Ingredients
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1 cup (120 g) plant protein mix
Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup water (or vegetable broth)
1 Tbsp soy sauce, tamari or liquid aminos (optional)
1 Tbsp maple syrup (optional)
1 Tbsp oil (optional)
Mix-ins (optional):
1/2 each onion and/or pepper
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
Spices (vary spices, as desired):
1 tsp each fennel seed and smoked paprika
1/2 tsp each sage, salt, black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Directions
Dice onion (and/or pepper) and sautee in oil. Add fennel seed, salt and pepper. Continue cooking until onions are soft and spices are aromatic.
To prepare dry ingredients: In a mixing bowl, combine the plant protein mix with the sautéed onions (and/or pepper) and cooked quinoa (not pictured). Stir until the mix-ins are evenly distributed with the plant protein mix.
To prepare wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients - water (or vegetable stock) and soy sauce, maple syrup and oil, if using. Mix well until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stopping frequently to stir. Once the dry ingredients are wet, do not add any more liquid. You should have more liquid than needed. Save the remaining liquid for the next batch, but don’t be tempted to use it all.. The dough should be crumbly. Continue to stir or knead until a dough forms.
The dough should have a sturdy consistency. The texture if correct if you can break off a piece with a little bit of give (a little stretch). If the dough breaks apart really easily, sprinkle a little more mix, stir and rest the dough for a few minutes, until you get the right consistency.
Cut the dough in half and roll into sausage shape. Lightly spray aluminum foil with cooking spray and tightly wrap the sausage in the foil. Twist ends of aluminum foil to seal the ends.
Cut the dough in half and roll into sausage shape (about 1 to 1-1/2 inch diameter). Lightly spray aluminum foil with cooking spray and tightly wrap the sausage in the foil. Twist ends of aluminum foil to seal the ends. You can also use parchment paper instead of foil.
In a steamer, steam sausage for 45 minutes. Remove from the steamer and allow to cool before removing wrapper.
Once cooled, the sausage can be used whole, sliced or broken up into crumbles. Sear in a pan with a little oil to serve..
Recipe Note
The berbere meatless sausage can be used right away, but it may be even better the next day. After a night in the refrigerator, the sausage becomes firmer and the flavors will develop more.
During demos, we often serve this sausage with a red pepper and walnut spread called Muhammara. The recipe we used was adapted from The New York Times.
The recipe can be scaled up to make a larger batch.
