Dudes, that was an epic potluck - one for the ages. There was homemade sweet potato gnocchi and tamales and jerk tofu and biscuits and plenty of beer and wine. Thank you all so much for coming. Chosen at random, comment # 22 (!) wins the pie. Amanda, please email me your mailing address so I can get it to you.
Now, let's talk turkey. Obviously, we're not serving one. And have you read Dav Pilkey's 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving
Apart from veggies and jelly and toast, there are so many options for the Thanksgiving table - as you recently illustrated - that it seems silly to have that old hashed out vegan-replacement-for-turkey discussion, so let's focus on the sandwiches.
But first I have to stress - I love Thanksgiving. I love the pie, and the casseroles, and the mashed potatoes, and the pie, and a national holiday where we just share a meal with the people we love and think about what we're grateful for - like pie. That is one good holiday. But I think even more than the fourth Thursday in November, I look forward to the fourth Friday in November and not for the shopping.
That's the one day of the year that I eat pie for breakfast. And then take a long walk and curl up in a comfortable chair with the New Yorker food issue and then play a few rounds of scrabble. And then, make sandwiches. With all the leftovers uncovered and spread out on the table, I will slather a roll in vegenaise and cranberry chutney, carefully fold in a piece of crunchy green lettuce, and then there, right there, is where my need for the fake turkey comes in.
I go back and forth between making it and buying it. There are lots of totally decent options out there right now, but if I have time to make it, I like to. This way it can be just the size I want, contain nothing too weird, and I can make a big ol' pot of tasty broth at the same time that will later become gravy and stuffing and the creamy sauce in the brussels sprouts gratin.
So, if you'd care to join me, here's the complete recipe to cook the seitan and broth. At the end of this recipe, the seitan will be completely cooked and you can pretty much treat it any way you would treat a tofurkey fresh out of the box or a big hunk of seitan, but I'll be back Monday to show you how to roast it with some vegetables. And then later we'll make gravy. And stuffing. And maybe we can talk Amanda into sharing her Roasted Sweet Potato Gnocchi?
Did I mention that I love Thanksgiving?
Homemade Thanksgiving Roast
This recipe is influenced by every seitan recipe I have ever made, but I picked up the browning trick, I think, from Tami Noyes's American Vegan Kitchen
makes: a 2 pound roast, serves 4 - 6
takes: about 1 1/2 hours (30 minute active)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 1 large stalk celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 3 tablespoons tamari
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon miso
- 6 ounces firm silken tofu (that's half a block)
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 10 ounces (about 2 cups) vital wheat gluten
- pinch of paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper
- 1 more tablespoon olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- sprig of thyme, parsley, rosemary, and a few sage leaves or another tablespoon of poultry seasoning
- 8 cups water
- 3 more tablespoons tamari
Measure 1 cup of the chopped onion, celery, and carrot. Reserve the rest for the broth. In a large pot, brown that cup of vegetables in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Over medium high heat this will take about 5 minutes. Let them brown, don't go moving them around all the time, just stir occassionally so that they cook somewhat evenly. Turn the heat down. Add half of the garlic and the poultry seasoning. Stir until fragrant. Add the wine, tamari, and broth to the pot. Stir to scrape up the tasty browned bits and just let everything sizzle together for about 10 seconds. Turn off the heat, stir in the miso, and let it cool down for a few minutes while you get the next steps ready.
Put the tofu and nutrtional yeast in the blender. You'll add the vegetables when they're a bit cooler.
Dump the vital wheat gluten in a big mixing bowl. Pull 1 tablespoon of wheat gluten out and stick it in a pie plate or shallow dish. Add to this a tiny pinch of paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir with a fork and set aside.
Once the pot is cool enough to handle, use a silicone spatula to scrape all of its contents into the blender with the tofu and nutritional yeast. Puree until smooth. You should have 2 cups of puree.
Now pour most of that puree into the vital wheat gluten. You might not need all of it. Making seitan is like making bread, sometimes the dough needs more or less liquid or more or less flour. So, reserve about 1/4 cup in the blender. Mash the rest of it in with the spatula. If it seems dry and you're having trouble incorporating all the flour, add more of the puree. Knead several times to create a uniform dough. This should be a medium-firm seitan dough. Shape it into an oblong ball. If you squish a finger in, it should hold an indentation. Cover the bowl with a plate and let the dough rest for about 10 minutes.
Wipe out the pot. Add the last tablespoon of olive oil and heat it again over medium high. Roll the rested seitan around in the seasoned vital wheat gluten to evenly dust it. Now brown the seitan on all sides in the hot oil to create a bit of a crust.
Add the vegetables and garlic and herbs to the pot, followed by the water and tamari. Bring to a simmer. Cover. Turn the heat down to as low as possible to maintain the barest of simmers. Cook for 60 - 75 minutes, until the seitan has puffed up a bit and floats.
Cool. At this point you can wrap up the seitan and store it in the fridge for several days or the freezer for a month. Strain the cooking broth and save it for your gravy, stuffing, and whatnot.
