Planet Veggie

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.

Vegan Cookbook - The Essential Guide

Vegan Cookbook – The Essential Guide by Isabel Hood is a new addition to the Need2Know range of books.

Comprising seven chapters, the first two chapters cover an overview and background of veganism, along with a checklist of ingredients every well-stocked vegan store-cupboard should contain and a list of essential equipment.

The next five chapters contain the recipes under headings of:

Fruit and vegetables
Pulses and grains
Nuts, seeds and oils
Fresh herbs
Chilli and spice

I haven’t tried any of the recipes myself yet, but a few that caught my eye as I went through the book are:

Middle Eastern Pitta Bread Casserole (this sounds fantastic – like a lasagne, but with toasted pitta bread layered with spicy, tomatoey chickpeas)
Turkish Stuffed Artichokes
Beaumes de Venise Jelly with Grape and Banana Salad
Butter Bean Ramen
Polenta with Sweetcorn, Roasted Tomatoes, Olives and Capers
Recipe for basic nut cheese or mayonnaise
Pasta with Spiced Cashew Sauce
Walnut and Olive Pâté with Fresh Fig Chutney
Spring Vegetable Laksa
Baked Mushrooms Florentine
Sicilian Aubergine Rolls
Roasted Aubergine with Satay Sauce
Sweetcorn in Chilli and Chocolate Sauce
Wild Mushrooms Tacos
Chili Bean and Potato Turnovers

There are many, many more recipes in this book and I’m looking forward to trying them. All the recipes use fresh ingredients and don’t rely on meat substitutes. Measurements are UK friendly (in grams, tsps and mls, etc.) and, as far as I can see, all the ingredients are widely available, although there are plenty of tips and guidance for ingredients you may not be so familiar with (i.e. Vege-Gel).

The giveaway

I’ve got one copy of Vegan Cookbook – The Essential Guide to give away. All you need to do is leave me a comment and I’ll (well, an internet random number generator will, anyway) randomly choose one lucky winner.

Terms
Competition ends 9 September 2011
UK entries only

Good luck!

I saw this recipe in the May 2011 issue of Vegetarian Living, then while I was looking to see if it was on their website, I saw the exact same recipe on Runner’s World, who credited www.wholegraingoodness.com. I asked Vegetarian Living on their Facebook page whose recipe it was, so I could credit the right people, and they said that it was www.allaboutoats.com’s recipe and they had given Vegetarian Living permission to use it. You can see the recipe here.

It may be a bit confusing as to whose recipe it is, but don’t worry about that, just go and make it as it’s very nice (and very healthy, too).

The only enchiladas I’ve ever made before were the spicy bean enchiladas from Anita Bean’s Food for Fitness, which are made with beans. Going through another back issue of Vegetarian Living, I stumbled across this recipe which used veggie mince, so thought I’d give it a go. I’m glad I did, as I think I prefer it to the other one.

Vegetarian spicy enchiladas

Spicy enchiladas (serves 2)
Taken from the November 2010 issue of Vegetarian Living

400g canned chopped tomatoes
150ml tomato juice [I didn’t have any tomato juice, so swirled some water about in the empty chopped tomato can and used that]
50g tomato puree
1 large red onion, finely chopped [I used a white onion]
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried or frozen oregano
2 mild green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
pinch of unrefined sugar [I left this out]
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
150g Linda McCartney Vegemince^TM [I used Sainsburys own brand meat-free mince]
150g vegetarian mature Cheddar, grated
4 soft corn tortillas

1. Place the chopped tomatoes, tomato juice and puree in a medium-sized saucepan. Add half the red onion, cumin, oregano, chillies, lemon juice, sugar and coriander. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Heat the oil in a small frying pan and sauté the mince for a few minutes until lightly browned. Keep to one side.
3. Spread 4-6 tbsp of the tomato sauce in the base of an oblong ovenproof dish. Spread one of the tortillas with 2 tbsp of sauce, sprinkle with cheese, top with a quarter of the mince and sprinkle with chopped red onion, reserving some cheese and onion for garnishing. Roll carefully into a tube.
4. Place in the dish on top of the sauce, seam-side down. Repeat with the other tortillas and spoon over the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the reserved cheese and the chopped onion.
5. Bake the enchiladas at 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 for 15-20 minutes, when the cheese should be bubbling and starting to brown.

