Channel: The Easy Vegan

Category: Howto & Style

Tags: seitanwheat meatveganchristmasvital wheat glutenroastxmas

Description: GET THE RECIPE: bit.ly/VeganXmasRoastRecipe A no-nonsense but very flavourful seitan roast that will have the family saying 'Huh! That's actually pretty dam good!' LINKS: ★Patreon: patreon.com/theeasyvegan ★Instagram: instagram.com/theeasyvegan_ ★Facebook: tinyurl.com/theeasyveganfacebook _____________________________ INGREDIENTS CHRISTMAS ROAST Dry Ingredients 300g Vital wheat gluten * 1 tsp Salt 4 tsp Onion powder 2 tsp Garlic powder 1 tsp Ground white pepper (black is fine too) 1 tsp nutmeg Wet Ingredients 1 Tbsp Fresh rosemary, finely chopped (or 1 tsp of dried) 1 Tbsp Fresh thyme, finely chopped (or 1 tsp of dried) 1 Tbsp Fresh sage, finely chopped (or 1 tsp of dried) 300ml (300g) Cold water 2 Tbsp (20g) Oil (I used olive) 3 Tbsp (50g) Tahini or smooth peanut butter HERB CRUST 4 Tbsp Breadcrumbs 0.75 Tbsp Fresh rosemary, finely chopped (or 1 tsp of dried) 0.75 Tbsp Fresh thyme, finely chopped (or 1 tsp of dried) 0.75 Tbsp Fresh sage, finely chopped (or 1 tsp of dried) 2 Garlic cloves, roughly chopped (or 1 tsp of garlic powder) Pinch of salt Pinch of pepper 1 Tbsp Oil (I used olive) HOMEMADE GRAVY 2 Onions, big chops 1 Parsnip, small chops 4 Garlic cloves, roughly chopped 1 or 2 Carrots, small chops Sprig of Rosemary Sprig of Thyme Sprig of Sage 400ml Vegetable stock 400ml of Beer, cider or wine (alcohol will cook out but could use something like apple juice) 2 Celery sticks, small chops METHOD CHRISTMAS ROAST Preheat the oven to 180c (350f) In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. Fry the rosemary, thyme and sage in a little oil over a med-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until they've softened a little (but not browned). Combine the herbs with the rest of the wet ingredients and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, bring together with a spoon and then your hands to form a dough. Knead, squeeze and pound the dough for 2 to 3 minutes until the dough is elastic. Cover and let rest for 10 mins. Form the dough into a kind of loaf shape. Roll it up snugly in baking paper, then tie a few pieces of string around the loaf. The string should compress the dough a little but not be overly tight. Twist the ends of the baking paper to tightly seal and then tie string around the ends to secure those. Wrap the whole thing securely in kitchen foil and twist the ends to seal them. Place 2 scrunched up pieces of foil on a baking tray and put the roast on top of those foil pieces. This will keep the seitan from burning itself on the hot baking tray. Cook at 180c (350f) for 1 hour, giving it a quarter turn every 15 mins to help it cook evenly. Take out and allow to cool slightly for about 5-10 mins. This is a good time to make the herb-crust and spread it thinly over a dinner plate Slather the seitan with mustard then onto the herb-crust. Roll the seitan around and use your hands to get the crust over it all. The seitan goes back on the foil pieces. Spray with oil or spoon melted (non-dairy) butter over it. This prevents the crust from burning. Back in the oven for 15 mins. Remove from oven, allow to cool for around 10 mins then slice and serve. NICE! HERB CRUST Put all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until well combined. If you don't have a blender, use dried/powdered herbs instead and just mix together in a bowl. HOMEMADE GRAVY In a large saucepan, fry the onions, parsnip and garlic in a good glug of oil over a high heat. Get the veggies coated with the oil then just toss every 20 seconds or so. We're trying to get some brown on the veggies for flavour! Reduce the heat a little and add the carrot, rosemary, thyme and sage. Fry and saute/stir for around 5 mins. Add the stock, alcohol and celery and get the mix to a simmer and loosely cover. Stirring occasionally, allow to simmer for around 30 mins (can be longer if you like). Give all the veggies a bit of a mashing. This will add substance to the gravy. Strain the mix through a fine sieve to remove the veggies. Continue simmering to reduce the gravy. You can add a roux to speed up this process if you like. Taste the gravy. It should taste amazing by now but if you want, add some nice jam or jelly for sweetness, vinegar for tang and salt, pepper or soy sauce according to taste. TIPS & NOTES Seitan firms up once cooled. It may be an idea to cook this a day before it's needed then, on the day, wrap it in foil and cook for 30 mins at 180c (350f).