23 August 2010

Seitan Roast

Ingredients
2-3 carrots
2-3 stalks of celery
1 Large onion
1/4 c Salt
6-7 c Water
Herbs and Spices to taste

6 c Unbleached Whole wheat flour
2 2/3c water
(may add herbs and spices to taste)

1/2 c brown or white rice
1/2 c quinoa

3 T olive oil
1-2 T Unbleached white flour

2' of cheese cloth
Halve carrots and celery, quarter onion (no need to peel). Fill a stock pot with the water and add salt. Drop in vegetables and bring to boil. Once at a boil, let simmer.

(You can skip this next step [the ones referring to getting the starch out of the dough ball] by using Vital Wheat Gluten flour instead of the Whole Wheat Flour... it goes by a little quicker [and by a little, I mean a LOT])


In a large bowl, pour in the flour and make a well (like when making pasta). (Add in any herbs you may want to add) In a mixer with dough hook or with a fork, slowly incorporate the water into the flour or with dough hooks, let the mixer mix the two ingredients and then knead for 10 minutes. If doing by hand, once the water is incorporated into the flour, on a floured board, knead the dough to develop the gluten.

Mix rice and quinoa and cook according to rice cooking instructions.

Once the dough has been kneaded, place back into the bowl and fill the bowl with warm water. Let sit for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, start kneading the dough by hand, the water will become milky in colour (that's the starch coming out!). Drain the water and fill with warm water and continue kneading. Continue this process until little to no more starch comes out of the kneaded dough.

NOTE: In the middle of the second kneading process, there will be a time when the gluten will be goopy and you'll think you messed it up; keep going and try to keep the gluten together.

You may even want to let the raw seitan ball sit in water again and submit it to a third kneading process.

Soon you'll be left with a ball of gluten. Take the gluten ball out and massage it, this will get some air bubbles out and make it denser. Eventually work it flat and rectangular.

Place cooked rice and quinoa in the middle of the seitan. There are two different ways you can make it from this point on: with the stuffing all in the middle or with the rice and quinoa in a spiral with the seitan (I think it's a bit more aesthetically pleasing).




** you do not necessarily need to use all the rice and quinoa you make**

For a roast with the rice and quinoa all in the middle, place the mixture on one end and roll the rest of the seitan around it, fold in the sides (like a burrito) and wrap in cheese cloth.

For a roast with a rice and quinoa spiral, place the rice and quinoa mixture down the length of the seitan leaving about 2 1/2" around. Start at one end and roll the rice and quinoa into the seitan. Then, like the other instructions, fold under the sides and wrap in cheese cloth.

Once the raw seitan roast is wrapped in cheese cloth, the vegetable broth should be completed and simmering. Bring to a boil and drop the seitan into the broth. Let boil for one hour. Once the seitan roast has boiled for an hour, lift out of the pot and let stand.

In a skillet, heat up 2 T of Extra Virgin Olive oil. Place roast in the skillet and brown on all sides. Once brown, remove the roast, place in a dish and slowly add the 1-2 T of flour with a wisk. Once well-incorporated, add 1-2 cups of the vegetable broth to the oil and flour with a wisk. Add soy sauce to taste and whatever herbs and spices you like. Pour the gravy over the roast and then serve.

Serves 6.

No comments:

Post a Comment