Vegan Shitake Stuffed Seitan Plait

This impressive vegan seitan plait sure to wow your guest on any occasions.  Bursting with an irresistible umami flavour, this pastry plait is great recipe for vegans and meat-eaters alike. 

Ingredients:

For the stuffing:

• olive oil
• 170g shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 2 leeks, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 40g breadcrumbs
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• juice of ½ a lemon
• salt & pepper to taste

For the roast:

• 3 cloves garlic
• ½ a tin of cooked pinto beans
• 325ml vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil from sun-dried tomatoes
• 300g vital wheat gluten
• 15g nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried sage
• pepper, to taste
• 320g ready rolled puff pastry
• ½ tsp liquid smoke, nice to have but not compulsory

Method:

Preheat oven to 170ºC/150ºC for fan oven.

For the stuffing: Fry the mushrooms and leeks in oil until soft before adding the salt, pepper, garlic and thyme. Cook for another minute. Crumble in the stock and squeeze in the lemon juice before adding the breadcrumbs. Toss until they are slightly toasted.

For the roast: Blitz the garlic, beans, tomatoes, stock, oil, liquid smoke (if use) and soy sauce until smooth. Either by hand or in a food processor, combine the dry ingredients before adding the wet ingredients. Once fully incorporated, transfer the dough onto a 40cm (16 in length) wide kitchen foil. 

Form the mixture into a flattened sausage, leaving 5cm on each side. With the side of your hand. work the mixture flat until the dough is no more than 1cm thick. Place the stuffing on the lower half and, using the foil, roll the roast over to encase the mixture, overlapping it slightly. Twist the ends of the foil so it looks like a big cracker and bake for 40 minutes. Poke the roll with tongs- it should feel very firm. If not bake further. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Unroll the puff pastry sheet with the short end facing you. Cut the two furthest away corners off to resemble a Christmas tree with the very tip missing and cut a square out of the two corners facing you.

Unwrap your roast and, with a bread knife slice the ends off to reveal a perfect cylinder.

Place on the centre of the pastry, fold the top piece of pastry over and then cut lines along the pastry on either side of the roast, about 1cm apart. Alternate plait the slats diagonally down, before folding the tab of pastry closest to you up and finishing the plait. Decorate with pastry stars, if desired.

Brush with plant-based milk and bake for 15 minutes at 170ºC/150ºC for fan oven.  Serve hot.