Recently I discovered a new dish – Cuban Fricase de Pollo. It is an ideal Sunday dinner dish because it takes a bit more time and effort to make than you might want to spend on a weeknight and it also provides great leftovers for a lunch or two during the week. And it is absolutely delicious and 100% worth the effort. The mixture of sweet and savory in this dish make every forkful a treat. Nutritious too. I substitute seitan for the chicken, and it works superb. Here is my vegan version of this oh so tasty Cuban dish:
Cuban Fricase de Seitan (Cuban-style stew)
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup orange juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 8 oz. package of seitan strips
1 green pepper, thinly sliced (stem and seeds removed)
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
2 yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1” pieces (peel optional)
1/3 cup pimento-stuffed green olives
2 tbsp. capers plus 1 tsp. caper juice from jar
¼ cup raisins
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 tsp. Hungarian paprika
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. cilantro
Salt & pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
1) Mix together the lime juice, orange juice, garlic and ground black pepper. Add the seitan strips. Let sit in marinade for about 30 minutes.
2) Meanwhile, sauté the onion in olive oil in a deep skillet on medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the green pepper and sauté another 5-10 minutes.
3) Remove pepper and onion from skillet. Add diced potatoes and more olive oil. Stir fry about 10 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Add the seitan and stir fry with the potatoes a few minutes. Add more oil if, needed. Add in all of the remaining marinade.
4) Then add all of the remaining ingredients and stir together, including the pepper and onion and all spices. Add a little water if needed. Bring to a quick boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer about 10 minutes so flavors can meld together.
5) Traditionally served with white rice.
Makes four main-dish servings.