holiday roast

  

Overview

Time: 3 to 4 hours, mostly hands-off ; more time-consuming than difficult
Dishes: large bowl, measuring cups, roasting pan, medium pot 

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

I have been wanting to post this meatless, vegetarian and vegan recipe for the Holiday Roast for a long time (years!), but I guess the holidays get in the way. This year, with my girls spread to different parts of California (son and his hubby are with us through the pandemic), I *really* wanted to get this recipe out there.

So, yes, it is very late - but not too late - you can still make this. The oddest ingredient is the grain coffee (or instant decaf coffee will do). The recipe is very doable.

Game Plan:

Umami Flavoring

Easy Savory Broth Mix

Roast (takes about 3 hours to cook)

Glaze (make while Roast cooks)

Gravy and other accompaniments

 

I will update with current photos and video (hopefully!). 

Helpful tip: the flavor of your gravy is in the roux, so cook it to golden brown.

I will be very available for blog questions, so don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions or issues.

Enjoy!

Umami Flavoring:

Easy Savory Broth Mix:

Roast Dry and Wet Ingredients:

Wet Ingredient in Blender and Blended. Notice how smooth the tofu is:

Kneading Roast: First stir the batter together and then start kneading.

Troubleshoot: Depending on your vital wheat gluten and on measuring, you might need to add a few tablespoons of extra gluten flour to make the mass kneadable. Don't add too much (max is around 3 tablespoons - the third photo is where I added 2 tablespoons of extra gluten because it was not holding together), but be able to knead it together. 

It should still be tacky and sticking a bit to your hand as you knead. Also, the gluten flour takes a few minutes to absorb all the liquid so don't stress if it looks like it won't be a cohesive mass.

The last photo is what the gluten looks like after 8 minutes of hand kneading. You can go longer if you want. 

Cooking Broth:

Forming and Wrapping the Roast: There are two kinds of cheesecloth - either one is fine.

Wrap like a burrito and tie as best as you can. Not tight and not loose. The gluten will expand.

Add Roast to Pan. Roll the roast in the liquid to moisten the cheesecloth. Cover with parchment and then foil. Seal tightly and bake.

Glaze: 

Glaze the Roast: Once the roast is cooked, unroll and place on baking sheet. I glazed it twice, but did not flip it. One-sided glaze for us.

This is from a reader:

"This is how we did. First time making our own Thanksgiving meal. Thanks for the detailed instructions!" 

~ K.D. A.D. and C.H.

For Best Printing, Highlight the text between the notations, right click and select Print:

Highlight from the title Complete Holiday Roast Recipe ----->

COMPLETE HOLIDAY ROAST RECIPE

The recipe, as written, is for 8 servings. For a large family, make it as Holiday Roast and double the ingredients where noted.

www.ZsusVeganPantry.com

Umami Flavoring Makes 3/4 cups

1.  Combine: Mix in a small bowl. Transfer to a mason jar and store in the refrigerator.

1 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 cup instant grain or decaf coffee

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/4 cup tamari

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic granules/powder

1 teaspoon onion granules/powder

Easy Savory Broth Mix Makes 1/2 cup; doubles easily 

1. Blend: Add the ingredients to a blender. Use the flat blade, if possible:

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

3 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons dried sage

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano 

2. Blend well into a powder. Transfer to an air-tight container and store away from light.

3. Use: Add 1 teaspoon to 1 cup of water. Mix well. 

4. Optional: add an equal amount of nutritional yeast to the recipe. For instance, if making a cup of broth, add 1 teaspoon of Savory Broth Mix to 1 cup water PLUS 1 teaspoon of nutritional yeast. 

 

Glaze (double recipe for Holiday Roast) Makes 1 cup

1. Onion: Heat a medium pan over medium heat. Add and cook for 3 minutes:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup minced onions

4 garlic cloves, minced

 

2. Liquid: Add the rest of the ingredients to the Onion mixture. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Cook until it reduces to 1 cup, about 15 minutes:

1 cup apple juice or 3 tablespoons applesauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup tamari

1/4 cup sweet rice wine (not vinegar)

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2-inch ginger

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

3 tablespoons whiskey (optional)

3. Heat Roast: Heat oven to 350-F. If the Roast is cold, cook for 30 minutes to heat first, on a baking sheet.

4. Glaze Roast: Set oven to 350-F. Baste the Roast with the prepared glaze and bake for 15 minutes. Flip Roast and glaze and bake for another 15 minutes. Repeat if more glaze is desired.

