A YumYum Thanksgiving
November 24th, 2008
Stumble it!
Like a lot of people, I usually travel for Thanksgiving instead of hosting myself. This year, however, I’m able to create a full Thanksgiving dinner. I decided to do it a few days early in case any of you are still looking for some ideas for your own holiday meals.
I was really inspired by Vegan Menu’s Seitan Roulade and decided to take my own stab at it. It seemed like the perfect centerpiece. My recipe is very different than his, but if you’re looking for another filling idea, definitely check out his post!
The seitan in this recipe is easily made from vital wheat gluten. It’s wraped around a delicious, homemade herbed chestnut stuffing and then baked. I served it with fresh tangerine cranberry sauce, broiled green beans with slow roasted tomatoes, and fluffy mashed potatoes. Not pictured is a lovely mushroom gravy made with fresh vegetable broth.
You did all make your own vegetable broth, right?
The majority of this meal can be prepared in advance, so if you have the day before Thanksgiving to start cooking, your meal will be well under control by the time you wake up on Thanksgiving morning. Less time in the kitchen means more time celebrating with your loved ones! I’ve included a game-plan at the end of this post so you have an idea of exactly what you can do in advance.
To save even more time, stop by Trader Joes and pick up a box of their already prepared steamed and shelled chestnuts, packed in an airtight bag–not canned! This will save a ton of prep work and roasting time. I haven’t seen these available in any other store, but if you have any tips, do let me know in the comments. Prepping them from scratch works, too.
Alright, there are a lot of recipes to get to, so let’s get started!
Edit Dec. 2008: The seitan part of the roulade apparently sucks! It worked fine for me, but lots of readers are having trouble with it. Until I revise the recipe, beware! Make it at your own risk! :)
A YumYum Thanksgiving
Serves 8
Seitan Roulade with Chestnut Stuffing
Seitan
2 Cups Vital Wheat Gluten, (1 box of Arrowhead Mills brand)
1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tsp Salt
2 1/3 Cups Warm Vegetable Broth
Mix gluten, yeast, and salt in a large bowl until well combined. Add the vegetable stock and gently mix with your hands until all of the dry mixture is moistened. You should have a soft, squishy, wet dough. Knead a few times, and agitate the dough by squeezing and pressing it.
Dump the dough out onto a large cutting board and use your fingers to press it out to a 12×18″ rectangle. If the dough is too springy, let rest for 15 minutes before rolling it out. Cut the dough into quarters:
Heat a large, non-stick skillet over high heat with some olive oil. Briefly pan-fry the seitan pieces until just barely golden brown on both sides. This gives color, flavor, and kick-starts the cooking process so your pieces will be easier to handle.
Set aside until you’re ready to roll up the roulades. Make the stuffing.
Chestnut Stuffing
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2-3 Shallots, chopped finely
10 Cremini Mushrooms, chopped (1 cup after chopping)
2 Ribs Celery, chopped
1 Box Trader Joes Prepared Chestnuts (about 1 1/4 cups, chopped)
7 Fresh Sage Leaves, chopped
2 Thyme Sprigs, leaves only
1 Tbs Fresh Chopped Marjoram
5 Cups Cubed Bread, (for homemade, see note)
1/2 to 1 Cup Warm Vegetable Broth
Salt
Pepper
Note: If making your own bread, take 1/2 of a 1 pound loaf of sourdough and slice into cubes. I leave the crust on! Spread out the bread on a baking sheet and bake at 300º F for 30 minutes, tossing half-way through.
In a large, deep skillet, heat oil and saute shallots until beginning to color. Add mushrooms and carrots and cook until softened. Add herbs and chestnuts. Add bread and toss. Add broth 1/2 cup at a time until stuffing is softened but not overly soggy. Season with salt and pepper. If not using for roulades, place stuffing in an oiled casserole dish and bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown on top. If using for roulades, set aside to cool.
Place stuffing on top of a piece of seitan, covering the whole surface. Roll up the seitan, stretching it to make as tight a roll as possible. Let the roll rest on the seam.
With kitchen twine or any cotton string you have, tie up the roulade so that it doesn’t unroll:
Repeat for the three other sheets of seitan. Place the tied roulades on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Lightly brush with olive oil. Bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes, turning half-way through, until golden brown.
Let rest 5-10 minutes before slicing. Remove strings before serving!
Broiled Haricots Verts with Slow Roasted Tomatoes
Slow Roasted Tomatoes
2-3 Pints Grape Tomatoes
Oil
Salt
Pepper
Preheat oven to 350º F. Coat tomatoes in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Bake for 40-60 minutes until very soft and beginning to color. Can be made a day in advance.
Broiled Green Beans
16 oz Haricots Verts (or regular green beans)
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
1 Pinch Sugar
Coat green beans in oil, and season with salt, pepper, and sugar. Place them on a baking sheet covered in foil.
