Let’s not talk about factory farming, or the $95 price tag on one of those so-called organic and “happy” turkeys from Whole Foods. Instead, let’s consider how to skip the whole nasty business. This tasty soy turkey and stuffing recipe is likely to help everybody forget about a craving for dark or light meet off of the bone. The ingredients are common, and it’s likely that you already have many of them in your pantry.
Tips: There are two steps to this recipe, so you might want to either do the first part of the prep the day before or at least, several hours before you need to serve your vegan turkey and stuffing dinner. Also, there seem to be a lot of steps, but it’s because we’ve broken the recipe down quite a bit. It’s actually pretty simple, fun, and satisfying.
Vegan Turkey and Stuffing Recipe
- 4 1 LB (16 OZ) containers of tofu (extra firm)
- 2 TSP each of thyme and oregano and onion powder
- 2 packages of vegetarian stuffing mix (6 OZ each)
- 1/8 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- dash of sesame oil
- Use three of the four pages the tofu at room temperature. If you bring it home from the store, you may want to let it sit out overnight. Before using, you can use a cheesecloth or even your hands to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- Mix the tofu well with the dry seasonings.
- The next step is to make a sort of bowl out of the tofu. One way to do this is to line a colander with a cheesecloth and smooth the tofu mixture around the inside. The bowl should have sides that are about an inch thick.
- Put a smaller bowl inside the tofu bowl and hold it down with a weight. You might want to tuck your cheesecloth around exposed edges to prevent them from drying out too much. Put a plate underneath and put this in the fridge for a few hours to overnight.
- Set your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Make the prepared stuffing according to the instructions on the package. Simply fill the turkey bowl with the stuffing.
- Crumble up the remaining package of tofu over the top of the bowl. Press it firmly to the edges.
- Invert the turkey bowl onto a backing dish and remove the cheesecloth to reveal your half of a sphere.
- Combine the wet ingredients together. Brush the outside surface with these to give it a brown color.
- Bake at 375 for 1/4 hour, reduce the heat to 350, and bake for another hour. Baste once in awhile.
- Cut and serve! It helps to cut it in half first, and then slice it into slabs.
