Seitan

I’m yet to find a good shop-bought seitan, in Portugal or in the UK. It’s always a bit dry and a bit rubbery. I have done it myself a few times at home and the results are much much better. This recipe is easy and presents good results, and I will use this seitan to make a few recipes based on Portuguese dishes.

Time: 1 and ½ h approx. (including cooling time)

Type: meat substitute

Difficulty: 2 pans

Serves 700g approx.

What you need

Food:

1 and ½ cups vital wheat flour

¼ cup Chickpea flour

1 medium white onion diced

1 tbs olive oil

2 cloves garlic minced

1/3 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

2 tbsp tomato paste

300ml warm vegetable stock

1 tbsp soya sauce

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Utensils:

A large bowl

A food processor

A small frying pan

Kitchen foil

Steamer

tongs

knife

Chopping board

Directions:

Fry the onion and garlic in olive oil stirring frequently for about 5-7 minutes;

Add the salt and all the spices, stir and cook for about a minute and remove from heat;

Pour sautéed onions, garlic and spices to the food processor, along with tomato paste, vegetable stock, soya sauce, chickpea flour and nutritional yeast- blend until smooth;

(NOTE: please don’t try the mixture at this point, raw chickpea flour tastes absolutely disgusting, and you would be throwing this into the bin pronto, so stay put!)

Transfer the mixture into a mixing bowl, add the vital wheat, mix and knead with your hands until it becomes firm but a bit springy (about 2 minutes);

Form the dough into a log-shaped blob and roll it up in kitchen foil; You can also shape it already into individual “steak” type of dough and wrap each one individually, just bare in mind that this way steaming time will be shorter (about 15/20 min);

Transfer the dough into the steamer and let it cook for about 30-40 minutes (about halfway, turn around the dough so both sides are well cooked-please use tongs, it will be very hot);

Once cool, unwrap it and slice as needed; It can be kept in the fridge for about a week.