Vegetarian Breakfast Sausage

This is a great homemade alternative to those processed store-bought brands. The real upside is that you know exactly what's in it. There is no mystery meat here -- just rice, vegetables, eggs and spices.

The roll can be made ahead of time, cut into slices, and frozen for a quick weekday breakfast. You could crumble it into a breakfast burrito or use it anywhere you'd normally use breakfast sausage. This vegetarian sausage is great first thing in the morning, but could also be crumbled, sautéed and served stuffed inside of a red pepper or a baked eggplant for dinner. Get creative!

Vegetarian Breakfast Sausage

1 teaspoon canola oil (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
1/4 cup finely diced shallot
3 cloves garlic (finely diced)
8 ounces crimini mushrooms (finely diced)
1 cup finely diced celery (about 2 ribs)
1/2 cup finely diced carrot (1 medium)
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
scant 1/4 teaspoon clove
scant pinch nutmeg
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon maple syrup
sea salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)
1 cup cooked, cooled white rice
1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour (or all purpose flour)
2 large eggs (beaten)

Heat the canola oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallot, garlic, mushrooms, celery, and carrot to the pan. Stir consistently and sauté until all of the liquid has released and then evaporated; this should take about 5 minutes. Add the sage, red pepper flakes, clove, nutmeg, soy sauce, and maple syrup to the pan. Stir to incorporate and remove from heat. All mixture to cool. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the cooked and cooled vegetables, rice, flour, and eggs. Divide the mixture between two large sheets of foil, roll into a tube, and twist the ends of the foil -- like a Tootsie Roll! Place rolls on a baking sheet and place into the oven for 25 minutes. Allow rolls to cool completely before unwrapping and slicing into 1/2-inch disks.

In a medium pan over medium heat, pan-fry disks in a little canola oil until nicely browned. Serve with eggs and biscuits.