Vegan Andouille-Style Sausage

DH and I made this recipe last night from the bistrokatie.com food blog and it is too good not to share. I have been able to find vegetarian Italian sausages that I like (Field Roast) and vegetarian chorizo (Trader Joe's), but not andouille. This recipe worked really well in another recipe that I was making (Commander's Shrimp & Andouille Sausage With Creole Mustard). It looked good, tasted good, and held together pretty well. Katie says on her blog that she experimented with making the sausages without the chickpea flour and nutritional yeast and that it turned out rubbery and not as flavorful, so please don't substitute these ingredients. She says the recipe can be easily doubled. I found vital wheat gluten in a box by Arrowhead Mills and the garbanzo bean (chickpea) flour in a bag from Bob's Red Mill. Whole Foods has nutritional yeast.

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Yields: 4 sausages

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄4 cups vital wheat gluten
• 1⁄4 cup chickpea flour
• 1⁄4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 2  teaspoons  smoked paprika
• 1  teaspoon oregano
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
•  generous sprinkling fresh ground black pepper (about 1/8 tsp)
• 1⁄4 cup chipotle chile in adobo, drained, coarsely chopped (peppers only, not the sauce)
• 4  garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1  cup vegetable broth, divided
• 1  tablespoon maple syrup
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1  tablespoon soy sauce
• 1  tablespoon tomato paste
• 1  teaspoon liquid smoke

Directions

1. Combine the dry ingredients (vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast flakes, smoked paprika, oregano, salt and pepper) in a medium bowl and stir to mix.
2. Place the chipotle peppers, garlic, and 1/4 cup of broth in a blender or food processor and blend until well smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients (the remaining 3/4 cup broth, maple syrup, olive oil, soy sauce, tomato paste, and liquid smoke) and blend until smooth.
3. Add the contents of the blender into the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until wet and dry are incorporated.
4. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a roll about 5 inches long--they don't have to be perfect--and wrap up in a piece of foil like a Tootsie Roll, twisting the ends.
5. Place in a steamer basket, cover and steam for 40 minutes.