Vegan Spiced Sausage

Vegan Spiced Sausage

Recently one of our favourite veggie restaurants, Govinda’s, has starting stocking something callled ‘Vegan Salami’. Growing up as a kid the only meat substances I had eaten were fish and salami and being far too curious, though it was a bit pricey, we got some. I since became a little obsessed with the idea of ‘Could I make this myself?’

Having looked up online possible ways to do so, the answer was vital wheat gluten i.e. the thing you can’t buy in Ireland at all (seriously, health food shops even look at you weird when you ask). So we tried to do it from the same method we made seitan. Technically, it’s just flavoured seitan, and you can make it with whatever flavours you want. (http://vegannyomnom.blogspot.ie/2012/06/broccoli-seitan-stir-fry-in-ginger.html) 

Ingredients:

- As per seitan recipe (1kg flour, water)

- 1/2 onion (chopped v. v. fine)

- 3-4 cloves garlic (chopped v. v. fine)

- 2 tbp tomato puree (or less, depending on what flavour you want)

- 1 tbp cornflour

- 1 tbp vinegar (we used wine vinegar, but it doesn’t matter)

- 2 tsp soysauce

- Spices (1tsp+ or to taste): coriander, smoked paprika, chili, black pepper, oregano, ground mustard (can grind from mustard seeds.. or use wet mustard presumably), a wee bit of salt

1. Make seitan according to the recipe (Attempt 2: http://vegannyomnom.blogspot.ie/2012/06/broccoli-seitan-stir-fry-in-ginger.html) Make sure when kneading it before you wash it you really give it a hard time – do it for about 30mins or so (you can watch some episodes/movie in the background, good recipe to make when angry!). This really helps it stick together when you wash it then and afterwards.

2. After seitan is washed (so starch is gone), knead all the rest of the ingredients into it unti thoroughly mixed.

3. Seperate into two (or whatever sizes/however many you want). Roll up REALLY tight in tin foil, twist at edges. (Something to stop the tin foil sticking to the sausage could be used, but we’re not sure what.)

4. Put in oven at 180º for about 1.5hrs.

5. Remove and very gently peel off the tin foil, so as not to remove the outer layer of sausage. (this may take some time – as said in step 3., maybe something could be used here to make this easier) Put in fridge for a few hours then as it sticks together more.

This was almost called ‘vegan salami’, but the taste wasn’t quite similar enough to warrant it. Doing it again I would definitely play around with flavours more, as this one came out a bit more tomatoey than I hoped (though still lovely on sandwiches).