Vegan Holiday Recipes: Stuffed Seitan Roast

This stuffed seitan roast recipe was inspired by a signature dish at one of my favorite vegan restaurants of all time–Gobo in West Village. I’m not going to lie to you and say making DIY seitan is easy–it’s not! But it’s fun and can make for truly impressive presentation for the holidays. Tip: depending on the size of your pot, you may need to divide the dough in half and make 2 different flat sheets of seitan, and the use them as top sheet and bottom sheet around the filling and seal the ends together. I was able to make just a single sheet and roll it, but seitan breaks apart easily so don’t be discouraged if it gets a little crack because it will taste just as good! Add plenty of other roasting vegetables in the pan, and serve with your favorite vegan gravy.

Stuffed Seitan Roast

Serves 4-5

1 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten

1 1/2 cup veggie broth or water

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

6 cups water (for broth)

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 1/4 cup cashews, soaked in warm water for a few hours then drained

1 tsp white miso

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

2-3 cloves garlic

2-3 kale leaves, chopped

5-6 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1/2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling

dash, ground sage and/or coriander

salt and fresh black pepper

1. In a large bowl, combine vital wheat gluten, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, and whisk well. Add water and stir, forming a stretchy dough. Knead the dough for about 3-5 minutes and shape into a flat rectangle (about 1/2″ thickness). Set aside.

2. In a large pot, bring 6 cups water, brown sugar, and 2 tbsp soy sauce to simmer. Add seitan and simmer *gently* for about 1 hour, meaning no huge bubbles. If you let it boil, it will cause the seitan to puff up and then get fluffy. After an hour, take the seitan out, place on a plate and gently press down using a spatula, squeezing the water out. Pat it dry with a paper towel.

3. In the meantime, blend cashews, miso, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, and mustard in a high speed blender or food processor until completely smooth. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

4. Saute the kale, garlic, and mushrooms in olive oil for about 3 minutes.

5. Lay the seitan in the center of a roasting pan. Add cashew mixture and kale mixture to the center and carefully roll toward the middle, bringing the open edge face down. Baste with a bit of olive oil, soy sauce, ground sage and coriander. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crispy.