I made this Burgundy, also called Bourguignon, with seitan for the first time in culinary school; and I approached it like it was the most intimidating dish in the world. 

In my defense, bourguignon is a classic French dish, which feels a little inherently intimidating; let alone making it vegan. Let me tell you— it’s really not hard at all! Plus, this Seitan Burgundy could go head-to-head with any traditional Bourguignon in depth of flavor. Truly.

To quote Julia Child, “The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.” 

There is no part of making seitan bourguignon that even a starting homecook couldn’t accomplish. It takes a long time to make, but most of the time really is just letting it cook. If you can sauté, you can make this.

The ingredients are also common grocery store items; all simple staples of French and American cooking. The only trick might be if you don’t have seitan available near you, but you can absolutely make it yourself! I have a step-by-step recipe for seitan in my Instagram highlight reels.

Not only is this dish not hard to make, but it’s extremely delicious and rich. As per usual with French cooking, the flavors are decadent and complex, with the full flavor of each ingredient building on the next. 

Taste this dish often while it’s cooking on the stovetop, and you will taste each element becoming more and more complex, and the mouthfeel of each ingredient becoming more tender and full. 

Once you add wine, it goes into the oven at a very low temperature for about two hours, and all of the flavors that you built up fully infuse with the depth of red wine—  and what you’re left with is something you won’t remember is vegan. 

Seitan Burgundy 
or Vegan Bourguignon

Ingredients:

Olive Oil – 2 fl oz, divided
Seitan, cubed – 1 lb
Salt – to taste
Black pepper, ground – to taste
Carrots, oblique cut – 8 oz
Onions, sliced – 4 oz
Garlic, chopped – 2 ind. cloves
Tomato paste – 2 tsp
Red cooking wine – ½ 750ml bottle
Vegetable stock – 12 fl oz
Thyme, chopped – ½ tsp
Shallots or Pearl Onions; halved & frozen – ½ lb
Baby Bella mushrooms – ½ lb
Parsley – optional, for garnish

1. Preheat your oven to 250F
2. Use paper towels to dry the cubed seitan completely, and sprinkle with salt & pepper.
3. Heat 1oz of the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, and sear seitan in batches, getting an even sear on all sides. As they become ready, pull them off the heat and reserve for later.
4. In the same pot, toss in the carrots and onions, and cook for 10-15 minutes with salt & pepper.
5. Then, add garlic and cook for another minute or so before adding tomato paste, and cook until a golden red.
6. Add a splash of red wine to quickly deglaze the bottom, and then add seitan back into the pot.
7. Add all of your remaining wine and vegetable stock, until all of the vegetables and seitan are just barely covered. 
8. Add thyme, and then bring to a simmer. Cover your pot with a lid, and place in the oven for about  1 ½ hours, or until all elements are tender.
9. Sauté mushrooms in a separate pan as stew finishes, and set aside.
10. Remove your stew from the oven, fold in the frozen shallots and mushrooms, and simmer on the stovetop for just a final 15 minutes.
11. Plate, garnish, serve, enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

~ Chef G