Vegan Christmas Roast
Ingredients
For the "Turkey"
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup soy or oat milk
- 10g (1/2 cup) dried mushrooms
- olive oil, for frying
- 1 onion, finely chopped, sauteed until soft
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped, sauteed until soft
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 50g (1/4 cup) tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 110g firm tofu
- 3 tablespoons white miso paste
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon dried tarragon
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
Dry Ingredients
- 300g vital wheat gluten
- 50g chickpea flour
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
For the Broth
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cups white wine
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 onion, quartered
- handful of dried mushrooms
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
- pinch of salt and pepper
For the Rub
- 4 tablespoons mixed dried herbs
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
For the Stuffing
- 1 quantity Sweet Potato and Chestnut Stuffing, skipping the final step
Method
First up, you will need to make the seitan "turkey": combine all the wet ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Mix the vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour and nutritional yeast together in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer (with the dough hook attached), then add the wet ingredients and mix until it forms a dough.
Tip the dough onto a clean work surface and knead for at least 10 minutes by hand or do this in your mixer on medium speed. This is the most important part of the recipe - if you don't knead it properly you will be left with horrible spongy seitan. Be very firm!
Once kneaded, the dough should be quite firm and elastic. use a rolling pin to bash and rough the dough into a rough rectangle around 1.25cm (1/2 inch) thick. Set the dough aside and rest for 10 minutes.
Add the broth ingredients to a large roasting tray, around 40 x 28 x 8cm (16 x 11 x 3in). Cut a piece of muslin (cheesecloth) slightly larger than the seitan dough rectangle.
Mix the rub ingredients together in a small bowl, then sprinkle it over the dough. Cover the seitan well in the spice mix as this stops it sticking. Place the dough spice-side down onto the muslin.
Spoon the stuffing across the middle of the dough and roll it up around the stuffing, moulding the edges together. Wrap the dough in muslin as tightly as possible. Twist the ends, then tie them tightly with cook's string. Make sure the dough is a nice cylindrical shape.
Place the "No-Turkey" wrap into the roasting tray with the broth ingredients then cover the tray with foil. Place the tray in the oven for 2 hours. Turn the seitan over halfway through cooking and add additional stock if needed. Once cooked, use a slotted spoon to lift the "turkey" out of the broth and, when cool enough to handle, carefully remove the muslin. The "turkey" can now be wrapped in clingfilm and placed into the fridge until you're ready to serve it. Reserve the broth liquid as it makes a great gravy.
An hour before you want to serve, preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Bake for 25 minutes, then slice and serve with all the trimmings!
