How to Build a Turkey (Vegan, of Course...)

After making a way-too-dense seitan loaf at Thanksgiving, I decided to go with an old standby: Tofu Turkey, which has been served on numerous occasions. However, this time, I decided to use seitan instead of tofu. I even tried to sculpt the 'hind legs' or whatever those lumps are on a traditional turkey. Here are some assembly pics, as well as the recipe that was originally from Vegetarian Times:

I first laid down slices of seitan on a parchment-lined cookie sheet:

I then formed the stuffing around it:

I then draped homemade pastry over top (and formed 'hind legs' with seitan and stuffing inside), then brushed with vegetable stock:

Once baked, it looks delicious, and much tastier than the 'real' thing!

Combined with a number of other items, it made a delicious Christmas feast!

Here's the recipe in case I've persuaded you to try it next year:

'Turkey'

2 - 1 pound loaves bread
2 tablespoons margarine
2 medium carrots, finely diced
2 large stalks celery, finely diced
1 large onion, finely diced
pepper to taste
1 teaspoon sage or celery salt
½ cup Egg Replacer/water combo (about 2 tbsp egg replacer with the rest comprised of water)
½ cup vegetable broth
3 good size pieces of seitan (I used about half of a recipe for VwaV's Seitan)
pastry for a single-crust pie


1. Break bread into 1 - inch chunks; dry in a large bowl, uncovered, for at least 8 hours or overnight.
2. Melt margarine in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrot, celery and onion; sauté, stirring frequently, until lightly browned. Transfer to a large mixing bowl; cool to lukewarm. Add pepper, bread cubes, sage (or celery salt), egg replacer and broth. Toss to combine; set aside at least 30 minutes to allow liquids to soak into bread.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Arrange overlapping slices of seitan on parchment paper in a row; mounding in centre. Press stuffing mixture around seitan to cover completely. Wet hands lightly, and press into a neat oval shape.
5. Roll pastry sheets out to 1/16 - inch thickness; arrange, overlapping slightly, to make a large rectangle. Seal edges with dabs of water.
6. Drape pastry over mound; trim excess away around bottom. Use scraps to cut out decorative shapes (leaves, apples, etc.); attach with dabs of cold water. For a shiny crust, brush pastry lightly with veggie broth. Bake 1 to 1 ¼ hours, covering pastry with foil if it browns too much.
7. Transfer ‘turkey’ to a platter. To serve, cut straight down through pastry, stuffing and seitan to make neat 1-inch slices. Serve with gravy.