Broil beans (just a few inches from the heating element of your oven) for 4-6 minutes or until softened and slightly browned. Toss with warm slow-roasted tomatoes and serve.
Mushroom Gravy
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Cup Chopped Cremini Mushrooms (measured after chopping)
1 Pinch Salt
2 Fresh Sage Leaves, chopped
1 Stem Fresh Thyme, leaves only
1 tsp White Wine Vinegar
Black Pepper
3 Tbs Earth Balance Margarine
3 Tbs Flour
1 Cup Vegetable Broth
Soymilk, for thinning
Heat oil in a large skillet and add mushrooms, salt, and herbs. Cook for 4-5 minutes until softened and add vinegar. Stir well. Add a few grinds fresh black pepper and remove mushrooms from pan. Don’t clean out the pan! Turn the head down to low. Add margarine and flour and whisk until a paste (or roux) forms. Slowly add vegetable broth, whisking all the time, until mixture is smooth. Turn the heat back up and whisk until the mixture thickens into a gravy. Add soymilk in small splashes if gravy becomes too thick. Season with salt and more pepper to taste.
Tangerine Cranberry Sauce
1 16 oz Bag Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
1 Cup Water
1 Cup Sugar
Juice from 1 Tangerine (about 1/3 cup)
Zest from 1 Tangerine
Heat all the above ingredients over medium high heat in a sauce pan. Stir occasionally.
The cranberries will pop, and after 10-15 minutes of cooking the sauce will thicken and no longer be watery. Refrigerate and serve when needed. Garnish with fresh slices of tangerine if desired.
I also served fluffy mashed potatoes, but I figured you probably don’t need a recipe for that. However, I can say that making mashed potatoes in a pressure cooker is my favorite way to prepare them. Since the potatoes are not submersed in water, they are extra light and fluffy. And they cook so fast, too! If you have a pressure cooker, dig it out to make your potatoes this year. You won’t be sorry.
Here’s how you can save time by preparing parts of this meal ahead of time:
Anytime before:
-Make vegetable stock, refrigerate for 1 week or freeze
One or Two Days Before:
-Make bread cubes for stuffing
-Make seitan, roll it out, pan fry it
-Make the stuffing
-Roll up the roulades, cover in plastic wrap, refrigerate
-Make the cranberry sauce
-Slow roast the tomatoes
The Day Of:
-Bake the roulades (40 Minutes)
-Broil the green beans (4-6 minutes)
-Make the gravy (10-15 minutes)
-Make the mashed potatoes (15-20 Minutes)
So yeah! That’s what I’m having for Thanksgiving this year. What are you having?
Entry Filed under: dinner, fake meat, herbs, parties, salad, sauce/dressing
99 Comments
1. pickle | November 24th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Your dinner looks beautiful and delicious! I have never made mashed potatoes in a pressure cooker and it sounds like a great idea. This may be a stupid question, but do you need to do anything different than putting them in there and cooking them until they’re soft?
For my pressure cooker, I add 1 cup of water and the trivet that came with the cooker. Then I add the potatoes (quartered russets or whole baby potatoes, peeled or unpeeled) and bring to full pressure. Cook for 5-12 minutes depending on the sized of the potatoes, let the pot release pressure naturally, and mash away!
2. Greengate | November 24th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Wow, Lolo that meal is wonderful looking and I can imagine each element tastes incredible. We wish you both a truly joyous Thanksgiving. We love you and miss you. Mom, Dad, Amy and the aniimals.
3. Shelby | November 24th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
This looks amazing!!! Now I want to change my menu so I can make this seitan!
4. Jessica | November 24th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
This looks wonderful! I will definitely have to try the seitan roulade.
5. Ricki | November 24th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
That looks just smashing, as do all your posts! Can’t eat seitan, but I’m all over that stuffing!
6. Dayna | November 24th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Wow. Looks delicious!
Did you baste the roulades? They just look so lovely and brown.
I hope you and yours have a very happy Thanksgiving!
Just a light brush of olive oil and they brown right up – I was surprised at how golden they turned! You could baste with tamari towards the end if you wanted a little extra kick, though.
7. Gina | November 24th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Well that looks delicious! I wish I was having dinner at your house :)
8. jd | November 24th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Oooo Lolo, everything looks delish, as usual!
I especially like that shot of the cranberries, they’re so pretty… And those beans sound wonderfully simple, which is perfect for Thanksgiving.
Thanks!
9. Laurel from Simple Spoonful | November 24th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Great ideas! We did Christmas last Thursday, so I can relate to your celebrating on your own schedule. ;) I’m excited about the chestnuts; I’ve never tried them, and I have been rather curious about them ever since seeing them sold on the streets in NY when I was there a couple weeks ago.
Also, beautiful pictures, as usual.
