When this is finished, you should have a nicely browned, roasted loaf that you can slice to reveal the
stuffing inside. This isn't
vegan -- its absolutely full of
butter, although I guess you could use margarine if you wanted, and
egg substitute. It even makes great leftover sandwiches with
cranberry sauce.
It's pretty elaborate, but spending a lot of time on the preparation really makes it feel like Thanksgiving. Whatever you do, don't skimp on the butter/margarine. It's a holiday!
Broth:
1 aseptic package (box) of vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. Vogue vegetarian boullion powder
4 c water
(Or some other means of producing 2 quarts of nice veggie broth. We've recently discovered Better than Boullion, veggie flavor. This also works well.)
Plus:
1 onion, quartered
1 rib celery, just cut in half
1 carrot, cut into a few pieces
a bunch of parsley stems (these will be left over from making stuffing)
1 tbsp butter
1 bay leaf
"Turkey" layer:
1 package extra-firm tofu (we used Nasoya, but you don't have to)
1/2 package (5 oz) crimini mushrooms, sliced roughly
2 medium yellow onions, diced
1 stick butter
1 c TVP granules + some slices, if you have them, soaked in 6 cups of boiling water, drained, and squeezed of excess moisture. Squeeze really well through cheesecloth, if you have it.
1/4 c roasted cashews
2 eggs
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
Lots of soy sauce to taste
1/2 package of yuba(tofu skin) -- I confess that this part is stolen from the tofurkey recipe.
Stuffing:
2 medium loaves of good bread, cubed & left out overnight to dry. Avoid extra-crusty bread, which won't make good stuffing.
3 medium yellow onions, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 large rib of celery, diced
about 15 leaves of fresh sage, chopped
1 tsp ground rosemary
2 tsp dried thyme
about 1/2 cup of chopped parsley
Salt & pepper
Or just make your favorite stuffing.
Cotopus's Mushroom Gravy
5 oz crimini mushrooms (the rest of the box from the turkey layer)
2 yellow onions
4 Tbsp butter
1/4 c flour
remaining broth from above
1/2 tsp dried thyme
a couple of drops liquid smoke (Optional, but DON'T USE TOO MUCH!)
soy sauce
salt & pepper
any combo of water, milk, or soy milk to make about 2 c
Before assembling, put the broth ingredients on to simmer. Keep it simmering throughout the preparation time. Add extra water if it looks like you're running out. Soak the tofu skin in a pan of water for at least 20 min. Try to keep the sheets whole.
Make the turkey layer first: saute the onions in about a quarter of the butter until beginning to brown. Add the mushrooms and a little salt, and cook until the mushrooms are done. Crumble in the tofu and cook a little longer until heated through. Add soy sauce until it tastes good. Whirl the whole thing in a food processor with the cashews and nutritional yeast until smooth. Set aside.
Saute the reconstituted TVP in half the remaining butter, and add about 1/4 c of soy sauce. The TVP will soak up the mixture. Continue to cook the TVP until it's slightly crispy and brown around the edges. It should taste pretty good on its own. Add the TVP to the tofu mixture. Set aside while you make the stuffing.
Stuffing:
In a really big skillet, cook the onions, carrots and celery in the butter until the onions are just starting to turn brown. Add the bread cubes and stir them around until the vegetables are well incorporated. Add about 2 cups of the simmering broth and mix until all the bread cubes are moistened. Add more broth if necessary to wet it all down. Mix in all of the herbs, and add salt and pepper to taste. You will have more stuffing than you need. This is a good thing.
When ready to assemble everything, add 1-2 eggs to the tofu mixture, and mix well. Spread a couple of sheets of the yuba on the bottom of a greased baking pan and brush with melted butter. Make sure to leave a large margin of yuba in order to fold it up around the roast. Then spread 3/4 inch layer of the tofu into an oval on top of the yuba. Use up about a third of it. With your hands, pack some of the stuffing into three balls the size of a large orange, and line them up on top of the tofu. There should be about two inches of clearance all the way around. Spread the remaining tofu onto the stuffing, completely covering it, forming an oval loaf shape about the size of a loaf of bread. Fold the bottom yuba sheets around the tofu and cover any exposed tofu mixture with more sheets of yuba, brushing each with butter, strudel-style, as you add them. Pack remaining stuffing into a baking dish and ladle some of the broth into the dish. Cover the loaf with foil. Bake the loaf and the extra stuffing in a 350 degree oven for about 90 minutes or until the loaf springs back when you press on it gently, basting the loaf (with a spoon or bulb, not a brush) occasionally with the broth. Remove foil for last 20 min or so of cooking to allow the skin to brown. Let the loaf rest for a few minutes after taking it out of the oven.
About 15 minutes before serving, make gravy:
Saute the onions in the butter until well caramelized, about 10 min. Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are done and most of the excess moisture has disappeared. Sprinkle in the flour, forming a mushroom-and-onion-studded roux. Cook this briefly so the flour loses its raw taste. Take the pan off the heat, add the broth and other liquid and thyme, stir until all the liquid is incorporated and the gravy is smooth. Cook over low heat until thickened. Season to taste with salt, pepper and soy sauce.
Serve slices of the loaf with the gravy, extra stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce.