Baked Vegan ‘Gammon’ With Pomegranate Glaze
A sticky pomegranate glaze gives a wonderful flavour and a beautiful shine to this vegan ‘gammon’ roast joint
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This gammon-style seitan roast makes an impressive festive centrepiece. Its sticky, sweet and sour pomegranate glaze adds a real wow factor to the joint that’s sure to please your dinner guests.
You can take your time making this roast – starting up to five days before yo’u want to serve it – as each stage is improved by plenty of resting time (aren’t we all!).
This vegan gammon recipe will give you plenty of leftovers to make a Boxing Day sandwich or salad – or just eat the cold slices straight from the fridge!
How to serve this vegan gammon recipe
This sweet and savoury gammon joint works perfectly in a traditional Christmas dinner with all your favourite trimmings. ‘Honea’ roasted vegetables, roast potatoes, Brussels’ sprouts and vegan gravy will come together with this roast to make a delicious festive meal.
Serve it whole as an impressive centrepiece, or slice and serve on plates, with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds for decoration.
It’s delicious served hot or cold, so any leftovers can be enjoyed in a variety of ways.
Try serving it up in a festive leftovers sandwich, or as a salad topping. Slices of this vegan gammon will also work brilliantly on a charcuterie board, served with crackers and vegan cheese.
What if I’m missing an ingredient?
Most of the ingredients in this recipe are pretty easy to find, and should be available from any supermarket. You may even have most of them already. However some may require more specialist shops.
Try searching online for what you’re missing, and if you still can’t get hold of it, try these substitutes instead:
Pomegranate molasses – This is a syrup with a tart, tangy flavour. If you can’t get hold of it, try using cassis syrup, or a similar tart berry syrup. Red wine vinegar is another alternative, but you’ll need to add sugar or maple syrup to balance out the tartness.
Liquid smoke – This will add a slightly deeper, smoky saltiness to the recipe. It can be left out entirely, or substituted with a smidge of smoked paprika. If you do omit liquid smoke from the seitan’s liquid element, you will need to adjust the water content to compensate.
Vegan Worcestershire sauce – Worcestershire sauce usually contains anchovies, and vegan alternatives aren’t always easy to find. If you’re struggling to get hold of one, Henderson’s relish is a plant-based alternative. Otherwise, to replicate the flavours you need something that’s mostly umami with notes of sweet and sour. Try adding a splash of balsamic vinegar and a half a teaspoon of marmite, or a squeeze of ketchup with a little soy sauce.
Total Time: 10 hours
Prep Time: 2 hours, plus at least 8 hours to rest
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 10
Rating:
Total Time: 10 hours
Servings: 10
Ingredients
Method
Ingredients
(Servings: 10)
- Dry ingredients
- 45 45 g vital wheat flour
- 6.5 6.5 g plain flour
- 0.3 0.3 Tbsp garlic powder
- 0.1 0.1 Tbsp dry mustard
- 0.4 0.4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- Liquid ingredients
- 0.1 0.1 large onion, skin on and roughly chopped
- 80 80 ml water
- 0.1 0.1 Tbsp Demerara sugar
- 0.2 0.2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 0.3 0.3 Tbsp olive oil
- 0.3 0.3 Tbsp liquid smoke
- 0.4 0.4 tsp sea salt flakes
- 1 1 (approx) whole cloves
- 0.1 0.1 tsp black pepper
- 0.1 0.1 tsp grated nutmeg
- 0.3 0.3 Tbsp tomato puree
- 0.1 0.1 cinnamon stick
- 0.1 0.1 star anise
- 0.1 0.1 Tbsp white miso
- 0.1 0.1 small cooked beetroot, pureed (optional)
- For the glaze
- 0.2 0.2 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 0.2 0.2 Tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 0.1 0.1 Tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 0.1 0.1 Tbsp soft brown sugar
- 0.1 0.1 tsp liquid smoke
- 0.1 0.1 tsp ground ginger
- You will also need
- 0.2 0.2 large sheets of extra strong foil
- 0.1 0.1 large sheet of baking parchment
Method
- Place all the liquid ingredients into a large pan and gently bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat. Stir well, cover and leave to cool completely. This can be done up to 2 days in advance and stored in the fridge until needed.
- Measure all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Strain the liquid mix and add the liquid gradually to the dry ingredients, mixing well to combine the ingredients. Knead the dough briefly in the bowl until it becomes stretchy.
- Shape the dough into a rough cylindrical shape and place on top of the sheet of parchment paper. Roll the dough up tightly in the paper to create a sausage shaped parcel. Repeat this wrapping with one sheet of the foil followed by the other, so that you have 3 wrapping layers in total.
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the seitan parcel to the water. Turn down to a very gentle simmer and cook for 1 and a half hours, topping up the water as necessary. Once the seitan is cooked, remove it from the water and leave to cool completely in its wrapping. Once cold, refrigerate for at least 8 hours, ideally overnight, or for up to 3 days.
- When ready to serve, preheat your oven to 180°C (Gas Mark 4, 350°F). Unwrap the roast and score the top with a sharp knife, making a criss-cross diamond pattern. Decorate with whole cloves.
- Mix together the glaze ingredients in a small pan and briefly bring to the boil to thicken. Line a baking tray with foil and place a wire cooling rack on top. Sit the seitan on the rack and slowly pour over most of the glaze, completely coating the roast.
- Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, basting occasionally with extra glaze.
- Serve hot or cold.
Nutritional information per 100g: Calories 297, Fat 5.1g, Saturates 0.8g, Carbohydrates 20g, Sugars 6.3g, Protein 42g, Salt 0.89g
Want more ideas for your festive feast? Try one of these vegan Christmas recipe ideas