Gravy (double recipe for Holiday Roast) Makes 8 servings

1. Base: Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the vegetables and cook for 4 minutes:

3 tablespoons olive oil or vegan butter

1/2 cup minced onions

3 garlic cloves, minced

 

2. Roux: Add the herbs and flour and cook until the flour smells nutty and is golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly:

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon sage

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon Easy Savory Broth Mix

 

3. Broth: Add the broth slowly, while whisking the Roux to prevent lumps. When all the broth is added, bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Simmer the mixture until it is as thick as you like, about 5 to 10 minutes. Thin with vegan milk, water or broth, if desired. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper:

2 cups vegetable broth

Salt and black pepper, to taste 

Roast (double recipe for Holiday Roast)

Makes 8 servings

1. Dry Mix: Combine in a large bowl and set aside:

2 3/4 cup (350 grams) vital wheat gluten (stir gluten before measuring)

1/2 cup chickpea flour

 

2. Blender Mix: Combine in a blender. Blend well and add to the Dry Mix in the large bowl:

1 cup water

1 (14-ounce) firm tofu

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon Umami Flavoring

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons Easy Savory Broth Mix

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon onion granules/powder

1 teaspoon garlic granules/powder

3. Knead: Combine the Blender Mix and Dry Mix in the large bowl. Knead for 10 minutes. This is easier in a bread machine or stand mixer, but doable by hand. Take a break half-way through. Set aside while you prepare the broth.

4. Cooking Broth: Combine in a roasting pan and set aside:  

4 cups vegetable broth

5 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon paprika

5. Form: Form the gluten into a 6-8-inch long log and roll in a cheesecloth. Tie with twine and add to the Cooking Broth. Cover tightly with parchment paper and foil and put in oven. Bake at 300-F (no need to preheat) for 3 hours. Flip the roast every hour.

 

6. Cool or Glaze. Unwrap Roast to cool or Glaze.

 

© 2020 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

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holiday sandwich

I'm a sucker for complete meal type of sandwiches, as demonstrated by my Thanksgiving Burger, a recipe from 2014. Since the holidays are around the corner, what better way to start the celebration than with this easy to make Holiday Sandwich:

It might look a bit much, but it really is easy to put together. The patty is made of mushrooms and chickpeas as the base. It doesn't include any binding, but it stays together relatively well. It dries out and because the acorn squash is very moist, together, they work in harmony.

A few spices and dark miso help to keep this burger from falafel-ville. It is decidedly not a falafel.

You process all the ingredients in a food processor, form into patties and bake them with the acorn squash. The timing is about the same and because you don't peel the squash, the process is easy.

There is nothing more on the squash than salt and pepper because the flavor is in the patties.

This sandwich needs some crunch, so I tossed thin onion slices with cornstarch/arrowroot and air-fried it until crisp. I did add a few sprays of oil to help it brown, but it is nothing like deep frying them.

The sauce. It is so simple and so delicious! It is Cranberry Aioli and it is the bomb. Just mix together cranberry sauce and vegan mayonnaise or vegan yogurt and liberally add to the sandwich. It is tangy and sweet but creamy and rich. Don't skip it.

And because no holiday is complete without something green, this sandwich features steamed kale. A crusty bread or roll and you are in business, my friend.

Photo by Caitlin Galer-Unti from The Vegan Word.com

Speaking of holidays, gift-giving season is almost here and it is time to start planning. Caitlin from The Vegan Word has amassed an amazingly thorough list of vegan gift ideas. I truly am impressed! Take a look for yourself.

Holiday Sandwich
Makes 4 servings

Patties:
1 3/4 cups or 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained
3 ounces of trimmed shiitake mushrooms (trimmed of stems)
1 tablespoon dark miso
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon onion granules
1/2 teaspoon garlic granules
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon sage

Onions:
1 medium onion, sliced very thin
2 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch
Oil spray, as needed

Sauce:
1/4 cup cranberry sauce
1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise or plain nondairy yogurt

Other:
Sea salt and black pepper
1 medium acorn squash, cut into 4 sections
1 bunch kale, tough stems removed and finely chopped
4 crusty rolls, split


1. Patties: Preheat the oven to 350-degrees F. Combine the chickpeas, mushrooms, miso, yeast, onion, garlic, thyme and sage in a food processor. Process until finely ground. Divide the mixture into 4 portions and form into patties about the size of your rolls. Transfer to a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet. Add the squash quarters to the pan and season with salt and black pepper. Bake for 20 minutes. Flip the patties and the squash and bake for another 20 minutes. If the squash is tender remove it from the pan. Continue to bake the patties for another 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and hold together fairly well. 
2. Onions: Combine the onion, starch and spray with oil. Transfer to the basket of an air-fryer and cook until semi-crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. Shake the basket after every 5 minutes and make sure not to burn. The onions will become crispy after they sit for a minute off the heat.
3. Sauce: Combine the cranberry sauce and mayo. Mix well. Set aside. 
4. Steam the kale until very tender and toast the rolls. Season the kale with salt and pepper.
5. Assemble the sandwich by spreading the bottom and top with the aioli. Add kale, a patty. Scoop out the squash from the shells and add one to the sandwich. Top with onions and serve. 


© 2016 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

thanksgiving burger

Day 16  VeganMoFo is all about continuing the holiday theme, this time celebrating Thanksgiving between two buns.

I've missed a few days of this year's MoFo party (I had a bug over the weekend and well into yesterday), and now will have to play catch-up.

Getting to this burger: it is a freekeh-stuffing burger on a bun with cranberry sauce, gravy, quick sauteed green beans and fried onions - picture all of the best of the Thanksgiving in every single bite.