10. gail | November 25th, 2008 at 12:05 am
These dishes look fantastic! I have been wishing for some chestnuts to try my hand at some recipes that call for them, however, search as I may I can never find any on Maui. The next time I am on the Mainland I will have to swing by Trader Joe’s (thanks for the tip!) and give your stuffing recipe a try.
11. Elina | November 25th, 2008 at 2:07 am
Especially the seitan roulade looks amazing!
12. veggiebelly | November 25th, 2008 at 2:19 am
This looks fantastic! Thanks for the detailed photos. I’m defenitely trying this!
13. Stefanie bourcier | November 25th, 2008 at 2:24 am
thank you so much for the step-by-step pictures! I always have a hard time conceptualizing the process of making seitan. Beautiful as usual!!
Thanks!
14. Kate | November 25th, 2008 at 2:42 am
Awesome!! Your cranberry sauce is almost exactly the same as mine! (The only difference is I add a cinnamon stick.) I used to call it my Top Secret Cranberry sauce, but I suppose it isn’t really uber classified anymore. I <3 all your cranberry photos. :)
15. Soup and Song | November 25th, 2008 at 3:06 am
Delicious looking, as usual! Thanks for sharing! I can’t wait to try out a few of these recipes!
16. 7tourvercors | November 25th, 2008 at 5:34 am
Whaou ! It seems gorgeous !
17. emily | November 25th, 2008 at 8:41 am
wow. i will be making this thursday for suuuurrrrrrre! wow.
18. sunita | November 25th, 2008 at 8:46 am
What a beautiful spread. I have no idea about seitan.
Wishing you and yours a great thanksgiving :-)
19. Neta | November 25th, 2008 at 9:43 am
You’re a genius! !
20. It's almost Tofurkey Day!&hellip | November 25th, 2008 at 10:24 am
[...] -OR- The All-in-one Thanksgiving by Vegan Yum Yum! [...]
21. sylvia | November 25th, 2008 at 11:56 am
This looks fabulous! I tried making my own seitan last week and it didn’t turn out too well. This looks a little bit easier, so I’ll be trying it next week. I make my tomatoes and green beans like that all the time! Sometimes I mix asparagus with the green beans- it comes out really great.
Btw, I’ve seen the bags of steamed and shelled chesnuts in Middle Eastern grocery stores. The ones I’ve seen have the info in Hebrew on them.
22. Jasmin | November 25th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
You always have great idea! I love following your blog. I was wondering if you could suggest an replacement for mushrooms since I don’t eat them no is my family a big fan of them. I am so excited about trying this recipe out. Thanks
23. Joselle | November 25th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
This all looks so amazing! I was planning on making seitan this Thanksgiving and was going to use Robin Robertson’s version on vegan.com but your recipe seems much simpler. So, I think I’ll do your seitan with my own cornbread (from the Joy of Vegan Baking) and Tofurky sausage stuffing.
I was going to make cranberry pomegranate sauce, a recipe I found in the latest Glamour, but I cannot resist tangerines so I think you just beat out another recipe, too!
Happy Thanksgiving. You are awesome for sharing these recipes and gorgeous pictures. Thank you.
24. LJ Haynes | November 25th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Looks absolutely lovely! I’ve already prepared Rice n Peas and a curry squash stew to take with me to a very non-vegan friendly meal. I’m also taking along a crumb cake (yes, your recipe, thanks!) and, if I get time, carrot cake cupcakes from VCTOTW. I’ll be trying your roulades soon as I can after the holiday. Your blog is definitely on the list of things I give thanks for.
25. Blogosaurus Vex » B&hellip | November 25th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
[...] not too fussy about oven temperature and small enough to fit in my oven! I found a recipe for a seitan roulade with mushroom and chestnut filling that I might try later this week to see if it will do. It [...]
26. Stacy | November 25th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Thanks so much for the seitan recipe! I’d been making seitan piccata from the Veganomicon, and that calls for the seitan to be boiled. Silly me — I never thought about pressing it into squares and frying or baking… Thanks!
27. Kelly | November 25th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Oh wow, that looks so amazing. I am definitely going to try this sometime! Happy Thanksgiving!!!
28. Sandy S | November 25th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
This looks like such an elegant meal – really lovely. I’ve never seen or heard of seitan being used in roulade form – how creative!
Happy Thanksgiving!
29. alix | November 25th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
oh goodness thank you for posting this. it looks wonderful and i was looking for something different to do this thanksgiving. after having tofurky so many times it’s just not that exciting anymore. i can’t wait to try this.
30. Kristin | November 25th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I have a Tofurky. It’s my first and now I’m lusting after this roast! I’ll save this recipe for Christmas!
In addition to the Tofurky we are having green beans, mashed potatoes, soysage dressing mushroom gravy, cranberry/pineapple/ginger sauce, and rosemary biscuits.
