper, and more pointed than the first year plants. A little later in the year, second year garlic mustard plants bloom with tiny white flowers, each having four petals. They later grow long, spiky green seedpods.
All parts of the garlic mustard plant are edible, and highly nutritious. According to Edible Wild Plants they’re high in fiber, beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, iron, and manganese. And, because they’re invasive (again, in the US), you can’t over-pick. Just try to insure you’re picking from somewhere that doesn’t spray pesticides.
Looking for Garlic Mustard Recipes? Try one of these!
- Garlic Mustard Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Garlic Mustard and Tofu Patties
- Garlic Mustard and Spinach Saag
- Garlic Mustard Recipe: Laminated Wild Ravioli
- Spring Garlic Mustard Ramen Noodles
- Spring Garlic Mustard & Dandelion Green Vegan Frittatas
- Wild Garlic Mustard Tartlets
Want to Make Vegan Sausage? Try one of these recipes!
- The Best Vegan Sausage Recipe: Seitan Sausage
- Pineapple Jalapeño Vegan Sausages
- Vegan Sausage Stuffed Summer Squash
- Lemony Homemade Fish-Free Seadogs
- Vegan Caramelized Onion and Fennel Pizza (Contains no sausage but is sausage reminiscent)
How to Make Garlic Mustard Sausage
Making these garlic mustard sausages starts with foraging and processing the garlic mustard, followed by making the dough in a food processor, next shaping the sausages, and finally steaming them to cook the seitan. Making homemade seitan is a favorite activity of mine, and vegan sausages might be my favorite seitan. To make seitan you’re going to need the key ingredient- vital wheat gluten. If you can’t find it in stores, you can always buy it online.
Processing garlic mustard is mostly picking the leaves from the stalks- I typically just run my fingers down the length of the stem and pull the leaves off as I go. Next I wash the leaves, pick out any stems, seed pods, or grass that might be in the mix, and gently pat dry.
The dough comes together easily in a food processor, and then it’s onto shaping. We also thought it was really important that this recipe made 8 sausages, because when you’re making you’re sausages from scratch capitalism can’t exploit you (in the US our hotdogs are usually sold in a 6 pack, but the buns are sold as 8 so you have to buy multiple packs to get them even). Once formed into sausage-like shapes, they can be wrapped in a layer of parchment paper and a second layer of aluminum foil (alternatively you can use two layers of aluminum foil, or you can try cheese cloth- I’ve never done it myself, but I’ve heard others do).
Once shaped the sausages get steamed- I use my instant pot for this, but any old steamer should work. Just make sure it doesn’t run out of water, since 45 minutes is a pretty long cook time. Once steamed, let the sausages cool down and they’re good to go! You can eat them as is, but I think they’re a lot better if you give them a little pan fry to crisp up the outside.
Spicy Seitan Garlic Mustard Sausages
Ingredients
- 1 packed cup garlic mustard leaves
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 jalapeño pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp. dried sage
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
Instructions
- Clean garlic mustard well, and pat dry. Remove the leaves from the stalks, discarding the stalks, roots, and seed pods, until you have a cup of packed leaves.
- Combine the garlic mustard, nutritional yeast, olive oil, jalapeño, and spices in a food processor along with 1/2 cup of water. Process until everything is minced. Add vital wheat gluten and process until a dough forms. To make the dough easier to work with, allow it to rest for 10 minutes before proceeding.
- Divide your seitan dough into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a sausage-shaped cylinder. Wrap each sausage in a small piece of parchment paper, and wrap each of those firmly in aluminum foil. Place all the sausages into a steamer, and steam for 45 minutes. I use the low pressure steam setting on my instant pot for this. Remove from the steamer, let cool, and unwrap each sausage and store in the fridge before eating.
- To serve, it is highly recommended that you reheat on a grill or in a skillet with a little oil.
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