"steak" sandwiches, with creamy horseradish sauce, shoestring fries and vegan au jus

my partner, colleen, worked at a restaurant years ago and has never been able to forget this one steak sandwich they made. of course, i just had to figure out a great, healthy, vegan alternative to it ( i love a good challenge!). well, much to colleen's delight...i mastered it (she hasn't stopped telling people about it).

here it is folks!

"steak" sandwiches with creamy horseradish sauce, shoestring fries and vegan au jus

'steak' sandwiches

2 packages of seitan - drained, and cut into bite size pieces

1 red bell pepper - sliced

1 yellow bell pepper - sliced

1 yellow onion - sliced

2 cloves garlic - minced

1 small shallot - minced

1/4 cup red wine

3 tbsp tamari

olive oil

1 large baguette

creamy horseradish sauce

1/4 cup veganaise

2 tbsp horseradish

salt and pepper to taste

shoestring fries

4 russet potatoes - sliced thin, into "shoestrings"

4 cups canola oil

1/4 cup fresh parsley - rough chopped

salt and pepper to taste

vegan au jus

1 cup veggie broth - use the "better than bouillon" brand (trust me!)

2 tbsp tamari

1 clove garlic - minced

1 small shallot - minced

first thing you want to do is marinate your seitan. in a large bag or bowl combine your seitan, wine, tamari, garlic and shallot. let sit and marinate for 1/2 hour.

for your au jus, mix together in a small saucepan the broth, tamari, garlic and shallot. heat on medium until a boil, for approximately 5-7 minutes. you can then set to the side to cool for serving. you want to serve your au jus at a medium heat to help soften the baguette when dipping.

in another small bowl, mix the horseradish and veganaise together...salt and pepper to taste, and put into fridge to keep chilled for when the sandwich is ready to be built.

begin to heat your oil in a large pot. you want to get the oil to 375 degrees. once you have hit that temp, throw a small handful of the thinly sliced potatoes in and fry until golden brown. drain on a paper towel and keep in warmed oven until ready to serve. be sure to salt and pepper the fries as soon as they come out of the fryer. when serving, sprinkle the fresh parsley for garnish.

in a skillet, heat the 3 tbsp olive oil. add your marinated seitan and begin to brown. once they have lightly browned on all sides, add the peppers and onions and stir fry them until they are slightly wilted but still a bit crisp to the bite.

slice your baguette in 1/2 and then into 1/4 length portions. smother the creamy horseradish onto each bottom of baguette. pile each with a heaping mound of the "steak" and peppers.

serve with the fries and the warm vegan au jus...oh, and a good pinot noir!

enjoy!