Vegetarian pepperoni (with vital wheat gluten) recipe

quaalude

We were talking on this thread about homemade vegetarian pepperoni. I thought others might like to see my recipe so I'm posting a new thread.

I used this recipe as a base, but I've tweaked the ingredients, cooking times, halved it, and converted the US measurements.

- About Vital wheat gluten: I emailed Nourish and they got some in for me, but it was €10 for 500g! I get it on iHerb now as it is much cheaper (use code BJT151 for $5 off your first order).
- It looks complicated, but takes only a few minutes to put together and get in the oven.
- Below makes about 8 servings of about 55g apiece.
- It's very high in protein - 19g per serving!



Dry ingredients:
200g vital wheat gluten
40g nutritional yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
3/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon fennel seeds

Wet ingredients:
200ml cold water
30ml tahini (or peanut butter)
30ml ketchup
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients very well in a large bowl.



3. Mix wet ingredients very well in a jug or similar.



4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry, mixing well (use your hands if necessary). Use a tiny bit more water if there are ingredients left very dry.



5. Remove from the bowl and knead it for a few minutes.

6. Roll it roughly into a log, about 7 inches long. Yes, it looks terrible - that's OK.



7. Place the log on foil and roll it up in the foil, twisting the ends well to seal.



8. Put in the oven for 60 minutes, turning it over after 30 minutes. Take it out:



9. Unwrap from foil, and leave it to cool.



10. Slice and eat!



It lasts a while in the fridge - a week at least. I usually cut mine up into individual 55g servings and wrap them in clingfilm to stay moist and tasty.

If you make it, let me know!

sweet-rasmus

Well done quaalude! Fantastic post and recipe!

perfectisthe

It looks fantastic. I've been humming and hawing for about five years over whether or not it's worth ordering wheat gluten online. Question answered!

quaalude

Thanks!
I love it and make it often - it has a really great "chew", so satisfying.

I've also made it without the more exotic ingredients - fennel seeds, smoked paprika and onion powder - and it's still great.
I meant to say - you can get onion power in Tiger stores, a decent-sized bag for €2. I use it in loads of recipes now - it's just dried, granulated onion, with no salt, and it makes everything taste like Meanies!

As an aside: a great popcorn topping using some of the above ingredients is a mixture of nutritional yeast, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and just a touch of sea salt. It's delicious - I haven't eaten crisps in a year, and it totally fills that gap for me.

FouxDaFaFa

I made this today and it came out pretty great. It's very chewy though, I think I may have left it in the oven a few minutes too long.

What meals do you use it in, quaalude?

I imagine it would be nice as a pizza topping.

quaalude

FouxDaFaFa wrote: »

I made this today and it came out pretty great. It's very chewy though, I think I may have left it in the oven a few minutes too long.

What meals do you use it in, quaalude?

I imagine it would be nice as a pizza topping.

Glad to hear someone made it!

I love the chewiness - but if you feel it was too chewy, yes - maybe take it out 10 mins earlier.

My favourite use is in salads - I cut it into cubes, and stick it in the microwave for a sec and add it to whatever my lunch salad is.
Today I had it with a salad of a baby spinach, feta, tomato and dates and it was gorgeous.

I made a lazy pizza the other day with one of those flatbreads from Dunnes, a spoonful of Mutti Pizza Sauce, some cheddar, vegetarian Parmesan, and slices of the pepperoni and it was delicious.

I also just like to eat slices of it on its own as a snack.

Please let me know if you find other uses for it!

FouxDaFaFa

I think it could be a decent addition to stuffed peppers or in a tomato sauce with pasta.

quaalude

I used my vital wheat gluten, and most of the same other ingredients, to make this last night: http://www.theppk.com/2012/01/vegan_sausage/ - they are bloody lovely, so moist and tasty.

You steam rather than oven cook the sausages - the results are more tender and sausage-like than the pepperoni recipe.

flikflak

I was in Down to Earth on Georges St at the weekend and noticed they have bags of Bobs Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten for sale. Didnt see the price as was in a rush.

quaalude

flikflak wrote: »

I was in Down to Earth on Georges St at the weekend and noticed they have bags of Bobs Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten for sale. Didnt see the price as was in a rush.

Oh deadly - must check it out, I'd much rather buy locally than on the web.
I love Down to Earth - I find it's often cheaper than Nourish.

Tar.Aldarion

Great! Pepperoni here i come

henryporter

quaalude wrote: »

Oh deadly - must check it out, I'd much rather buy locally than on the web.
I love Down to Earth - I find it's often cheaper than Nourish.

I find both of them astronomically expensive - my local health shop is on average 25% loser in price for the same products (tamari, quinoa etc) - guess thats the difference in rent between a side street in Carrickmacross and a main thoroughfare in Dublin. Would love to get my hands on some of that vital wheat gluten though - going through a seitan shortage

quaalude

henryporter wrote: »

I find both of them astronomically expensive - my local health shop is on average 25% loser in price for the same products (tamari, quinoa etc) - guess thats the difference in rent between a side street in Carrickmacross and a main thoroughfare in Dublin. Would love to get my hands on some of that vital wheat gluten though - going through a seitan shortage

PM sent

psychoead

Thanks, I will be trying this recipe next. I recently made chorizo following the recipe in Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. It was amazing. Great texture and flavour. I steamed them and they turned out perfect. I got my vital wheat gluten in Fallon & Byrne which is about a euro cheaper than Down to Earth for a 50g pack.

I'm definitely considering iHerb for vital wheat gluten in the future though. I figured buy in bulk (say 4 packets) and it turns out just over €7 each including postage for 623g as opposed to the 500g packs over here.