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Homemade Mock Turkey Roast with Stuffing

(recipe, Robin Asbell)


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Introduction

For those of you who miss the turkey on holidays, or just want a home-style vegan meal anytime, this is a good way to mock up a bird. It’s really not much trouble, now that we can use gluten flour to make mock turkey with no kneading required — and lots of tasty, chewy goodness. Serve it with Basic Mushroom Gravy with Herbs and all the traditional trimmings.

Ingredients

    Mock turkey
    1. 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
    2. ½ cup (60 g) minced onion
    3. 2 garlic cloves, minced
    4. 2 cups (255 g) gluten flour
    5. 1 cup (115 g) chickpea flour
    6. ½ cup (57 g) nutritional yeast
    7. 1 tsp. salt
    8. 6 oz. (170 g) reduced-fat or regular firm tofu, drained and pressed
    9. 1 cup (240 ml) vegetable stock
    10. ¼ cup (60 ml) tamari
    11. ½ tsp. ground sage
    Stuffing
    1. 1 cup (55 g) cubed bread
    2. 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
    3. ½ cup (60 g) chopped onion
    4. ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable stock
    5. ½ tsp. ground sage
    6. ½ tsp. dried thyme
    7. ½ tsp. salt
    8. 2 Tbsp. walnuts, chopped

    Steps

    1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 3- to 4-cup metal bowl or a small loaf pan. Put a teapot of water on to simmer for the bain marie later.
    2. Make the mock turkey: In a small sauté pan, heat the oil, then sauté the onion and garlic until soft and sweet, 5 to 10 minutes. Mix together the flours, yeast, and salt in a medium bowl. In a blender or food processor, purée the tofu until very smooth. Add the stock, tamari, and sage to the tofu and blend. Add the onions and all the oil from the pan and purée. Stir the contents of the blender into the flour mixture until smooth. Scoop about two-thirds of the dough into the oiled bowl or loaf pan.
    3. Make the stuffing: Put the bread cubes in a medium bowl. Heat the oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté the onions until soft and clear. Add the bread, stock, sage, thyme, and salt, and stir until the bread is soft. Stir in the nuts.
    4. Assemble the dish: Press the stuffing into a ball (or if you are using a loaf pan, into an oblong) and press it into the center of the mock-turkey dough, then cover it with the remaining dough. Flatten the top, brush it with oil, and cover with foil. Put the bowl or pan in a baking dish and pour boiling water into the baking dish to make a bain marie. \[See Note.\]
    5. Finish the dish: Carefully transfer the entire dish to the oven and bake for 2 hours. When the "turkey" is quite firm, take it out of the water bath, then put the bowl on a rack to cool. Run a paring knife around the edge to loosen it, then invert it onto a cutting board or platter. Slice the "turkey" and serve it with gravy and trimmings.

    Note

    Culinate editor's note: Check the water level in the baking dish periodically, and add more simmering water when it gets low.