I took a page from my Hungarian ancestry and created the burger base of this burger by treating it like a dumpling (boiling it) and then sauteing it, just as a typical burger should be.

I'll be back with the recipe because tomorrow; I'm a little exhausted right now, but I didn't want to miss another MoFo day.



THANKSGIVING BURGER PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Thanksgiving Burger

Makes 8 burgers

6 cups cubed bread (about ½-inch cubes)

½ cup freekeh

1 garlic clove, minced, ½ teaspoon thyme

Sea salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, minced

1 medium carrot, minced

¼ cup raisins

1 teaspoon each: thyme, sage, oregano, dried parsley

¼ cup hot water

2 vegetable bouillon cubes

1 cup unsweetened plain vegan milk

¾ cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

4 ounces green beans, sliced thin on the diagonal

1 cup cranberry sauce

2 cups favorite vegan gravy

1 cup fried onions

8 burger buns, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Transfer the bread to a baking sheet and bake until dried and crisp, about 15 minutes. Cook the freekeh, garlic, thyme and ¼ teaspoon salt and black pepper in about 2 cups water until tender, according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, raisin, thyme, sage, oregano and parsley. Season with salt and black pepper. Cook the vegetables until tender. Transfer to the large bowl.

4. Dissolve the bouillon cubes in the hot water. Add to the large bowl, along with the milk, the bread cubes and flour. Mash and knead until well combined. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper. Form into 8 burgers.

5. Heat a large pot of water over high heat to boiling. Add the burger dumplings and cook until they float and are cooked, about 5 minutes. Drain on cooling rack and cool thoroughly.

6. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and the green beans. Cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Set aside. Add more oil and cook the burgers until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.

7. Assemble the burgers by spreading 2 tablespoons cranberry sauce on the bottom bun, add a burger, top with green beans, add gravy, top with fried onions and the top bun. Serve.

© 2014 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

ghoulish burgers

Day 12 of  Vegan MoFo takes us clear into next month. We celebrate Halloween early at the Dever residence all in the name of helping you all plan for your personal celebrations in October. What good would it do to present this handsome burger next month? Oh, the sacrifices!

I saw a version of these cute sandwiches in a magazine a few years ago and have made been making them using Chicken-Free Salad filling (EVE, page 70). You can get the recipe from Everyday Vegan Eats right HERE, where Olives for Dinner reviewed the book and shared it.

The above makes for a faster and easier filling, but for our burger MoFo, we upped the difficulty. These made-from-scratch burgers are chili-flavored and use cannellini beans and gluten as the burger base. It is then topped with an easy cheese sauce, olives and small dill pickles for the fangs. Boom!

I might be going on about it being difficult, but that is only in respect to the ease of the chicken-free filling I'm used to making. In fact, these little gems just took longer, but didn't need much more effort.

A little tid-bit for you: if you make it, make a few, looking all cute and adorable, complete with the cheese sauce hair (or face?), olive eyes and pickle fangs, but do yourself, and your guests a favor, and make rest with the burgers with the bun on top of all that gooey-ness, Save some napkins and guest embarrassment at having cheese sauce splattered all over their mug.

Happy Early Halloween!

GHOULISH BURGERS PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Ghoulish Burgers

Makes 6 burgers

 

2 tablespoons neutral oil, divided

1 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 (15.5-ounce) can cannellini beans

2 teaspoons mild chili powder

1 ½ teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon oregon

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon red chili flakes

Fresh ground black pepper

½ cup vital wheat gluten (stirred before measuring)

2 tablespoons vegetable broth

6 slider buns, split and toasted

Vegan mayonnaise, as needed

6 mini pickles, cut in half lengthwise

12 slices of black olives

Easy Cheese Sauce, recipe below

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onions and cook until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Add the beans, chili powder, salt, oregano, cumin, chili flakes, black pepper and the onions to a food processor. Pulse until the beans are broken up, but not paste. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

3. Add the gluten to the bean mixture and knead for 4 minutes until gluten strands form. Divide the mixture into 6 portions and form into burger patties about the size of your buns.

4. Spray a baking sheet with oil, arrange the burgers on a sheet, add ¼ cup water around the burgers, cover tightly with foil and bake in a 300-degree F oven (no need to preheat) for 30 minutes. Uncover, flip the burgers and continue to bake for another 20 minutes.

5. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the burgers until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Add the vegetable broth, cover and steam for 2 minutes.

6. Make the burgers by spreading mayo on the bottom bun, adding a burger patty, 2 halves of pickles for the fangs, a top bun, a drizzle of sauce, 2 slices of olives for eyes and a toothpick to hold it all together. Serve.

 

Easy Cheese Sauce

1 tablespoon neutral oil

1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon minced garlic

½ cup unsweetened plain vegan milk

1 cup shredded vegan cheddar cheese

1. Heat the oil in a small sauce pan. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Using a whisk, stir in the milk and cook until lightly thickened. Add the cheese and whisk until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth.

© 2014 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.