Seitan Tacos with Homemade Flatbreads & Cucumber Dressing

Fluffy homemade tacos, topped with minty seitan chunks and topped with a refreshing cucumber dressing – this fresh-tasting vegan seitan taco recipe is packed with the tastes of spring. 

Vegan seitan tacos with homemade flatbreads and cucumber dressing

By Alexander Willow-Harvey

Ingredients

For the seitan:

Wet ingredients:

• 1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and mashed
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 2 tsp tamari
• A squirt of ketchup (optional but tasty!)
• 250ml (1 cup) cold vegetable stock
• 1 finely chopped shallot
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Dry ingredients:

• 190g (1 1/2 cups) vital wheat gluten
• 30g (1/4 cup) gram flour
• 40g (1/3 cup) nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp lemon pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp fine chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• Salt and black pepper to taste

For the minty marinade:

• 2-3 Tbsp mint sauce
• 60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
• 1 Tbsp finely minced fresh rosemary
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp mixed dried herbs
• 2 crushed and roughly chopped cloves garlic
• 1 finely chopped shallot

For the flatbreads:

• 384g (3 cups) plain white organic flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• Scant 1/2 cup (120ml) rapeseed oil (or canola oil)
• 235 ml (1 cup) hot water

For the creamy cucumber dressing:

• 60ml (1/4 cup) unsweetened soy milk
• 70ml (1/3 cup) rapeseed oil (canola oil)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1/2 of a cucumber, cored and coarsely grated
• 2 spring onions, diced

Method

For the seitan:

1. Get a pan of water simmering away and pop the steamer part on top, leaving the lid on whilst you make the seitan.
2. Mix the wet ingredients together in one bowl and the dry in another, add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix together well.
3. Knead the stiff dough like mix together in the bowl for about 3 minutes, shape into a thick log shape and slice into four pieces, knead and shape each piece into a “cutlet” shape and warp securely in tinfoil.
4. Place in the steamer basket and pop the lid on. Steam for about 40 minutes until you can feel the cutlets are firm when you pick them up with tongs.
5. Remove from the steamer and allow to cool slightly before unwrapping.

For the minty marinade:

1. In a large ziplock bag (big enough to hold your batch of seitan) add all the ingredients apart from the seitan. Shake well to mix the ingredients.
2. Add the seitan to the bag and shake to coat it nice and evenly with the marinade.
3. Marinate for at least 1 hour.
4. Place the pieces of seitan on skewers and grill until starting to brown nicely on the outside, the seitans already cooked so you just want to reheat it and give it a bit of colour and texture.

For the flatbreads: 

1. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder together in a bowl. Add the oil and mix in with a fork until the flour is coated in the oil. Slowly add in the hot water and mix together, squeeze out any lumps with your hands.
2. Bring the mix together and only slightly knead, just enough to make sure it’s evenly mixed.
3. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to sit for about 30 mins.
4. Pull off a small golf ball sized piece of dough and roll it into a ball. Roll out the dough into a circle with a rolling pin.
5. There are two ways you can cook these flatbreads: either a few mins on each side in a dry non-stick pan, or grill on a BBQ after brushing with oil.

For the creamy cucumber dressing:

Blend the soy milk, oil, salt, pepper and vinegar together in a food processor until thickened and creamy.

Transfer into a bowl and fold in the remaining ingredients and serve in a cute little dish ready to dollop over the seitan, or to dress a salad!