Vegetarian Living magazine was launched about a year ago. I bought the first few issues and loved it, but stopped buying it after a few months when my local Tesco stopped selling it. I did, however, keep all the back issues so I could try out their amazing looking recipes.

It’s taken a while, but I flicked through my old copies the other day and came across this aubergine lasagne recipe.

My picture isn’t very elegant (there’s a much better picture in the October 2010 issue) but it was cheesy and gooey and delicious.

Aubergine lasagne (serves 4)

2 large aubergines, sliced lengthwise into slices 1cm thick
6 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
400g canned tomatoes, chopped
1/4 tsp dried chilli
1 tsp dried oregano
200g vegetarian mozzarella, sliced
50g vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese, grated

1. Make the tomato sauce: heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and gently fry the onion for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and fry for another 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chilli and oregano and cook over a very gentle heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt.
2. Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
3. Heat the remaining oil in a wide pan and gently fry the aubergine slices in batches until golden brown; you may need to add more oil. Drain on kitchen paper.
4. Layer the aubergine slices, tomato sauce and sliced mozzarella in an ovenproof dish 25 x 20cm, finishing with a layer of tomato sauce. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and bake for approx 20 minutes or until lightly browned

NB: The original recipe called for salting the aubergines and leaving to drain for 30 minutes, but I never bother with that.

I also used Cheddar instead of Parmesan-style cheese (only because I didn’t have any).

Today’s soup was practically free, as it was made using tomatoes, chilli and a potato grown in the garden.

Tomato and chilli soup (serves 4)
3 lbs tomatoes, chopped
1 red chilli, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 potato, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 litre vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp tomato puree
100ml double cream
Salt and pepper

Fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes, until soft
Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, chilli and potato
Season with salt and pepper
Simmer for about 30 minutes
Add the cream
Blend

The basil I got from the greenhouse was a bit smeggy, so I threw it in the compost, the photo is rubbish, but this dish was lovely. Perfect for a summer’s evening in the garden.

For a better photo and for the recipe (which includes basil), go to the BBC Good Food website.

Mushrooms, spinach, potatoes, crème fraiche and filo pastry. Yes, it’s as nice as it sounds.

Mushroom, spinach and potato pie

You can see the recipe at the BBC Good Food website

A quick and easy dish from Food for Fitness by Anita Bean. I served it with Quorn Salmon Style Dill Crispbakes, from their new fish-free range, which I’ll blog about tomorrow.

Vegetable paella

Vegetable paella (serves 4 as a main dish, 6 as a side dish)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 celery sticks, chopped
1 red pepper, sliced
1 tsp paprika
350g rice
1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
900ml vegetable stock
225g frozen peas (or mixed veg)
salt and pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the onion, garlic, celery and peppers for 5 minutes.
2. Add the paprika and rice and stir for another 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and stock, bring to the boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed.
4. Add the peas, season to taste, and heat through for a few more minutes.

Well done to Jamie for winning the limerick competition. I chose Jamie’s entry for

a) the effort he put in;

b) the lines

He once threw a quiche
(just missing his niece);

and c) for using the word ‘agrarian’, that I had to go and look up in the dictionary.

Here’s Jamie’s winning limerick(s).

There once was an angry vegetarian
Who had liked his meals meticulously prepared for him
He once threw a quiche
(just missing his niece)
As the presentation, he declared, was agrarian.

Accidentally a stereotypical Bavarian,
Went into a cafe that only served vegetarian.
‘Vat? No Meat?’
He said, jumping to his feet,
And vowed he’d never go in there again.

Jamie, email me your address and I’ll get the voucher off to you.