Seitan with Roasted Bell Pepper and Pumpkin Puree (No Added Fat)

I was thinking of, with respect to the upcoming Halloween season, making a pumpkin dish. I didn't have much time to put dinner together and had hoped to find cubed pumpkin, but I didn't. Instead, I bought organic pumpkin puree. Here is what I did.

Ingredients

• 1 clove elephant garlic chopped to about 1/8"-1/4" pieces (or a clove of regular garlic finely diced to about 1/8")
• 8 ounces of seitan (strips or cubes, as preferred)
• 1/2 medium green tomato cut into 3/8" cubes (maybe 3/4 cup)
• App. 1/2 cup roasted bell pepper cut into approx. 1" x 3/8" strips (maybe 2/3 of a medium pepper)
• 8 ounces pumpkin puree
• 1/8 t turmeric
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 1/4 t salt

Process

1. I put, in this order, the garlic,  seitan, tomato, bell pepper, and pumpkin into a large Saladmaster stock pan. I cooked waterlessly - i.e., I covered the pan and heated it on medium high until the vapor release started jiggling, then I reduced the heat to low till the jiggle stopped. I let it cook for about 15 minutes.
2. I then mixed in the spices and served, along with brown Basmati rice and a tomato-olive salad with Ume plum vinegar, lime juice, salt, and pepper.

Results

Dinner was great! We all loved it. In hindsight, the puree worked out better than the cubes. I used the right amount to include the pumpkin flavor without overwhelming the dish. It formed a very nice curry sauce. As usual, the meal was one with no added fat, but it tasted sumptuous.

Ideas for the future

I should explore more dishes with pumpkin puree and not wait for the Halloween season. I bet that a little bit of pumpkin puree could be beneficial in many dishes. Pumpkin puree and potato chunks? Kohlrabi even? I bet there's a lot of great dishes waiting to be explored with pumpkin puree.