Homemade seitan with oven-baked vegetables and a tomato and herb sauce

Seitan

• 1 kg wheat flour
• 600 g water
• 2 tsp salt

For boiling

• 2 l water
• 2 tsp salt

Marinade for the seitan

• 2 tsp ground paprika powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 3 tbsp rapeseed oil

Vegetables

• 4 potatoes
• 4 carrots
• 1 root celery
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 4 tbsp rapeseed oil

Sauce

• 400 g crushed tomatoes with herbs
• Fresh basil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

The recipe uses Xtra brand products.

1. Mix wheat flour and salt in a large bowl and add water little by little until the dough is soft and sticky but not too wet. Knead the dough for 10–15 minutes to activate the gluten, until a smooth ball forms. Cover the bowl with a towel or cling film and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Wash and peel the vegetables and cut into sectors, season with salt and pepper, add a little oil, stir and transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 45 minutes at 180 degrees or until the vegetables are cooked and golden brown.
3. Add cold water to the rested dough and rinse until the starch has separated from the flour, three to five times. This can take about 15 minutes. The loaf has turned into an elastic mass – that’s wheat gluten, or seitan! Cut into eight equal pieces and shape them like “fillet”.
4. Boil over low heat in salted water for about 10 minutes until the “fillet” rises to the surface. Seitan can also be boiled in flavoured water, with vegetables or spices, for example, to give it more flavour. Then, mix the spices for the marinade in a bowl and add garlic or other herbs of choice if you like. Drain the seitan in a sieve and let sit in the marinate for 15 minutes. Then, fry in a pan until golden on both sides or put in the oven with the vegetables.
5. For the sauce, use crushed tomatoes with herbs, add a little salt and sugar or other sweetener to balance the flavours, and cook over low heat for 5–10 minutes. Add some chopped fresh basil leaves to the sauce and leave some leaves to garnish the dish.

Transfer the finished seitan, vegetables and sauce to a plate, add the basil leaves and enjoy!