I thought this was a bit bland, didn’t really taste of much and could be improved by adding cheese (then again, I think everything can be improved by adding cheese). The Meat Eater thought it was really nice and subtle and didn’t need anything else. Then again, he has tastebuds and can taste everything, whereas I can’t taste anything unless I pour chilli flakes all over whatever I’m eating.

I’m not going to post the recipe this time, as I’ll probably get into trouble if I keep posting all the recipes from the book, but you can find it in The Quorn Kitchen cookbook.

The original recipe calls for making your own pastry (not sure what type, just your average pie-pastry, I suppose) but I used ready-made filo.

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Quorn have a new fish range out.

In the past, I’ve eaten Redwood’s Fish Style Fingers quite a few times. The first time I tried them, I was immediately transported back to being 14 years old and getting home from school; they were – as far as I could remember – just like the real thing (although that was only the first time. On subsequent times I’ve had them, they haven’t seemed that authentic [which will be a good thing for many people]. I’ve also tried Redwood’s Thai Fish Style Cakes but they weren’t for me and after eating two of them, the rest of the packet went into the bin.

We gave Quorn Fish Fingers a go and they were ok, but a bit dry and bland and nowhere near the texture of fish (although, I don’t want them too ‘fishy’, just like I don’t want meatfree products too ‘meaty’. I like meatfree products like Quorn and supermarkets’ own range meatfree stuff for what they are, not because they’re ‘fake’ meat [but that's not something I'm going to go into on this blog]).

The new Quorn fishcake range that I’d seen in the supermarket had made me a bit squeamish. Quite a few times, I’d lingered over them but moved on without buying them. That’s probably because while us veggies have been used to burgers and sausages being around for ever, veggie (or vegan; all Redwood’s products are vegan [unlike Quorn that contains milk and egg]) fish products are relatively new. Still, I was brave and put some Quorn Salmon and Dill Fishcakes in the trolley and served them up for dinner.

Unlike a lot of breaded products that are oven baked, these came out nice and crispy. Perfectly crispy, in fact. They’re very thick and substantial – a lot thicker than I expected and that was a bit off-putting. Also a bit off-putting was the colour; a pale greyish pinkish colour. A faint taste of fish came through but not overpowering. On the whole, they seemed a bit weird at first, but perfectly pleasant, although not something I’d have on a regular basis.

Now then, when will I be brave enough to try the Quorn Tuna Style Melts that are currently in the freezer?

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After last week’s spicy enchiladas, I had some meatfree mince to use up, so had a looked through the Quorn Kitchen cookbook and decided on these. I thought they’d be like the enchiladas, but in a lasagne-style, rather than rolled up. It was nice, but not as nice as the enchiladas. The Meat Eater said they needed less cheese and more sauce.

Quorn Tortilla Stack

300g Quorn Mince (I used Sainsbury’s own)
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp mild chilli powder
400g chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp vegetarian Worcestershire or brown sauce
3 tbsp freshly chopped coriander leaves
4-6 flour tortillas
200g mature Cheddar cheese, grated

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C (400F/Gas Mark 6)
2. Heat a large, shallow, non-stick frying pan until hot and cook the onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Then add the Quorn Mince, paprika, chilli powder, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, Worcestershire or brown sauce. Season to taste.
3. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Stir through the coriander.
4. Place a tortilla on a large non-stick baking tray and spoon over a portion of the mince mixture evenly and a handful of cheese. Repeat with the remaining ingredients and top with the remaining cheese.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts. Cut into quarters and serve.

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The Blue Anchor in Ruckinge does fantastic food and last week we went there for lunch to celebrate The Meat Eater’s 40th birthday with his parents. I’d been there before and know how big the portions are: more than enough for two people and some of the meals come on three plates (one for the main, one for the potatoes, and one for the vegetables). Because I had this knowledge, I opted for the jacket potato with cheese and coleslaw (which came with about a lb of cheese on it, along with a massive salad), while The Meat Eater chose their chilli cheese pie (which the owner assured him was superb). The Meat Eater said it certainly was superb, so I decided to recreate a vegetarian version using the Chilli Con Quorn recipe from the Quorn Kitchen Cookbook.