It’s my first Thanksgiving on my own……hope the in-laws enjoy the Vegan-ness!
31. Vegan_Noodle | November 25th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Thanks for the recipes!!! I’m making the cranberry sauce right using clementines instead of tangerines. And the seitan sounds reallly good…
32. Kristi | November 25th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
That looks and sounds great, have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
33. Heather | November 25th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Thank you SO much for this!
34. Eva | November 25th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
How beautiful! I’m dying to try your receipe!
35. Jen | November 25th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Everything reads and looks amazing, as always :-)
P.S. – Tag, you’re it! Check out what this means at: http://www.palatetopen.com/?p=362
Cheers!
36. Julia@snarkyvegan.com | November 25th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Once again, you’ve outdone yourself! Amazing creative and photography. You put the rest of us to shame, fer sher. There’s no way to compete with you. Game over! You definitely rule.
Quick questions though:
What to I do with the mushrooms after removing them from the pan? Put them back in after the gravy’s done? Serve them separately? Toss ‘em?
And can we use balsamic vinegar instead of white wine vinegar?
Thanks!!
Ohh, good catch Julia! They go back in after the gravy is thickened. I think balsamic vinegar or even lemon juice would work, just taste as you go to make sure it balances and doesn’t overpower. You may choose to omit it altogether.
37. zelis | November 26th, 2008 at 2:01 am
what a great meal!!! love your pictures, great colors and composition….
check this new vegan blog… hope you like it
http://veganricans.blogspot.com/
cheers!!!!
38. erika | November 26th, 2008 at 2:02 am
i’m going to a potluck and bringing vegan versions of these:
http://finefuriouslife.com/2008/05/14/meatloaf-cupcakes-with-mashed-potato-frosting/
plus pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes with cinnamon icing!
39. Cynthia | November 26th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Wow! I wish I’d seen this yesterday! I’m off to the in-laws dragging along “my food” for myself, daughter and hubby since the in-laws idea of vegetarian eating is salad and twigs & berries! LOL!! :) Can’t wait to get home and make our own veggie thanksgiving.
I”m thankful for your blog and all the wonderful recipes you create which inspire me!
40. A Very Thanksgiving Veg B&hellip | November 26th, 2008 at 11:16 am
[...] Yum Yum: A YumYum Thanksgiving by Lolo Menu Offerings: Seitan Roulade with Chestnut Stuffing, Broiled Haricots Verts with Slow [...]
41. Bianca- Vegan Crunk | November 26th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Holy crap, that looks good! And you make the seitan roulade look so easy! It’s too late for me to try this on Thanksgiving as I’ve already bought my Field Roast. But I may make this for a fancy weekend meal very soon!
42. Aubade | November 26th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Thanks for this recipe! It looks so good I decided last minute to change my menu and am going to try making it tonight!
Btw, I put “seitan roulade” in google to find this post again, and thought I should let you know in case you haven’t seen it- I came across this website that appears to be stealing your entire post and other’s post as well: http://gastronomy.arely.co.uk/ Not cool!
Good luck with the roulade! Unfortunately there are a lot of sites that steal my content via RSS, but I’ve decided for now to keep a full-feed for people who enjoy reading my posts that way. I wish there was a better way to stop them from stealing my content!
43. Carrie | November 26th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Yum Yum is right! I tried seitan roulades before and they came out sort of tough and chewy on the outside part. I should try your tip of pan frying first. That might help. Love the cranberry sauce!
This is pretty chewy on the outside as well, but I liked it that way!
44. Jolene | November 26th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I’m excited to try the seitan, but I have a little problem. I live in a very small town and couldn’t find chestnuts. Would raw cashews work?
Sure, any sort of nut (especially softer, sweeter ones) would be nice. Cashews are a good choice!
45. tricia | November 26th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
where were you a week ago while i was menu planning!? ;-) this looks amazing. i’ll definitely be making this at some point. for now we’re doing a stuffed tofu recipe that i may or may not have found via your site.
looking forward to trying this, though!
46. Cobrizoperla | November 26th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Fantastic! Really a great idea! Thanks. ;-)
47. Annie | November 26th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
god i wish i could have a thanksgiving like that :( i swear once i’m not living with my parents anymore i’m doing my own thanksgiving. no one wants to eat anything remotely healthy on thanksgiving in my WHOLE family :(
48. allularpunk | November 26th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
so i just tried the roulades… and the pieces of seitan COMPLETELY fell apart in my skillet, the moment they touched the pan. how do you keep yours together so well? i’ve worked with seitan quite a bit before, and i’ve never had it fall apart like this. any ideas? especially since i’m supposed to be making this for thanksgiving tomorrow (i was trying to plan ahead – oh well). just curious.
