Vegetarian Quorn 'Chicken' Vindaloo

I actually started writing this blog post when it was day four of snow.  It was when we had the extraordinary weather starting with a blast of cold from Siberia which was dubbed as 'The Beast from the East' then followed quickly by blizzards, strong winds, drifting snow and a storm.  This was then followed by a rare phenomenon of freezing rain.   The snow outside our front door was just over 3 foot high. I think this may be the worse I have seen it in my adult life and made more difficult because we live in the valleys.    Then we saw more snow this weekend which left us stuck at home as the roads were treacherous to drive on.  And apparently  that is not the end, as I have heard that Easter weekend welcomes a a cold Arctic blast from Scandinavia. I cannot wait for Spring to properly start. 

All I can say is Thank goodness for having dried goods and some stuff in our little freezer.  

This is not a sponsored blog post

Vindaloo is traditionally made with pork, but this version is substituted the chicken breasts with Quorn 'chicken' fillets .  In fact, I think its better to make this dish a day in advance, as the Quorn fillets became succulent by absorbing  and taking on some of the flavours from the sauce. 

The flavours in this vegetarian Vindaloo were interesting, and why would it not be with spices like star anise, cinnamon stick, black peppercorns and then white wine vinegar for piquancy.  It was also hot, but its not a volatile vindaloo - still  I have to confess the older I am becoming, my tolerance of chili is dwindling. Would it be terrible of me to admit, that my desire of chocolate is almost non existent, but that is another topic.

Disclaimer*: I have been using Quorn products well before blogs became PR and  monetary commodities.  This is not sponsored blog post, I have not been given this product free or paid by Quorn in any way.  
Adapted from this recipe.

December In My Kitchen

For us, the 1st of December signals the beginning of Christmas in our home and thoughts towards giving, as well as receiving and remembering those no longer with us.

The 1st of December  is also the day that we drag the Christmas tree from the attic and decorate it.  I have still to pick out something new for the tree this year, but here are a selection of foodie related things from past years. 

We have various nuts to crack from the shells, but the reason I share these walnuts are for comparison.  My mother harvested the large ones with my sister in law last month at a park not far from where she lives, the smaller ones are supermarket brand.  Do you not think the difference in size is amazing?   I do.  

Vegan Plum, Chickpea and 'Lamb' Curry

I made a Plum and Chickpea Curry last year but did not get round to sharing it at the time, so with it being the Plum season in the UK I thought I would make it again and share my vegetarian vegan version of 'Lamb' and Plum Curry.  

This 'Lamb' and Plum Curry is a real recipe adapted from Camellia Panjabi 50 Great Curries of India.   I used vegan soy pieces* that I picked up from a Polish shop, they were not that great, but for the vegetarians the Quorn fillets will also work.  If you don't want to use the mock meat substitute, then just double up on the chickpeas.  

Homemade Vegan Corn Dogs - Yes Corndogs

Drum roll please....

Here are some awesome homemade vegan Corn Dogs.

I had seen vegan corn dogs a couple of years back on a fellow bloggers blog and was mighty curious about them. I had thought it was literally sweetcorn deep fried in batter, then told it was a hot dog sausage covered in golden corn batter and then deep fried.  Very popular in parts of America. 

I have been waiting for an excuse to make them and a little while back when I had a full house of guests the opportunity to make these vegan Corn Dogs were presented to me. had not int

I do have have a deep fat fryer, I do but i don't cook in it often to merit it taking up valuable space in the kitchen.  So made these vegan corn dogs in a deep wide pan, three at a time .  My guests all stood around me and watched me in amazement as I made these vegan corn dogs and took pictures.   

These pictures belong to them, as my hands were busy. 

Vegan Corn Dog drowning in  yellow cornmeal batter

I was pleasantly pleased with the result as well as the fact, that they tasted delicious.  D wants me to make them again, and I have vowed to but I need 4 more people in the house to justify it.  Do you want to be my guest?!  

vegan Corn Dogs sizzling in the hot oil

I am sharing these with Inheritance Recipes co hosted by Solange at Pebble Soup and Coffee and Vanilla as the vegan Corn Dogs will be made every time I have a particular crowd of friends over.

Other Vegan Corn Dog recipesVegan Crunchy Corn Dogs from VegSpinz
Baked Corn Dogs from Go Vegan Meow

Chilli Chocolate Salsa with Spice Herb Baked Potato Wedges and 'Meatballs'

A lot more cooler today, thank goodness - but I still didn't really want to be in the kitchen.  

I made something relatively simple: I baked these Spice Herb Baked Potato wedges in the oven. 

I was just going to serve them with some beans, but then changed my mind after finding some ready made veggie meatballs in the freezer.  To make my life easy, I decided to throw the vegetarian Quorn* 'meatballs' into the oven with the spice herb coated wedges.   

I would normally have Sriracha and D goes for brown sauce, but  I had already planned to serve these wedges with a  Salsa, but no ordinary tomato salsa.  No these potato wedges were going to be served with Chilli Chocolate Salsa.  I was prompted to make this recipe after finding a bar of Dark Chilli chocolate, so the whole meal ended up revolving around this.  Chilli Chocolate Salsa is an acquired taste.  It was devilishly rich.

