Recipe: Pepperoni Deli Slices

Since my trip to Spain, I have been working on making seitan with lentils.  My friend, Maik made some outstanding seitan with lentils.  I have been working on it for months now and finally got it right!  They really add some amazing texture, a smoothness that most seitan really craves.  This is a recipe I am really happy with and I recommend it highly.

This recipe seems like a complicated procedure but it is actually very simple.  There are a few steps but much of the process is unattended cooking.  These made great sandwiches on the go or at home for a nice lunch.


Pepperoni Deli Slices

The gluten mixture

1 1/2 cups of vital wheat gluten
1 tablespoons of chip pea flour
1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
1/2 tablespoon of crushed red pepper
1/2 tablespoon of mustard seed
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoon of black pepper


The broth mixture

4 cloves of garlic

1 tomato
3/4 cup of vegetable broth
1/2 of an onion
1/2 cup of cooked red lentils
1/4 cup of tofu
1 tablespoon of fennel seeds
1 tablespoon of oil
2 teaspoons of liquid smoke
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of sugar


The marinade mixture

1 cup of the broth mixture (above)
1/2 cup of vegatable broth
1 tablespoon of oil


In a blender, combine all of the "broth mixture" ingredients.  Puree until smooth.  This should be a nice red/orange color and have a nice pepperoni-like odor.

In a bowl, combine all "gluten mixture" ingredients and mix well.  This should be completely dry, any moisture will ruin the mixture.

Combine 1 and 1/4 cups of the broth mixture and the gluten mixture and immediately stir well.  The mixture will become doughy and thick very quickly.  Begin to form the dough into a log shape.  Take the dough out of the bowl and kneed while maintaining the log-like shape.  Allow it to rise for a few minutes and kneed again. 

Take aluminum foil and loosely wrap around the log shaped dough.  Steam for 55 minutes.  Turn the loaf once during the steaming process.

In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Combine all the marinade mixture in a baking loaf pan.  Once the steaming has been completed, place the dough into the loaf pan and roast for 1 hour.  Turn every 15 minutes to avoid tough edges. and baste when needed.