Chef Linda
Linda Soper-Kolton, Chef, came to the Sanctuary as a guest chef to share her love of compassionate cooking in our then-fledgling culinary program. Lured by the magic of the Sanctuary, her love of animals and the urgency of our mission, Linda stayed on to lead and grow the culinary program, inspiring and educating with love, patience, and delicious food.
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Wheatball Subs (Seitan Meatballs)
By Chef Linda
Families are a mix of different personalities, backgrounds, experiences, and preferences…especially when it comes to food. Food can unite us or create walls that separate us. Luckily, there are some dishes that get us all on the same team; meatballs are one of those dishes. We crave the shape, the size, the texture…and when they are served with a hearty tomato sauce, it’s like our eyes and tummies share an unspoken language that says, “We are one!”. When we can all joyously devour delicious vegan meatballs, we are united in a mission that means more than just our appetites. These wheatballs are hearty, flavorful and feel right at home with tomato sauce or with gravy. This recipe for Wheatball Subs uses seitan (wheat gluten) as the main ingredient, which is why they’re called “wheatballs”. Make a big batch because everyone will come back for seconds - and wheatballs freeze so save some for a quick weeknight dinner.Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) container of seitan
½ cup walnuts (or sunflower seeds for nut-free)
5 ounces of white mushrooms
½ medium onion, cut into large chunks
2 garlic cloves, peeled
½ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce)
1 package vegan mozzarella cheese (Daiya brand shredded cheese)
2 cups prepared tomato sauce
Loaf of Italian bread or individual rolls
Directions
1
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush lightly with about a tablespoon of olive oil. In a food processor, lightly pulse seitan, nuts, mushrooms, onion and garlic together until crumbly. Do not over process! Add breadcrumbs, herbs, remaining olive oil, nutritional yeast, tamari and salt and pulse again until combined. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.
Using your hands or a portion/ice cream scoop, shape mixture into balls of desired size, a good size is about 2 to 3 inches in diameter, unless you want to make Wheatball Sliders using small rolls, then make smaller wheatballs. Place on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Alternatively, you can fry these in a little oil, but be gentle, wheatballs are a little delicate. If frying, let the oil warm up in the pan first before gently placing about 4 wheatballs in the pan. Let them brown on one side before gently sliding the spatula underneath and rolling over. Repeat until all sides are brown then remove from pan then repeat with remaining wheatballs.
Cut the bread into desired portions and split down the middle. With the bread opened on a baking sheet, spread a couple of tablespoons of sauce on one side then place wheatballs on top. Spoon more tomato sauce on top, then sprinkle vegan mozzarella cheese on top. Repeat till all the wheatballs are used. Place baking sheet in the oven on the top rack for 5 to 10 minutes, or until vegan cheese is lightly browned. Alternatively, serve with pasta instead or bread, or use spaghetti squash for an even healthier meal.
Notes
Wheatball Subs (Seitan Meatballs)
8 to10 large, 16 to 20 small
INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) container of seitan
½ cup walnuts (or sunflower seeds for nut-free)
5 ounces of white mushrooms
½ medium onion, cut into large chunks
2 garlic cloves, peeled
½ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce)
1 package vegan mozzarella cheese (Daiya brand shredded cheese)
2 cups prepared tomato sauce
Loaf of Italian bread or individual rolls
DIRECTIONS
1
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush lightly with about a tablespoon of olive oil. In a food processor, lightly pulse seitan, nuts, mushrooms, onion and garlic together until crumbly. Do not over process! Add breadcrumbs, herbs, remaining olive oil, nutritional yeast, tamari and salt and pulse again until combined. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.
Using your hands or a portion/ice cream scoop, shape mixture into balls of desired size, a good size is about 2 to 3 inches in diameter, unless you want to make Wheatball Sliders using small rolls, then make smaller wheatballs. Place on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Alternatively, you can fry these in a little oil, but be gentle, wheatballs are a little delicate. If frying, let the oil warm up in the pan first before gently placing about 4 wheatballs in the pan. Let them brown on one side before gently sliding the spatula underneath and rolling over. Repeat until all sides are brown then remove from pan then repeat with remaining wheatballs.
Cut the bread into desired portions and split down the middle. With the bread opened on a baking sheet, spread a couple of tablespoons of sauce on one side then place wheatballs on top. Spoon more tomato sauce on top, then sprinkle vegan mozzarella cheese on top. Repeat till all the wheatballs are used. Place baking sheet in the oven on the top rack for 5 to 10 minutes, or until vegan cheese is lightly browned. Alternatively, serve with pasta instead or bread, or use spaghetti squash for an even healthier meal.
This looks so good and do-able. I make my own seitan with a recipe from “Vegan Diner” and have never done anything like this with my home made version.
Love a good seitan meatball!!