And here it is.

Quorn chilli cheese pie

Ingredients
1 ready made pastry case
Cheese

300g Quorn Mince
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
2 bay leaves
400g tin chopped tomatoes
300ml vegetable stock
1 green pepper, de-seeded and chopped
400g tin red kidney beans, drained
2 tsp cornflour
1 tbsp water

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Fry the onion and garlic until soft and light golden brown. Add the Quorn Mince, spices and bay leaves, fry for 3 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, vegetable stock and green pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in the kidney beans and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Mix the cornflour with the water to a smooth paste. Stir into the Quorn chilli to thicken. Cook gently for a further 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and discard.

Pour some of the chilli into the pastry case (there will be loads left over, so freeze it to use in the future on rice, jacket potatoes or make more pies out of it), top with grated cheese and put in the oven at 200C for about 15-20 minutes or until the cheese has browned.

I served it with purple sprouting broccoli that I never knew went green when cooked.

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More Quorn for dinner tonight.  Blimey, anyone would think I got sent some free samples or something.

Still, I don’t really need an excuse to eat noodles.  Especially chilli ones.  And these Quorn Chilli Stir Fry Strips are already marinated so you don’t need to add any spices of your own.  I usually end up pouring more chilli sauce onto my dinner but these were tasty enough but not too spicy for The Meat Eater who’s a bit of a wuss when it comes to chilli.

Here they are, along with the rest of the ingredients I added to the stir fry.  (They’re the bright orange things in the black tray.  The other things are vegetables, which can be found in all good supermarkets.)

Oh yeah, there’s a jar of Lazy Garlic there that I got sent to try.  It’s chopped up garlic preserved in white wine vinegar and when you sniff the jar, all you can smell is vinegar and not garlic.  Tasted fine in the stir fry but wouldn’t fancy trying to make garlic bread with it.  Personally, I think white wine should be drunk out of a glass, not used to preserve garlic. 

Anyway, back to the Quorn.  The finished result, served with egg noodles.

Quorn Sweet Chilli Stir Fry
(serves 2)

250g (1 pack) Quorn Sweet Chilli Stir Fry Strips
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 red pepper de-seeded and sliced
1 red onion finely sliced
1 garlic clove crushed

stir-fry vegetables sufficient for two portions:
baby sweetcorn
mange tout sliced
pak choi

Rice or noodles to accompany the dish

Method

1. Pre-heat the oil in a wok and fry the onion, garlic and pepper for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the Quorn Sweet Chilli Stir Fry Strips, mange tout and baby sweetcorn.  Stir fry for 5 minutes.
3. Add the pak choi, stir through and allow to wilt slightly. 
4. Serve with rice or noodles.

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Quorn have added a new addition to their deli range; Quorn Roast Style Sliced Fillets which can be eaten straight from the pack or added to salads, wraps and sandwiches.

Low in fat and high in protein, you’ll find them in the chilled cabinet but I froze them and then left them in the fridge overnight to defrost before using them in my sandwich today.

Here they are in the pack:

And here’s the construction of my sandwich.  And yes, I know it’s white sliced (Kingsmill to be precise) but it’s what The Meat Eater fills the freezer with.  (Four drawers in the freezer and he fills three of them with bread.  Bah.)

Squeeze some squeezy mustard mayonnaise onto the bread and add the Quorn fillets.

Add some salad on top.

Two minutes later you have a nice sandwich. 

And very nice it was too.  And because I’m such a classy chick, I accompanied it with a mug of Cup a Soup.

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Ok, my last plug for Leith’s Vegetarian Bible for the time being.  I’ve used this book a lot in the last week, and this recipe is one I’ve used lots in the past.  Good carbo-loading food (not that I run much anymore).