Oh no! It sounds like you didn’t develop the gluten enough. Mine were quite easy to handle. Maybe you didn’t knead the dough enough? Sorry it didn’t work!
49. Angela | November 26th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
All of this looks so amazingly delicious!
My family is having a real turkey, as usual. I am having one of those Tofurkey fake ones. I’m making mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, candy cane cookies, and (hopefully) your tomatoe and greenbean dish.
Thank you for the recipe,
Angela
50. claire | November 26th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
looks quite delish, no surprise. on a thanksgiving-related note, can you refer me to the best vegan pumpkin pie recipe you’ve ever tried? there are a lot out there, some use tofu, some don’t– i actually think i like the tofu versions i’ve tried better, but i’m never TOTALLY satisfied. thanks, love your lovely blog!
51. Cath | November 27th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving but this looks so delicious =) I really need to try it. I’m hungry now!
52. Kareen | November 27th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Just finished eating our Thanksgiving meal courtesy of you, Lolo! Easy to prepare, beautiful to look at and easy to eat. . . seriously, it was delicious and my hubby loved it! Have never made seitan before but I had no difficulties and I’m not a big fan of chestnuts but the stuffing was delicious. Cranberry sauce was wonderful; I’m eating it all by itself. . . yumyum, indeed!
53. Mary | November 27th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
making the seitan roulade as we speak! just a few more minutes in the oven. It was difficult to rolll and tie the roulads to look as beautiful as they do in these pictures. also making your brussel sprouts recipe to go with. yum yum! happy thanksgiving
54. Kristen's Raw | November 28th, 2008 at 5:46 am
Gorgeous pictures!
Cheers,
Kristen
55. Katie | November 28th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Everything looks BEAUTIFUL!
56. JR | November 29th, 2008 at 12:49 am
It looks totally yumyum. How long did you kneed it for? Did it taste good? It looks delicious.
57. rebecca M. | November 29th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I love your work so much and am a big huge fan of VYY! This looks incredible and I am going to try it on a regular night since I missed it for Thanksliving. A word for straight-edge vegans or those aiming to be — the sugar in the cranberry sauce recipe can be replaced (to taste) with Agave… as some regular sugars unfortunately use animal bone in their bleaching/grinding process. (ick.) Or just make sure you buy an organic, unbleached sugar that swears they don’t use bone. Wanted to input this, for those newbies to the vegan scene out there.
58. maddymaba | November 29th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Oh my that looks divine!! If only you had made it in time for Canadian Thanksgiving!
Seitan roulade? GENIUS! Would using apples or pears in the stuffing wreck the seitan and make it too soggy??
59. kary | November 30th, 2008 at 10:46 am
wow this Looks amazingly yum!!
60. Taylor | November 30th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
This looks beautiful! I may try these recipies next year, or in a few years when my mom lets me in the kitchen for more than a half hour.
For Thanksgiving, I made your Mac and Yeast with steamed broccoli, and I baked it. I called it Mac and Broccoli Casserole.
My mom also took the traditional Dressing/Stuffing recipie she has used for years and veganized it by using my egg replacer instead of eggs. It worked like a charm. Binded together perfectly and was so delicious.
She also used soy margarine to make vegan mashed potatoes, and left bacon out of the green beans this year.
Lastly, I made a pumpkin and cream cheese layer cake. Which I used “Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese!” for. It was supposed to be a pumpkin roll, but I’m not sure what happened… it cracked and became a pumpkin layer cake. I veganized this recipie from a recipie that a family friend gave us years back. A bit of a failure, but oh well. Better luck next time.
61. Celina | December 1st, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Just wanted to let you know I tried the recipe for the baked tomatoes and broiled green beans. We made a huge batch and took it to a Thanksgiving potluck and it was a hit. Thank you for the idea!
:) Celina
62. Meagan | December 1st, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Lola,
Everything as always looks delicious…
Would you LOVE a new chalenge for Christmastime?
how about a vegan buche de noel!!
63. Thanksgiving Recap With R&hellip | December 2nd, 2008 at 1:02 am
[...] The tangerine cranberry sauce and mushroom gravy recipes can be found here at Vegan Yum Yum’s website. [...]
64. amanda | December 2nd, 2008 at 3:40 pm
OMG YUMYUM all of your recipes yummm
Hey I was wondering, could I have your recipe for Rambutan boba tea!!! Pretty please with tapioca on the bottom ? :D
65. Katherine Welsh | December 3rd, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Hey, someone linked to this post from Cute Overload! It was a photo of some turkeys with a link to Farm Sanctuary. In the comments someone suggested checking out Vegan Yum Yum for Thanksgiving recipes. Good call!
This is so gorgeous. Makes me hungry.
66. sarahb | December 3rd, 2008 at 10:09 pm
This recipe is amazing! I made it for my friends birthday dinner and it was such a hit. This is the most tasty stuffing recipe I have ever had. Thanks for posting it!
