Panados

What can I say about ‘panados’? The traditional are some kind of breaded ‘bifana’, fried and eaten with rice and chips (usually) or in bread, as a sandwich. It really reminds me of Saturday mornings working at my mum’s restaurant, back in the day. We had a couple of clients that would eat this every Saturday morning, for breakfast, with a couple of beers- lush! (or maybe not). My vegan version is made with seitan. If the seitan is well marinated, is of good quality and the batter sits well, you’re in for a treat! I can’t wait to make this for my family and see their faces drop on how much it tastes like the OG. Give it a try and let me know your thoughts!

time: 20 minutes (plus a few hours marinating)

Difficulty: 2 pans

Serves: about 15 to 20 little ‘panados’

What you need:

350g seitan (please see my recipe or shop bought), sliced

2 bay leaves shredded

white wine (enough to cover all the slices)

2 tsp garlic granules

2 tsp paprika

salt to taste

For the batter:

1 tbsp chickpea flour

2 tbsp flour (all purpose, rye or wholewheat)

1 tbsp ground flax seeds

5 to 6 tbsp water

a sprinkle of salt and pepper

100g bread crumbs

1 lemon juiced

oil/olive oil to fry

Utensils:

knife and chopping board

food container

2 bowls

spoons

frying pan

kitchen paper towels to drain excess oil

Directions:

Start by marinating the sliced seitan in a food container, in enough white wine, shredded bay leaves and a good sprinkle of garlic granules (1-2 tsp) and paprika (1-2 tsp); Add a little salt; Mix well (ideally you can put a lid on and shake it) and let it marinate for at least 2h;

Prepare batter by adding the chickpea flour, all-purpose flour, flaxseeds, salt, pepper and water in a bowl- mix well; pour bread crumbs in a second bowl;

Heat oil in a frying pan (enough to cover the bottom);

Dip each slice of seitan in the batter covering all sides, and then dip in the bread crumbs (I find it easy to just use my hands for this);

Fry battered seitan for a few minutes, turning both sides (you might need to do this in 2 batches, depending how large is your pan- add a bit more oil for second batch if needed);

Once fried, place slices in kitchen paper towels to absorb the excess oil;

To serve, squeeze a lemon over, it’ll add to the flavours; can be served hot or cold, with other side dishes, in bread or on its own.