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 leek, thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g/11oz Quorn mince
1 x 400g/14oz can tomatoes
290ml/1/2 pint vegetable stock
2 tablespoons tomato puree
2 tablespoons mushroom ketchup

To serve

340g/12oz spaghetti
freshly grated Parmesan-style cheese

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion, pepper, carrots and leek. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook over a low heat for 10-15 minutes until softened.
2. Add the Quorn mince to the vegetables and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.  Increase the heat and allow the Quorn to colour slightly.
3. Add the tomatoes (these can be liquidized for a smoother consistency, if liked), stock, tomato puree and mushroom ketchup.  Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until the liquid is well reduced.  Adjust the seasoning to taste.
4. Meanwhile, bring  a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.  Add the spaghetti and cook, uncovered, for 10-12 minutes until al dente.  Drain thoroughly and rinse the spaghetti under hot running water.  Drain well.
5. Place the spaghetti in a warmed serving dish and pour over the Quorn bolognese sauce.
6. Serve with Parmesan-style cheese sprinkled on toip of the sauce or handed separately.

Quorn and red onion bolognese

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I seem to be having themed meals recently.  The week before last was Italian (home made pizza, sweet potato & mushroom lasagne, mushroom & asparagus pasta); last week was Mexican (white bean chili, spicy bean enchiladas) and now this week seems to be taking on a Quorn theme as on Monday we had Quorn chicken style tikka masala and tonight’s offering was Quorn beef style teriyaki.  And very nice it was too.

Quorn beef style teriyaki

Ingredients (serves 2)
300g Beef Style Quorn Pieces
75ml groundnut oil
50ml soy sauce
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
½ an orange, juice and zest
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
125g dried egg noodles
½ red pepper, thinly sliced
50g mushrooms, thinly sliced
6 spring onions, sliced diagonally into 1cm pieces
½ lemon juice
2 tbsp coriander, finely chopped

Method

1. Place the Quorn pieces into a bowl and add 50ml of the groundnut oil, the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, orange juice and zest and rice wine vinegar.  Leave to marinate while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
2. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet, drain and set aside.
3. Place a wok over a medium heat and add the remaining 25ml of groundnut oil.  Add the Quorn and marinade and cook for a few minutes.  Add the red pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the mushroom and spring onion and cook for 2 minutes more.
4. Add the lemon juice and coriander.
5. Add the drained noodles and combine in the wok with the other ingredients.

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I’m not a fan of packaged food, preferring to display to The Meat Eater my domestic goddess prowess by cooking from scratch but tonight I showed him my packet opening prowess instead.  And I’m definitely not a fan of sauces that state they’re suitable for vegetarians and then tell you to use it with meat but I was offered a free curry sauce and therefore all my principles swiftly went out of the window.

A pouch of Bibijis Tikka Masala arrived for me in the post, I opened the envelope and was greeted by a not very inspiring package.

Bibijis Tikka Masala packaging

Still, it’s the taste that counts, not the packaging although I’m not sure it would tempt me in the supermarket.  The packaging lists the ingredients (all natural) and nutritional information (including fat and calorie content which is very low).

After I’ve read the cooking instructions (cook some chicken (I substituted this for Quorn Chicken Style Pieces), pour the sauce over and simmer for 15-20 minutes) I read on the wrapper about their Unique Chilli System® where you can control the heat of the sauce by taking the whole chilis in there out to make the sauce milder, or leave in to keep it hot.  Is there really a whole chili in there, I wondered?  I cut open the resealable bag and peeked in.

Yep, there's a chili in there

Yes, there was a chili in there.  Hurrah.  I peered further into the sauce to see if I could see any more but so far only the one chili.

I cooked the Quorn Chicken Style Pieces in a wok and poured over the sauce and out fell two more whole green chilis.

It's not chicken tonight

While this was cooking, I boiled some rice (white; yes, yes I know… brown is healthier… but white is nicer) and about 15 minutes later dinner was served.

Dinner is served

The verdict:
Smell: Fresh and appetising
Appearance: Not great when first put in pan but looked good on the plate
Taste: Salty, but not unpleasant.  Heat just right, not too hot and not too mild, although tikka masala isn’t supposed to be hot anyway (according to The Meat Eater – my curry knowledge is limited).  The whole chilis were nice and fresh.
Texture:  Good texture with just about the right consistency but a bit gungy in places, could be it needed a bit more stirring.
Colour: A natural looking orangey red.
Overall:  Very nice but not as good as the real thing.

Available in fine food outlets and available to order online at www.bibijis.com

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