Beefy Vegan "Sunday Roast"- Made with Homemade Seitan (Take 1)

For many a vital component of a Sunday meal is some sort of roast meat dish, be it bird, beef or game. I wanted to make my own roast using seitan as the base, and also to mimic the crispy skin that forms on the roast- with beancurd sheets!

The process of making seitan is really incredibly easy, especially if you have a stand mixer to knead the dough for you- after all, seitan is basically a dough made of pure gluten.

This bad boy is made with a mushroom-chestnut-quinoa stuffing studded with dried cranberries and sunflower seeds, covered in crispy beancurd and a mix of dried herbs that is sold with the intent of being used in regular roasts. I used a lot of intensely savoury ingredients to make it more "beefy", such as tomato paste and dried mushrooms in the stock that is kneaded into the dough, and the miracle working Wizard's brand vegan Worcestershire sauce. If you don't have this and can't find it in your local health foods store, try using Marmite for that extra something-something (probably easier to find if you're in the Anglosphere), though I haven't tried it yet myself.

The high-protein seitan roast also contains black lentils, ground pecans and chickpea flour. All in all, it's very filling and luxurious-feeling, but still very nutritious, loaded with protein. The quinoa and mushroom filling is also full of nutritious ingredients- not very traditional, but really good. Chances are you'll have leftovers that taste great on their own as well.

Some improvements I'll need to make- keeping the loaf moist during cooking. I think that wrapping it in foil for the duration of cooking helps, but it would be even better if I basted it with mushroom broth during cooking. I also would want to tweak the skin so that it sticks to the loaf better. Still, for my first attempt with homemade seitan, I'd say it turned out pretty good. Definitely a special occasion or holiday entree possibility! I'll continue experimenting, but this is definitely worth making as it is.

Seitan Sunday Roast
Makes 8-10 Servings

For the Loaf
1 C. Vital wheat gluten
1/3 C. Nutritional yeast flakes
2/3 C. Beluga/Puy lentils
3 TBSP Oil (I used half coconut and half olive)
1/3 C. Chickpea flour (besan)
1/4 C. Teriyaki sauce, or tamari, or soya sauce
1 Tsp. Garlic powder, or 3 minced garlic cloves
1 Tsp. Fennel seeds
3 Bay leaves
1 Tsp. Ground black pepper
1 Tsp. Paprika, sweet or smoked
1 Tsp. Each dried oregano and marjoram
1/2 TBSP Tomato paste
Handful of dried mushrooms, shiitake or boletus/wild mushrooms
1 1/2 C. Vegetable or mushroom broth
1 TBSP Dried onion, optional

Bring the broth to a boil and soak the dried mushrooms for at least 1 hour. Stir in the tomato paste.

Cook the lentils until as soft as possible (they won't fall apart or get completely soft, but should be very tender). Let cool.

Grind the spices as finely as possible in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar, then pass through a fine sieve to catch the larger bits.

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl or stand mixer and knead well, about 5 minutes at medium-high in a mixer or 15 minutes by hand. Let rest for 15 minutes, then repeat. Keep doing this until you get long, stretchy strands in the dough.

Roll out onto an oiled surface into a large rectangle. Spread with filling(see below) in the centre, then wrap the edges around to form a large roll. Wrap in aluminium foil and bake at 180℃ for 75-90 minutes. Unwrap from the foil, apply the "skin"(also below) and return to oven on 'broil' setting for 10 minutes.

For the Stuffing
2/3 C. Quinoa
1/4 C. Salted shelled sunflower seeds
1/4 C. Dried cranberries
1/3 C. Pecan or hazelnut meal
1 C. Peeled roasted chestnuts (1 pouch)
1 Tsp. Each dried oregano and marjoram
1 TBSP Parsley, finely chopped
1 TBSP Dill, finely chopped
1- 1 1/2 C. Vegetable broth
1 C. diced brown mushrooms, such as cremini or king
2 Tsp. Oil
1 TBSP Soya or tamari sauce

Rinse and drain quinoa in water at least 3 times, then soak in clean water for at least 15 minutes. Drain again and cook in the vegetable broth (start with 1 cup, adding more as necessary) until tender. Let cool.

Combine the remaining ingredients apart from the mushrooms and oil with the quinoa. Set aside.

In a frying pan, heat the oil and fry the mushrooms with a hint of salt until they are well browned. Combine with the rest of the ingredients until loaf is ready to be filled.

For the "Skin"
3 TBSP Oil
About 6 sheets dried beancurd (fresh also works)
2 Tsp. Dried oregano, marjoram, or any dried herb mix
2 TBSP Teriyaki sauce mixed with 1 TBSP water, or 3 TBSP soya/tamari sauce
1 Tsp. Paprika

Soak beancurd in cold water for at least 10 minutes. It will likely fall into pieces- this is fine to use.

On the precooked loaf, layer beancurd (or beancurd pieces), then brush with oil and sprinkle with salt and spices. Once the whole amount of beancurd is used up, add one last coat of oil and brush on the teriyaki/soya/tamari sauce as well. Sprinkle with herbs and bake.