Chorizo (seitan)

 

 

This makes one sausage, about 170 x 30.    I worked out that it costs no more than a dollar for the vital wheat gluten.    Even if you add another dollar for the rest of the ingredients, this is a very cheap chorizo.    It tastes just like the real thing and the texture is very similar.    You can use dried flaked garlic instead of fresh and I reckon 1/2 tsp = 1 clove of garlic.    This is very hit and miss, however, because the flakes are big and the spoon is small!    I smash them up a little bit and the finished appearance is just fine.  Granules would do, but the chunks of real or flaked garlic look a little bit like the fat that you usually find in chorizo, so add to its verisimilitude. (See notes.)

I can’t recommend this recipe too much, if you like chorizo: it’s dirt cheap, it’s quick, it’s easy and it tastes amazing. It’s also great to have as a tapa when you have friends on board – vegetarian or otherwise.

When you mix this, try to use up every bit of the dough in the sausage so that you leave a really clean bowl. Make sure your tools are clean, too. Gluten and glue have the same root, etymologically, and any dough can be a nightmare to clean up, because it sticks to your cloths and scrubbers. However, using up all the dough eliminates this issue: soaking will get any remaining dough off the bowl, should you miss some.

 Makes one sausage, approx 150x 30

 

3 tbsp chickpea flour

5 cloves garlic (See Note)

2 tsp smoked paprika

1½ tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

1/2  tsp salt

1/4 - 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (See Note) 

60ml water

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp tomato purée

1 tbsp soy sauce

½ tbsp red wine vinegar 

1/2 cup vital wheat gluten (60g)

• Peel the garlic then chop it roughly. Chorizo usually has chunks of white fat in it and chunky bits of garlic give a similar appearance.
  
• Add the chickpea flour, garlic, paprika, onion powder, pepper, salt and chilli flakes to a large bowl and mix them together.
• Now add the water, olive oil, tomato purée, soya sauce and vinegar, one at a time, stirring after each addition.
  
• Now add the vital wheat gluten. Begin mixing with a knife or spatula until just combined without overworking the dough.  You will probably need to finish by hand: it's not necessary to kned the dough, just mix everything thoroughly.
  
• Put the trivet in the base of the pressure cooker and add 1/2 cup of water.
• Roughly shape the chorizo into a log that will easily fit in the pressure cooker – about 150 x 50 mm. It doesn’t have to be perfect because the cracks and crevices will disappear during cooking.
• Wrap it in foil or baking parchment, twisting the ends tightly. Place the wrapped chorizo into the pressure cooker, bring up to pressure and cook for 10 minutes. Let the pressure come down gradually.

 

While warm the chorizo stays fairly soft, but it goes harder as it cools, and if left overnight, ends up with a texture very similar to the real thing.  It keeps well wthout refrigeration: up to about a week, as long as it isn't in too moist an environment.

 

 

 

Notes

• If you prefer, you can use dried garlic flakes.  These are really too big, but if you smash them up a bit with a pestle and mortar (or in a blender), after cooking, they end up looking like the fat in a 'real' chorizo.  If you are very patient, you can break them into smaller pieces.  Soak the pieces in a little warm water before using them.  You can also use dried garlic granules, but they are much more even in size and don't look quite as nice.  Use 2 1/2 tsp garlic flakes, or 1 1/4 tsp garlic granules.
• I like my chorizo quite hot, so use 1/2 tsp chilli flakes