Ronen Seri’s quick and easy BBQ seitan skewers are a must for your seitan-lover. And if you haven’t tried seitan yet, this might be the perfect way to start. Image by Alex Etling / A.ETLING photography

A summer classic, this dish was first introduced at our second location, Café Blossom. These are great to make at a backyard barbecue — an outdoor grill gives them an extra-smoky flavor.

Makes 6–8 skewers

1 pound seitan, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups Tangy BBQ Sauce (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon olive oil

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1) Soak 6–8 wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes to prevent burning.

2) Thread the seitan cubes on the skewers. Put the BBQ sauce in a shallow bowl and dredge the skewers through the sauce, taking care to coat them thoroughly. Allow the skewers to marinate, refrigerated, up to 5 hours or overnight, if desired, for deeper flavor.

3) In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the skewers and sauté for 1–2 minutes. Add a splash of water and cover. Cook for 5 minutes, covered, or until heated through.

NOTE: After marinating, you can cook the skewers on a hot grill for 2–3 minutes, turning periodically, instead of on the stovetop. Serve two skewers per person.

Tangy BBQ Sauce

Makes 8–9 cups

This tangy BBQ sauce is the perfect complement to vegan proteins like tempeh and seitan — it’s delicious on our BBQ Seitan Skewers. Every taste reminds us of summer cookouts — we’ll admit to making our BBQ sauce in the middle of New York winters just to remind us of warmer weather!

½ medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 cups ketchup
1 cup molasses
1 cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup vegan Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup Dijon mustard
½ jalapeño
8 garlic cloves

In a medium stockpot, combine the onion, chili powder, ketchup, molasses, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, jalapeño, garlic and 1½ cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5–10 minutes. Let cool, then transfer to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.

Reprinted with permission from “The Blossom Cookbook: Classic Favorites From The Restaurant That Pioneered A New Vegan Cuisine” (Avery) by Ronen Seri and Pamela Elizabeth.

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