Description
This Vegan Turkey Roast is a flavorful and satisfying seitan-based dish, perfect for holiday celebrations or special dinners. Made with a blend of silken tofu, vital wheat gluten, and a savory turkey-inspired rub, wrapped in rice paper for a beautiful presentation, and slow-roasted in a fragrant vegetable broth infused with herbs and aromatics, this roast offers a delicious plant-based alternative to traditional turkey, complete with a vegan stuffing center.
Ingredients
Scale
Turkey Rub
- 1 tablespoon flaky sea salt
- 1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ tablespoon dried thyme
- ½ tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Turkey Roast
- 700 g silken tofu
- 6 tablespoon vegetable oil (neutral flavoured: sunflower, rapeseed, canola)
- 2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
- 2 tablespoon white miso paste
- 2 teaspoon rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 380 g vital wheat gluten
- ½ batch vegan stuffing (see notes for recipe link)
- 4 sheets rice paper (for summer rolls)
Roasting Broth
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 1.5 litres boiling hot vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 head garlic, halved
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 carrot, peeled and quartered
- 2 stalks celery, quartered
Instructions
- Make the Turkey Rub: In a small bowl, combine all the turkey rub ingredients including flaky sea salt, soft brown sugar, paprika, ground black pepper, dried thyme, dried rosemary, dried sage, garlic powder, and onion powder. Set aside.
- Prepare the Turkey Mixture: Preheat the oven to 170 °C (338 °F). Place the silken tofu, vegetable oil, flaky sea salt, white miso paste, rice vinegar, and garlic powder in a high-speed blender. Blend until completely smooth. For a finer texture, pass the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove any remaining chunks.
- Add Vital Wheat Gluten: Return the smooth mixture to the blender and add the vital wheat gluten. Blend until it forms a rough dough, then stop blending and let it rest for 10 minutes. Blend again for about 2 minutes until the dough becomes stretchy and gummy, indicating the gluten has developed.
- Shape the Seitan: Remove the dough from the blender and press into a rectangle shape on a clean surface. Place half a batch of vegan stuffing down the center of the seitan sheet and roll it tightly into a cylinder. Set aside.
- Wrap with Rice Paper: Fill a wide bowl with water. Dunk one sheet of rice paper several times until just moistened, then lay it over the rolled seitan. Repeat with the remaining rice paper sheets until the seitan is completely covered.
- Apply Turkey Rub: Carefully sprinkle the turkey rub over the surface of the wrapped seitan, then gently spread it evenly across the entire surface using your fingers.
- Wrap and Tie the Roast: Cut a rectangle of baking parchment and a larger rectangle of muslin or cheesecloth. Wrap the seitan roast first in the parchment, twisting the ends to seal like a Christmas cracker. Then wrap this parcel in the muslin or cheesecloth like a burrito, and tie securely with kitchen twine around the length and width to mimic a traditional turkey roast.
- Prepare Roasting Broth and Roast: Place the wrapped vegan turkey roast in a large Dutch oven. Add the roasting broth ingredients: bay leaves, fresh thyme, rosemary sprigs, boiling vegetable stock, fine sea salt, light brown sugar, halved garlic head, quartered onion, peeled quartered carrot, and quartered celery stalks. Cover with a lid and roast in the oven for 45 minutes.
- Rotate Roast: Carefully remove the lid and rotate the vegan turkey roast so the opposite side is submerged in the broth. Cover again and roast for another 45 minutes.
- Finish Roasting Uncovered: Remove the Dutch oven from the oven, carefully unwrap the twine and muslin using scissors, and return the roast to the broth remaining in the pot. Baste the top of the seitan roast with the broth using a brush. Return the roast to the oven without the lid and roast for an additional 20 minutes to brown the surface.
- Serve: Slice the vegan turkey roast thinly and serve warm with your favorite vegetables and gravy for a festive meal.
Notes
- This recipe includes a vegan stuffing in the center, but the roast can be made without stuffing if preferred.
- The rice paper used to wrap the seitan helps keep it moist during roasting and gives a smooth surface for the turkey rub.
- Use a neutral-flavored vegetable oil such as sunflower, rapeseed, or canola for best results.
- The roasting broth infuses flavor and keeps the vegan roast moist during cooking.
- To prepare vegan stuffing, refer to the recipe linked in the original article or use your favorite vegan stuffing recipe.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approx. 100 g)
- Calories: 190 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 420 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 18 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
