Vegan Holiday Roast with Teff Stuffing

This year, many people have gone plant based. In addition, many people are choosing to make things from scratch or be more creative at home. Plus, fewer people want to venture into the grocery store all the time so people are cooking more often at home. This simple vegan roast recipe touches on all these new trends but also provides people with flavours they might not have tried or thought to put together. The roast consists of a high protein seitan roast stuffed with teff and flavours that are common in East Africa. Plus, this roast provides a creative protein option for your plant-based holiday dinner.

Why a teff stuffing?

One thing that is true about my platform is showcasing foods, ingredients, and spices from the African continent. I was looking to make a holiday roast this year and wanted a filling that will allow me to build complex flavour. Many people have started making stuffing from different grains, so I thought why not try with teff. Teff, especially the brown teff grain, has a really nutty flavour that can work with a lot of rich and deep spices. I also chose teff because I wanted to incorporate spices like coriander seeds, cumin, and ginger, which are also used in many East African, specifically, Ethiopian dishes.

Plus, teff is an amazing grain to include in your diet. it has been cultivated for centuries in East Africa, specifically the Horn of African, and is full of nutrients like manganese, zinc and iron. I have a blog post that extensively addresses Teff and its benefits. You can check it out here (click here). Considering all of this, I was really excited to put together this stuffing recipe.

What you will need

Teff Stuffing

• Mirepoix (onion, celery and carrot): This is the base for stuffing, which I thought was essential to include in this recipe. The onions and carrot add a nice sweetness while the celery adds texture
• Mushroom: I really wanted something that had some elements of meatiness, which mushrooms provide. I chose shiitake mushrooms because they have the best texture and flavour
• Ginger and Garlic: These are essential. That’s the tweet
• Vegetable Broth: This adds a lot of flavour to the teff with little work. The broth will be used to cook the teff as well as hydrate the stuffing
• Spices: This is the fun part. For this recipe I will be using a base of onion, garlic powder and vegetable bouillon powder for a savoury flavour. I will also include some paprika, coriander and cumin seeds and a few pimento (all spice) seeds that add a clove/cinnamon-ish flavour.
• Teff: I got my teff from Berhan. I black owned business north of Toronto. Click here to shop their website. If you are not in Canada, bob’s red mill also sells teff grains

Vegan Roast

• Vital Wheat Gluten/Seitan: This by-product of wheat processing is great for making meat substitute product. It has a great texture and is also high in protein (unfortunately it is not gluten free)
• White Beans: Adding beans actually improves the texture of the roast
• Mushroom Broth
• Flavour Enhancers (Miso Paste and Mushroom Powder): This adds an umami flavour to the roast.
• Fat: (Soymilk and Tahini) These help to moisten the loaf, otherwise it will be too dry
• Spices: A variety of spices like onion, garlic powder, cloves, rosemary, cumin and paprika will be added to make sure the roast has flavour

How to make the stuffing

1. Cook the teff in vegetable broth (I always choose a low sodium vegetable broth so that I can adjust for my preferred salt level). I do this because the vegetable broth tends to be salty
2. Cook down mirepoix and rest of vegetables till soft
3. Add the teff and spices
4. Let the spices meld for 5 minutes. After take it off the stove and let it cool down. You can make it hours before or you can put it in the fridge to cool down while you get the roast together

How to make the roast

1. In a blender, add all the ingredients except for the gluten flour and blend till smooth
2. In a bowl, portion out the gluten flour and mix in the blended liquid
3. Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes
4. On a flat surface, layer a large piece of parchment paper on top of a large piece of aluminum foil
5. Spread out the dough onto the parchment paper till the dough is about 1 cm or 1/4 inch thick
6. Scoop 2/3rds of the stuffing at the bottom of the flattened dough
7. Wrap like a burrito
8. Wrap it tightly in the parchment paper, then tightly with aluminum foil
9. Steam in water for 1.5 hours
10. Crisp the outside by shallow frying in a pan
11. Slice and serve with your favourite gravy and mash

FAQ

• Are there any gluten free alternative
  • Unfortunately, seitan is necessary for this recipe
• I do not have teff, what other option can I use
  • I will highly highly reccomend teff but fonio or quinoa can work in this situation
• How long can I store it for
  • it is best eaten fresh but can store well in the fridge for a couple of days.

Print Recipe

Vegan Holiday Roast with Teff Stuffing

Dinner

By Afia – Serves: 8-10 slices

Prep Time: 20 minutes – Cooking Time: 2 hours – Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of teff
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot finely chopped
• 1 cup of mushrooms
• 6 cloves garlic grated
• 1/2 cup soy milk (please use ONLY soy mix)
• 1 1/2 cup mushroom/ low sodium vegetable stock
• 1.5 tbsp miso paste
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 1/2 cup white beans
• 1.5 cup gluten
• Spice Mix 1: 1 tsp each of onion, garlic, vegetable bouillon, ginger powder, and mushroom powder (blitzed some dried mushroom into a powder), 1/2 tsp each ground cumin seed, ground coriander seeds, smoked paprika, ground all spice berries
• Spice Mix 2: 2 tsp each onion and garlic powder, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp Rosemary, 1 tsp cumin

Instructions

1

Boil 1 cup of vegetable stock

2

When it comes to a boil, add the teff

3

Cook the teff for 12 minutes at medium-low till all the liquid has been absorbed

4

Set the cooked teff aside to cool down

5

In another pot, sauté the onions, 3 cloves of garlic and mushrooms in coconut oil till soft

6

After, add the carrots and celery and cook for 10-15 mins till the carrots are soft. If the pot is getting dry, add a few tbsp of vegetable broth.

7

Once the carrots and celery are soft, add Spice mix 1 and teff.

8

Cook the mixture for 5 minutes at low to get the spices to meld. After, set the stuffing aside to cool down

9

As the stuffing is cooling, in a blender, combine the rest of the ingredients (soy milk, beans, tahini, spice mix 2, 1/2 cup broth) EXCEPT the gluten flour

10

Mix the blended mixture with the gluten flour and knead the dough for 3-5 minutes

11

Roll out the dough on parchment paper till 1/4 of an inch thick

12

Add 2/3rds of the stuffing on top and wrap everything like a burrito

13

Wrap the roast tightly in the parchment paper, then wrap everything with aluminum foil

14

Steam the roast in water for 1.5 hours

15

After, let the roast cool down and firm up

16

You can crisp the outside of the roast on a pan if you want

17

Slice and serve

Make sure to pin the recipe for later