67. Smita | December 5th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Outstanding!!
68. Lisa | December 5th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Hi,
beautiful photos! I made your seitan roulade recipe the other day. I found the seitan very hard to roll out, stringy and elastic. And after baking it 20 min on one side and then 20 min on the other side, it was very hard to chew. What could have caused that. I let the dough sit for about an hour before I rolled it out and pan fryed it, does it get more elastic as it sits? any other tips?
we steamed the roulade afterwards to make the seitan softer but that only lasted while it was warm, the cold pieces again were not chewable.
The stuffing and mushroom gravy was very delicious. I used roasted walnuts and pecans as I couldn’t find chestnuts but very tasty still.
Thanks for the recipe:)
69. liz | December 11th, 2008 at 12:42 am
That looks so beautiful!
I’m absolutely making that Seitan Roulade in about 25 seconds. Thanks!
70. sarah | December 19th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Re post #50:
Claire,
I found a pumpkin pie recipe on VegSource.com that did not use tofu that I thought was pretty good; it wasn’t as ‘fluffy’ as non-veg pumpkin pie, but it was still creamy and delicious.
Pumpkin Pie – Makes one pie
1 pie crust
1 15 oz. can pureed pumpkin
1 c. almond (or soy) milk + 1 t. lemon juice
1/4 t. salt
1 3/4 t. pumpkin pie spice (or 1 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. ginger, 1/4 t. cloves)
1 t. molasses
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. each flour and oil
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Thoroughly mix flour and oil in a large bowl. Stir in pumpkin, sugar, spices and molasses. Gradually stir in milk+lemon juice mixture. Pour into pie shell. Bake 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake 40-50 minutes more. Cool, serve immediately or refrigerate.
Here is the pie crust recipe I use for just about everything (courtesy of somewhere on the internet):
Oatmeal Pie Crust – Makes 1 crust
1/2 c. old fashioned oats
1/2 c. flour
2 T. sugar
3/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
2 T. vegetable oil
3 T. water
Spread oats in pan and bake at 375 degrees, stirring occasionally until toasted, 6-12 minutes, cool, place in food processor and process until coarsely ground. Stir dry ingredients together. Drizzle oil and blend with fork until crumbly. Stir in water 1 T. at a time until dough comes together. Turn dough on a floured surface and knead 7-8 times. Roll out to an 11″ circle, dusting with flour if necessary. Transfer to a pan, press to fit. If necessary, use scraps to patch any holes in the crust.
Also if anyone is interested, I recently adapted the following sweet potato pie recipe from my Williams-Sonoma cookbook:
Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan Streusel
1 Pie crust
For the filling:
1 c. pureed yam*
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. ginger
1/4 t. allspice
1 t. molasses
1 c. almond milk (or soy) + 1 t. lemon juice
1/4 c. each flour and oil, mixed thoroughly
For the topping:
1 T. brown sugar
1/4 c. pecans, coarsely chopped
1/4 t. cinnamon
*To prepare yams: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Prick 1 large Garnet yam with a fork, put directly on the oven rack (it helps to have a pan or something underneath it to catch the sugary liquid that oozes out) and bake until tender, about an hour. (Alternatively, cook the yam in the microwave on high heat until tender, about 6 minutes on each side). Set aside to cool. Peel the cooled yam and mash the pulp with a fork or puree in a food processor until smooth. (Or plop the yam into a large bowl of cold ice water directly out of the oven and you can slip the skins right off.) Measure out 1 cup of the puree for the filling. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
To make the filling, mix flour and oil in a large bowl. Mix in brown sugar, molasses, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice. Stir in yam puree and (gradually) milk+lemon juice mixture and beat until smooth. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes. While the pie is baking, mix together brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon for streusel topping. Remove the pie from the oven, sprinkle pecan streusel over the surface and continue baking until the filling is slightly risen about 20-25 minutes longer. Cool, slice into wedges and serve, top with whipped ‘cream’ if desired.
***
I just found this delicious looking post a little late for Thanksgiving, but I’ll definitely try this for Xmas dinner!
71. Judith | December 20th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Tonight I made this recipe, as a ‘rehearsal’ for Christmas, but the seitan was like chewing gum. I’m sorry to say this, because the recipe seems awsome, but it turned out to be a disaster. I followed all the measurements and steps, but we just couldn’t chew it. What did I do wrong? It seems I had the same problem as Lisa.
72. DesertStandard » Bl&hellip | December 24th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
[...] stop was Vegan Yum Yum because Lola has the best pictures and some really tasty recipes. Her Thanksgiving post has given me the inspiration to try making seitan, aka Wheat Meat. Thanks [...]
