January 10, 2021

Tomato and Garlic Vegetarian Sandwich Meat

You can make a really amazing vegetable sandwich- try hummus, topped with cucumbers, tomatoes, sprouts, onions, and avocado- but sometimes I like to change it up with some vegetarian sandwich meat. And since the grocery store varieties are a little hard on the wallet, I like making my own- that way instead of making a sandwich with one measly seitan slice, I can make myself a vegan-meat packed sammie worthy of a NYC deli. These slices are filled with savory goodness, and really pack a punch of garlic and tomato flavor. It only takes 10 ingredients to make these vegan deli slices, so get your food processor ready and lets get seitan making!

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Making Your Own Seitan

One of my favorite vegan activities is making my own seitan- taking all sorts of savory ingredients, and mixing them together with vital wheat gluten to create different vegetarian meat substitutes. You can get many different outcomes by using different ingredients and techniques. Not kneading (or kneading less) can lead to a softy, delicate seitan. A lot of kneading will result in a stringy, peal-apart chicken-like texture. Different recipes simmer, bake or steam seitan to cook it- I tend to prefer steaming, but they all have their merits. Simmering allows you to infuse the flavors of a broth, but it also is more likely to fall apart or turn spongy. Baking gives you a nice crust and doesn’t require much attention, but also easily dries out. Steaming is a great way to keep the shape and texture you’re after, although it results in a more chewy seitan than simmering, and you have to make sure your steamer doesn’t run out of water during the long steam time. Different ingredients help too- you can make a very simple seitan using just flour, but adding other ingredients help with flavor and texture. I usually add tofu or some type of beans to create a more pleasant texture in my sandwich seitan. Adding different ingredients with natural umami properties (such as nutritional yeast, miso, soy sauce, tomatoes, seaweed, marmite, mushrooms, and more) really works to add a little “meatiness” to your recipe.

Looking for Seitan Recipes? Try one of these!

How to Make Vegetarian Sandwich Meat

It all starts in your food processor. Process up all the ingredients aside from the vital wheat gluten into a paste. Next comes the vital wheat gluten (sometimes called gluten flour). It’s the most important ingredient in these deli slices- the gluten is the glue that holds it all together. If you can’t find any at a local store you can always find it online- I’ve found that one of the best-priced options is getting a large bag from Anthony’s Goods. Add it in, and let your food processor work it around for you. If you don’t have a food processor, you can always blend the other ingredients in a blender, and then work the vital wheat gluten in by hand in a large bowl- just give it a few extra kneads to work it in well. Shape the dough into a loaf, and wrap it in parchment paper and foil (you can also wrap directly in foil, if you like). After a long steam, let it cool before you cut it. Store your vegetarian sandwich meat in the fridge (you can slice it all at once, or just take a slice or two off as you need them), and enjoy!

Tomato and Garlic Vegetarian Sandwich Meat

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Tomato and Garlic Vegetarian Sandwich Meat

Ingredients

14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
7 oz. firm tofu
¼ cup nutritional yeast
3 tbsp. light miso paste
10 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 ¼ cup vital wheat gluten

Instructions

Add all the ingredients besides the vital wheat gluten in a food processor, and process until smooth. Add the vital wheat gluten and process You do want a fairly sticky dough, but not so much so that you can’t work with it. Let the food processor run for a minute or so once the dough has come together to build the gluten bonds..
Prepare a steamer. Take the seitan dough and kneed it a couple times, working it just enough to bright it together into a large, smooth loaf (about 4 inches in width). Wrap the loaf in parchment paper, then seal with aluminum foil. Place in the prepared steamer and steam for 1 ½ hours, checking on it periodically to make sure it has not run out of water.
Once the seitan is steamed, allow to cool fully and unwrap it. Slice into thin slices and store in a plastic bag or air-tight container in the fridge.

https://veryveganval.com/2021/01/10/tomato-and-garlic-vegetarian-sandwich-meat/

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