No Meat Pot Roast

Wheat Meat is a nice alternative to soy-based meatless products and I've enjoyed making mock meat dishes with it for the last eight years or so. This "Pot Roast" is prepared much like the Corned Beef, Cabbage, and Potatoes recipe, with slight variations in flavoring and shaping.

There are a few brands of vegan bullion available in the market that imitate the flavor of beef and chicken. Never having tasted beef, I can't tell how close it gets to the real thing. If preferred, can simply use vegetable broth instead of beef or chicken flavored broth, which is my choice usually - vegetable bullion cubes dissolved in water (1 cube in 2 cups water).

These make good leftovers. Squeeze to remove excess moisture, shred or mince to make mock ground beef. If dry enough, it can be breaded lightly and baked or pan-fried to make a nice protein packed filler for kids' lunch.

The directions look like a bit much, but, it is really an easy dish to make ahead. Can double the quantity if desired.

Ingredients
for the pot roast "meat":
1 cup vital wheat gluten
¾ cup warm broth
spices: 1 tsp each cumin powder, coriander powder, taco seasoning, cayenne pepper, salt

1 Tbsp canola oil

for the simmering broth:
3 to 4 cups broth+water
1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 or 2 drops Liquid Smoke (I use Wright's Hickory Seasoning)
spices: celery seeds, sage, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, parsley (or any preferred/handy combination)
1 large carrot, cut into chunks
1 medium onion sliced
3-5 cloves of garlic

Preparation

1. Combine the dry ingredients for the pot roast, add warm broth and stir with a spoon right away till it comes together to form a dough. Knead a few time and shape into a rectangular loaf/log (or any preferred shape). [When simmered, the shape doesn't hold tight and looks bloated]
2. Start the simmering broth in a pot large enough to hold the loaf, reserving the liquid smoke to add at the end, and also reserving part of the onions for sautéeing
3. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet large enough to hold the loaf, sear the sides of the shaped pot roast, remove from pan and add to the simmering broth, cover and allow to simmer
4. In the same hot pan, sauté the reserved onions, off heat and keep handy
5. Simmer on low heat rather than full boil, 30  minutes; then, turn the loaf over in the pot and simmer another 30 to 40 minutes till it feels tender and can be cut with the edge of a regular spatula
6. Remove the loaf, purée the simmering broth in a blender for a smooth sauce; I simply mashed with a potato masher for a coarse chunky texture, reserving some carrot chunks for presentation; return to pot and simmer till the sauce thickens to desired consistency
7. Slice the pot roast, drizzle some sauce, top with sautéed onions, and serve warm

Wheat Meat meal

I got hooked on wheat meat about six years ago. A wonderful alternative to soy-based mock meat preparation, wheat meat, as the name suggests is made with wheat gluten and lends itself to a variety of flavoring by adjusting the broth in which it is simmered. The more popular name for this is seitan, although this usually refers to simmering in soy-sauce-based broth.

The recipes here are a great starting point. Usually, per measure of wheat gluten flour, i use about 2/3rd to 3/4th measure of water; add spices to the flour before adding water and kneading. Simmer gently for about an hour or so to desired done-ness in broth/stock with additional flavoring.

Corned beef, with cabbage and potatoes seemed like a nice meal for St.Patrick's Day. But, since we don't eat beef, i decided to make this wheat meat.

After simmering in broth, the prepared wheat meat can be refrigerated in air tight container for about 3-4 days and used in other recipes, like in stir-fry, or cut it up into coarse chunks and break it down in a blender or food processor to use as mock ground beef. It takes a bit of trial and error to get the desired texture.

Ingredients
for the wheat meat dough:
1 cup vital wheat gluten flour
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper powder
2 Tbsp coarse grain salt (rock salt)
1 Tbsp dried rosemary
3/4 cup water

8-10 new baby potatoes, whole
1 small-ish cabbage cut into wedges

for the broth:
6-8 cups water or vegetable broth
4 Tbsp coriander powder
2 Tbsp cayenne pepper powder
2 Tbsp brown sugar
salt to taste
(any other favorite flavoring can be used for the broth)

Preparation

combine the wheat meat ingredients and knead to a fairly smooth dough; continue kneading for 2-3 minutes; let it rest for about 10 minutes and then knead again; form into log/patty/ball shapes*, wrap with plastic wrap and set aside for 10 minutes or so
*the dough is not easy to shape, so, i simply aim for a rough block usually

start heating the broth ingredients while dough is resting; then add the wheat meat dough so it is fully immersed in the broth liquid; let it simmer on medium low for about 30 minutes or so

check water often and add more if needed; turn the wheat meat around a few times in the simmering broth

after about 20 minutes of simmering, the wheat meat will start looking bloated; add the new baby potatoes and cook for another 15 minutes till potatoes are cooked through but not mushy

slice a thin piece of wheat meat and check for done-ness; if it has the desired meat texture, add the cabbage wedges and simmer a little longer till cabbage is cooked but not mushy

Serve warm with some Irish soda bread or favorite dinner rolls.