73. Meghan | December 24th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
I just tried this for Christmas Eve and had the same problems mentioned by Lisa and Judith. The seitan was incredibly elastic and impossible to roll or pull out to the thinness in your photos. I even ditched my first batch of seitan, thinking that the vegetable broth was too warm when it was difficult work with, even after sitting for 30 minutes. The second batch was a little easier to shape into workable pieces, but still not very thin, and I suspect I’ll experience the same chewiness once the roulades come out of the oven. I’ve made seitan tons of times in the past, but never shaped it like this. Any thoughts on what may be causing the chewiness and thickness? The stuffing and everything else was super yummy. Thanks for sharing!
74. Lauren | December 25th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
I have to agree with the earlier comments on the seitan. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong, but mine certainly wasn’t pretty, and stuck to my pan horribly despite the oil. :( The stuffing is amazing, and everything else listed looks delicious. I’m a little disappointed I couldn’t make the roll work — usually the recipes in this blog are fantastic and easy to follow. Am I missing some ingredient or step?
75. Katrina | December 26th, 2008 at 12:39 am
I just made this for Christmas dinner, and the power went out when I was just starting this morning. So it was funny (and too late) wen I reloaded the page and got the updated warning. But…my seitan did not turn out that bad. It was a little chewy, but I am guessing that I must have over kneaded it (since it is gluten after all). I used a little less than 2 cups of broth and had to let it sit for around 20 minutes before I could press it out. It was a little springy but I didn’t have too much trouble, and once I pan-fried the pieces they were beautiful and much easier to handle.
Thanks for the recipes and photos. It made my Christmas cooking much simpler!
76. Erika | December 28th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I made the roulade (with my own variation on the stuffing) for Christmas dinner, and it was awesome. I had no problem with the seitan at all, I wonder if it has to do with the brand of wheat gluten used?
77. Camille | December 29th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I also had no trouble with the seitan, and it’s my first time doing this! Maybe those who had trouble overworked the dough? Not sure, but I had no problem so I think the recipe is fine…
78. janine Hurd | December 29th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I find if you use cold veg broth instead of warm, the seitan turns out MUCH better
79. Lindsey Childers | January 3rd, 2009 at 7:13 pm
I loved this recipe. I didn’t really have a problem with the seitan. Thanks!
80. Craig J | January 10th, 2009 at 1:40 am
Hey, this was a big hit at our weird, late spring T’giving down under (2 US expats, some Canadians, and heaps of Aussie neophytes) but I’ll admit that I had to make the seitan twice to get it to work. I found that the suggestion to “knead” the seitan is misleading. It really should only be mixed into a dough and squeezed a bit, but then should not be folded onto itself afterward.
It did come out chewy, but this only seemed to add to its popularity. My flatmate has requested I make it again, so hopefully the next go-round will be as successful.
Thanks so much and keep up the excellent work!
81. Fall recipes I want to tr&hellip | January 19th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
[...] Seitan Roulade with Chestnut Stuffing From the VeganYumYum blog, I wish I was a guest at their house this Thanksgiving! This recipe makes the perfect turkey alternative. It looks amazing. If I had more time this Thanksgiving, I would have definitely tried it. Maybe next year! [...]
82. Lisa W | January 21st, 2009 at 5:22 am
Hi!
I just came here to ask what I might have done wrong and I saw the big red warning on the front page!! I made this for Christmas and it really didn’t work out. It was so chewy that it was almost undigestable. I followed the recipe I’m fairly sure but perhaps I over did it on the kneading? That seems to be what other people are saying. Any further ideas? I substituted walnuts for the chestnuts as I couldn’t find any here and it was yummo!
Thanks for your help!
83. Arielle | February 18th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
I just noticed the Editor’s Note attached to this post while searching through the archives for a (different) post. I made this recipe for Christmas and it was a HUGE success! Absolutely delicious, not too labour intensive, and the omni part of the family gobbled it up happily instead of meat. :) So I don’t know what happened to everyone else when they made the seitan, but it works perfectly as is!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
84. spacegirlmelissa | March 1st, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Lolo, you are INCREDIBLE!!! thank you for re-inventing food to be so creative and delicious!!!
i am new to your blog, and i’m certainly already smitten.
I made this most of this meal for my father’s birthday last night. I was a little worried to take on the seitan challenge, but everything worked out great!
the seitan wasn’t too rubbery or chewy, it was just right. i made sure the broth for the seitan wasn’t too warm, more on the cool side, and i flattened it out right away… then worked in more vital wheat gluten as needed if it was too wet in parts. i pounded it and pressed it, without folding it over on itself. this way, any holes came together. i used plenty of oil to fry it so it wouldn’t stick, and then didn’t brush it with oil after rolling it, since there was still oil on it.
even the PICKIEST members of my family had clean plates! i couldn’t believe it! i was really nervous but everything turned out AMAZING! and i have YOU to thank! thank you for being wornderful!!! xoxox
85. kristen | September 23rd, 2009 at 10:36 pm
i read your post where you said a lot of people have bad luck with the seitan. i just wanted to let you know that i made this last christmas and it came out awesome, seitan and all. i make almost all of your recipes and they all turn out great! well, i did have some bad luck with blueberry muffins once…
86. chickpea cutlet roulades,&hellip | October 13th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
[...] to make roulades by Lolo of VeganYumYum – she presented roulades in her Thanksgiving post last year. I used Lolo’s recipe for Chestnut Stuffing (more about that later) for the filling and the [...]
