I enjoy cooking with Seitan. It's a great meat substitute and just about every recipe I've used it in has been a success. So, call me a sinner but Seitan is my friend. I buy pre-made Seitan (wheat gluten, wheat meat, mock duck) from Whole Foods or Ada's which is my local health foodie market. I have yet to make my own but I've read that people have great success making it from scratch. I'm just not that adventurous yet and the pre-made Seitan works great for everything I've used it for. So, if you have plenty of time and want to try to make your own that's awesome but if you are a bit lazy or too tired after working all day like me just buy the pre-made stuff!

I came up with this recipe because I love the flavor of Marsala wine and mushrooms. My husband and daughter both love this recipe. Me, I love just about anything served with mashed potatoes!

 I hope you enjoy it!

Marsala Seitan with Mashed potatoes

2 cloves garlic

2 shallots (chopped)

2 T. olive oil (approx)

1 cup (or more because I love mushrooms) Baby Bella mushrooms (sliced or whole, your choice)

1 cup Marsala wine

1 T. flour

1 T. margerine or butter

1 cup Vegetable broth

salt/pepper seasoning to taste

parsley for garnish

Get cookin'

Saute shallots and garlic in olive oil, add mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes and then add Marsala wine. Continue to simmer over low heat for a few minutes. Pour mushroom mixture into a bowl and set aside. place pan back on stove and add 1 T butter/margerine. Melt butter and add 1 T. flour to make a roux. Whisk and cook until light brown and smooth. Add vegetable stock and whisk to make a gravy. Slowly add mushroom mixture and return to simmer. Stirring occasionally. Remove seitan from box, drain and discard liquid, separate and add to Marsala mushroom mixture and continue to simmer until heated through. Add more vegetable stock if you want a thinner gravy.

To plate...mound mashed potatoes on plate and spoon Marsala Seitan with gravy over mashed potatoes and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve with a nice bread of your choice for sopping up that yummy Marsala gravy.

Yum....Focaccia bread! It's simple to make and oh so versatile. You can eat it "as is" warm from the oven with olive oil for dipping, you can top it with your favorite pizza toppings or you can melt cheese on top. Whatever your little heart desires! I found this basic recipe on the Fleischman's website and have had great success with it. I truly, truly love mushrooms sauted in olive oil and Marsala wine so I topped my focaccia bread with olive oil, Italian herbs, Parmesan cheese and Marsala mushrooms and it was deeeeeelicious! I do enjoy baking bread and although I'm fairly new to the bread baking world I've had pretty good success except for an unfortunate incident with some white bread that smelled fabulous baking but came out of the oven flat and solid as a brick! LOL Oh well, it was a learning experience! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this recipe and have fun topping it your way!

Italian Herb Focaccia with Marsala Mushrooms


3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 envelope Fleischmann's Rapidrise Yeast
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 T. olive oil
1 2/3 cups water (120 degrees to 130 degrees)
2 T. Olive oil
2 T. Parmesan cheese or cheese substitute or veggies of your choice
1 cup baby bella mushrooms
1/2 c Marsala wine
1 T. Italian herb seasoning mix of your choice


Mix flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add olive oil and water, stirring until well mixed. Pour into greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Cover and let rise until doubled approximately 30 minutes.

Using the handle of a wooden spoon or your fingers, push multiple holes into the dough. Drizzle 2 T. of olive oil over dough, Parmesan cheese (you can omit this if you like) and Italian herb seasoning. Cover and let rise additional 15 minutes while oven preheats to 375 degrees and you saute mushrooms.

I used sliced baby bella mushrooms but you can use any mushrooms you like or any other veggies you like. Wash mushrooms and set aside. Heat approximately 2 T. of olive oil in fry pan; add mushrooms and saute for a couple of minutes then add Marsala wine and continue to saute until mushrooms are desired consistency. Drain mushrooms and allow to cool until bread has finished its final rise. Top focaccia with mushrooms. Bake 30-35 minutes or until browned. Enjoy!