Quick and Easy Vegan Slow Cooking (10 page)

BEANS

LET’S START WITH
a basic method of cooking beans in the slow cooker so you can freeze them in 1- or 1½-cup portions for recipes that require cooked beans. Again the caveat: do
not
cook kidney beans (white or red) in the slow cooker (see
page 24
).

Soak beans overnight, drain, and rinse, then place in the slow cooker along with a bay leaf, a piece of ginger, or a strip of kombu, if so desired. Cover the beans with three times the volume of water as there are beans, cover, turn heat to low, and cook until the beans are tender, roughly 6 to 8 hours, though denser beans such as chickpeas will often take longer. Drain, rinse, cool, and store in the fridge or freezer until required.

Vegetable Stock

M
AKING YOUR OWN
stock is more simple than you may expect. Not as quick and easy as using bouillon cubes or powder (which are perfectly acceptable), but doing it yourself means you can control the ingredients, and use whatever you have on hand. I often have a resealable plastic bag in my freezer for stock, and to this I add the ends of onions, carrot and potato peelings, celery tops, and the like, ready for when I have enough to make stock. The other thing I like about making my own stock is that I can make it as salty (or otherwise) as I like and also enhance whichever flavor I want to be dominant. See the variations below for ideas. When making your own stock, do not use cabbage and other members of the brassica family such as cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, turnips, or rutabagas; their flavors are too strong and will overpower the stock, unless you plan to use it in a recipe that also uses these vegetables.

MAKES 6 CUPS
PREPARATION TIME: 25 MINUTES

1½ to 2 pounds roughly chopped vegetables such as carrots, onions, potatoes, celery, sweet potato, including skins and peelings if using organic vegetables

Pinch each salt and black pepper

6 cups water

1.
Place the vegetables in the slow cooker. Season with a little salt and pepper (you can always adjust to taste later) and cover with the water. Your slow cooker will be quite full.

2.
Cover, set heat to LOW, and cook for 6 to 8 hours, or longer if you wish. Taste the stock and adjust cooking times and seasoning as required.

VARIATIONS:

ROASTED VEGETABLE STOCK

Roast vegetables in the oven at 425°F for 30 minutes; deglaze the roasting pan with stock or white wine prior to continuing with the steps above.

REDUCED VEGETABLE STOCK

After straining, return the stock to the slow cooker and cook uncovered on HIGH for 1 hour to reduce the volume slightly and intensify the flavor.

ONION STOCK

Use only onions, leeks, and shallots, roughly chopped and including the skin. If you wish you can caramelize the onions
with a tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt in the slow cooker for 4 hours on
LOW
until very soft, or roast them in the oven at 425°F for 20 minutes first.

MUSHROOM STOCK

Use a selection of dried and fresh mushrooms, especially the stalks, as the main ingredients, supported by onions, celery, and carrots.

ASPARAGUS STOCK

Roast the seasoned hard stalk ends of asparagus in a hot (425°F) oven until soft, about 25 minutes. Deglaze the roasting pan with white wine prior to continuing with the steps above, using additional vegetables as desired.

Basic Slow Cooker Seitan, Darker and Lighter

W
HILE SEITAN CAN
be purchased ready-made from the refrigerator section of health food stores and well-stocked supermarkets, it is rewarding to make your own when time permits. The texture of this seitan, if simmered, is both moist and firm. Cooking in the broth and turning helps to maintain moisture, so it’s perfect for all your seitan needs. For best texture and taste, make it the day prior to using. If you are steaming or dry cooking, it will be firmer and less moist.

There is a “beef-y” darker-style seitan and, to provide balance, a “chicken-y” lighter-style seitan. I felt there was the need for both and have used them in recipes to suit the finished product. Of course, if you have a clear preference for either, please mix and match to suit; the recipes will work just fine. Also, you can use chopped seitan as a substitute in any of the recipes that call for soy curls, TVP chunks, tempeh, or even tofu, though the results will differ slightly.

WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVER SEITAN BROTH?

S
OME RECIPES, FOR
example Seitan in Onion Gravy (
page 98
), use the broth as an ingredient. You could also use it whenever a dark vegetable stock is called for. Save the stock, even freeze it, and use to make future batches of seitan. Use as a base for your own recipes for soups, stews, and gravies. Strain and use a broth to drink (if you like that sort of thing). Use to cook lentils for an instantly flavored dish.

Darker Seitan

I
F YOU DON’T
have mushroom stock, using plain vegetable stock is just fine, though I do prefer the depth of flavor you get from mushroom stock.

Makes 4 generous servings, roughly 1 pound, or about 4 cups chopped
Preparation time: 10 minutes

SEITAN

¾ cup mushroom stock, at room temperature

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1½ teaspoons blackstrap molasses

1½ teaspoons liquid smoke

1 teaspoon Marmite
 

¹
/
₃
cup nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon white pepper
 

1 cup vital wheat gluten

BROTH

4½ cups mushroom stock, at room temperature

¼ cup red wine or vegetable stock, store-bought or homemade (
page 43
)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Marmite

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 whole clove

1.
In a large bowl whisk together the stock through the Marmite.

2.
Whisk in the nutritional yeast through the pepper, then add the gluten and mix well with a fork.

3.
When well mixed knead in the bowl for 3 to 4 minutes to develop the gluten.

4.
Divide into 4 pieces, shape each into a ½-inch-thick disc, and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

5.
To prepare the broth, whisk all ingredients, except the bay leaf and clove, together in the slow cooker insert. Add the bay leaf and clove.

6.
Add the seitan pieces to the cold broth, cover, turn heat to LOW, and cook for 4 hours, turning after 2 hours if possible.

7.
After the full time has elapsed, turn off the heat, uncover, and allow the seitan to cool in the broth for at least 1 hour. Remove the bay leaf and clove.

8.
When cool, store the seitan pieces in the broth in the fridge or freezer until needed.

Lighter Seitan

CHOOSE A LIGHT
vegetable stock (or broth) that is not too darkly colored. Dilute with some water if all you have is dark stock. Crushing the garlic and celery with the side of a chef’s knife will break them up and allow the flavors out.

Makes 4 generous servings, roughly 1 pound, or about 4 cups chopped
Preparation time: 15 minutes

SEITAN

¼ cup nutritional yeast

1½ teaspoons poultry seasoning mix, store-bought or homemade (
page 52
)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten

1 cup cold light vegetable stock, store-bought or homemade (
page 43
)

BROTH

5 cups cold light vegetable stock

½ cup white wine or vegetable stock

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 bay leaf

2 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled

1 celery stalk, chopped into 3-inch lengths and crushed

1.
In a medium bowl combine the yeast through the gluten.

2.
Add the stock and mix to combine well.

3.
Knead for 3 to 4 minutes either in the bowl or on a clean counter to activate the gluten, then flatten to a 1-inch-high circle and cut into 4 equal pieces.

4.
To prepare the broth, mix the stock through the celery in the slow cooker.

5.
Add the seitan pieces to the cold broth, cover, turn heat to LOW, and cook for 4 hours, turning after 2 hours if possible.

6.
After the full time has elapsed, turn off the heat, uncover, and allow the seitan to cool in the broth for at least 1 hour. Remove the bay leaf, garlic, and celery.

7.
When cool, store the seitan pieces in the broth in the fridge or freezer until needed.

VARIATIONS

Dry cooking or steaming the seitan gives a firmer, less moist result than simmering, which may suit you better. Use the following alternate cooking methods for both seitan recipes. Try each method and see which you prefer.