87. chestnut stuffing, vegan &hellip | October 16th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
[...] to the menu. I recently discovered a favourite recipe and thought I’d share it with you: Chestnut stuffing from [...]
88. Heather Katsoulis | October 21st, 2009 at 8:18 pm
This looks so good. So good, in fact, I’ve featured it here: Vegetarian Comfort Food Recipes | Thanksgiving Menu
I’m sure you’ll have something equally as tasty for this year!
h
89. Blah-ish Friday… &l&hellip | October 23rd, 2009 at 2:50 pm
[...] Rouladen: usually slabs of beef, cubed animal fat, and a pickle relish when my (vegetarian) Oma makes it for the family. I want to attempt a veganization, with the help of VeganYumYum’s version. [...]
90. faith | November 3rd, 2009 at 10:11 am
Wow. Last night I kind of winged a recipe for seitan roulades on my own, and they came out pretty good, but then today I googled recipes for them, and I have gotten some fab ideas from you! This looks awesome!
91. HeatherKatsoulis.com &raq&hellip | November 3rd, 2009 at 8:53 pm
[...] Thanksgiving Pot Pie substitute turkey with Chik’n Strips and No-Chicken Broth for chicken stock the veg safe frozen pie crust I use with Vegetarian Apple "Sausage" Stuffing or VeganYumYum’s Thanksgiving Seitan Roulade with Chestnut Stuffing [...]
92. Wayne Blizzard | November 11th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
You mention “prepared” chestnuts” from Trader Joes. This year TJ had what must be raw chestnuts, because inside the lid it said to cut an X into the flat side and roast at 400 for 15-20 minutes. I checked The Joy of Cooking and it said to cut the X but to BOIL for several minutes, remove, and peel; it then said to cook by boiling.
My question is this: What is “prepared?” Is it enough to roast and peel them, as TJ instructed? Or to boil them? I’m pretty sure I have to pre-cook them before using in the “Seitan Roulade with Chestnut Stuffing” because it has a fairly short cooking time.
One more thing: Could one use puffed pastry as the wrapping instead of the wheat gluten based dough?
93. Veggie Might: Thanksgivin&hellip | November 19th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
[...] (dairy or non); then go crazy with the sage and thyme. It’ll be the dressing of your dreams. VeganYumYum’s Chestnut Stuffing (scroll down, you’ll see it) Wild Mushroom Stuffing from Serious [...]
94. Kristen | November 25th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Thanks for the awesome recipe! I’m planning to serve this to my family for Thanksgiving this weekend, so I tried it earlier this week to be sure it would work for me. It was awesome, although I did find the seitan a little on the chewy side. But I just did a search and found this wiki cookbook:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Seitan
They suggest that adding 1 part garbanzo bean flour to 4 parts gluten flour will make the seitan less chewy. I have yet to try it, but that’s my plan. I hope this is helpful to someone else too!
95. Turkey Day Recap « &hellip | November 28th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
[...] south but a bread based stuffing. So, I looked for Chestnut stuffing recipes everywhere and found this lovely one from Vegan Yum Yum. It was good, but I do like my traditional dressing. I also added a [...]
96. Health is Easy » Un&hellip | December 13th, 2009 at 3:18 am
[...] (dairy or non); then go crazy with the sage and thyme. It’ll be the dressing of your dreams. VeganYumYum’s Chestnut Stuffing (scroll down, you’ll see it) Wild Mushroom Stuffing from Serious [...]
97. martin | December 27th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I love this recipe! I made the whole spread for Xmas Eve dinner and it turned out great. The seitan was a bit more difficult to work with than I thought, bit it worked out in the end.
Cheers!
98. Veggie Might: Thanksgivin&hellip | July 24th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
[...] (dairy or non); then go crazy with the sage and thyme. It’ll be the dressing of your dreams. VeganYumYum’s Chestnut Stuffing (scroll down, you’ll see it) Wild Mushroom Stuffing from Serious [...]
99. Veggie Might: Thanksgivin&hellip | September 2nd, 2010 at 7:36 am
[...] (dairy or non); then go crazy with the sage and thyme. It’ll be the dressing of your dreams. VeganYumYum’s Chestnut Stuffing (scroll down, you’ll see it) Wild Mushroom Stuffing from Serious [...]