• Preheat your oven to 160°C (325°F). Mix the hot vegetable stock with the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes for the mushrooms to rehydrate.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small saucepan, sauté the onion and garlic until softened and lightly golden, then spoon into a blender with the garlic, chickpeas, tomato purée, soy sauce, maple syrup, miso, liquid smoke, salt, pepper, paprika, fennel seeds, allspice and chilli flakes, plus the mushrooms and stock. Blitz until smooth.
• Put the vital wheat gluten in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the wet mixture and stir with a spatula until everything is well combined and forms a dough.
• Tip the dough onto a clean work surface and knead for around 12 minutes. Be firm – the tougher you are, the more meat-like texture your “ribs” will have when cooked. Once kneaded, leave the dough to rest for around 10 minutes. Mix together the BBQ sauce ingredients, except the cola, bay leaf and star anise, in a large bowl.
• Shape the “rib” dough into a rectangle around 1cm (1⁄2in) thick and cut down the middle.
• Preheat a griddle pan over a high heat and add the two tablespoons of oil. Brush some BBQ sauce over each piece of dough and lay these on the pan to grill for 2–3 minutes on each side. Try to get some nice char lines. You may need to grill one piece of dough at a time, but once both pieces are charred, transfer them to a deep baking dish.
• Mix the cola into the remaining BBQ sauce, then pour it over the dough. Add the bay leaf and star anise. Bake in the oven for 2 hours, carefully turning over the pieces of dough half way through cooking. Add a little water to the tray to stop the sauce from thickening too much. Once the “ribs” are cooked, remove the tray from the oven and leave to cool. I prefer to chill mine in the fridge overnight, then heat up in the oven for 10 minutes before serving, as the “ribs” will be firmer and more meat-like but you can also enjoy them straight from the oven.
• Slice the “ribs” before serving and spoon the sauce over the top.

For the cranberry and orange sauce

• Heat all the ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat with the lid on. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring often.
• Spoon the sauce into your sterilized jars and seal. The sauce will keep for 4 weeks in the fridge.