This plate is further enhanced with salad greens from my garden.   

I am sharing this Chilli Chocolate Salsa with We Should Cocoa hosted by Tin and Thyme. The theme is Anything Goes. 

Iranian Style Quorn 'Chicken' Stew with Aubergines and Courgettes

The past few weeks or so, I have made a few Persian inspired dishes inspired mostly by Iranian  food bloggers, rather than from the spate of mainstream Middle Eastern cookbooks published recently in the UK.  It started as a means to find inspirational ways of using my spices such as Advieh, Baharat, Sumac, Za'atar and ingredients such as Maftoul and Freekeh, but like any curious cook I have been lured and enticed by other recipes.  

When I saw an Iranian style Koresh tweeted by The Persian Fusion,  I just knew I had to make a vegetarian variation of it.  Something about it had me salivating.  

Koresht/Khoresht/Ghalyeh are stews or curries in Persian cooking.  They should not be compared to South Asian curries popular in the Western world.  Persian stews and curries are  quite mild.  

I substituted the chicken breasts with Quorn 'chicken' fillets and adjusted the spices to taste and the tomato sauce accordingly.  It was important to make the tomato sauce thicker to carry the texture of  Quorn fillets which can be quite dry and tough to penetrate with flavours.  In fact, I think its better to make this dish a day in advance, as the Quorn fillets became succulent by absorbing  and taking on some of the flavours from the sauce and natural ochre colour from the turmeric. Disclaimer*: I have been using Quorn products well before starting this blog, therefore this is not sponsored #Quornivore blog post, I have not been given this product free or paid by Quorn in any way.  

As recommended we ate this vegetarian Iranian stew with rice.  I liked how both the courgettes and aubergines - both rather bland vegetable in my opinion melted wonderfully in the dish, giving the dish more substance and texture.  I would be more than happy to make this again.  

Thank you Persian Fusion.

Vegan Welsh Cottage Pie with Laverbread Mash

You will find many variations of vegetarian and vegan Shepherds Pie here, but I've never featured a Cottage Pie on my blog, not sure why as I have made them many times - perhaps its because it doesn't really look that pretty to photograph.

So what is the difference between a Shepherds Pie and a Cottage Pie.  Traditionally a Shepherd Pie made with minced lamb and Cottage Pie with chunks of beef, but for vegetarians and vegans this is often substituted with minced mushrooms or a mock meat substitute. 

Here is my version of a vegetarian Cottage Pie made with the addition of Welsh leeks which give it a little sweetness and topped with seaweed - Welsh Laverbread mash.  I was prompted to make a Welsh version of Cottage pie when I saw a Scottish twist on a Cottage Pie. 

I am sure you will find a Irish version and with respect, we all know there is no shortage of English variations of the humble Cottage Pie.

Aromatic Green Curry

I don't know how you feel about green curries but I like them.  There are so many, but the ones that pop into my head instantly are Thai Green Curry;  Saag - a South Asian curry made with mustard greens; and the Palaak Paneer - Palaak being spinach which is what this Green Curry is based on; and even the pungent Fenugreek Curry, but today I share this Aromatic Green Curry.  

Why aromatic?!  Well make it, try and see. 

Savoy cabbage, lentils with veggie sausages

Since coming back from Essex, England the weather in Scotland has dramatically changed. In fact you could visibly see the difference on your drive up. It is certainly not autumn here anymore, but edging very quickly towards winter. The orange, gold and red leaves are no longer clinging for dear life to the trees. Instead the trees are being stripped naked by the strong gush of wind exposing their twiggy branches. To make things miserable, the rain is just coming down so hard that the droplets felt more like bursting water balloons being thrown at me by some mischievous kid. This was making me feel damp and grumpy.

When I got home yesterday, I decided I wanted something rustic, warming and comforting on the plate. In my veg basket I had some carrots and Savoy cabbage; from the store cupboard some lentils and from the freezer, some vegetarian sausages. Yes I did say say vegetarian sausages in the freezer – picked up by D at some point and thrown into the freezer by me.
The recipe looks like it would take an hour or so to make, but honestly this took me just over 30 minutes. I do however think this dish could benefit from being made in advance for the flavours to infuse more, but for a quick after work meal it was very satisfying.

The carrots not only added colour to what could have otherwise been a boring looking dish, but also sweetness. The Savoy cabbage ribbed texture. The lentils bite and the sausages, well substance. Please don’t laugh at the sliced sausages. Due to the poor lighting in the evenings now, I got D to take a picture of the dish today and I do not know what possessed him to slice the sausages in this manner. Yesterday evening the dish was oozing with gravy which made it great served with mashed potatoes. This dish actually reminded me s little of the vegetarian sausages with puy lentils and black cabbage I made last year, just not as intense in flavour.
Savoy Cabbage, lentils with veggie Sausages
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
160g Puy, green or brown lentils, rinsed
1 small or ½ large Savoy cabbage. Core removed, then chopped and sliced
2 carrots, grated
(Optional) 1 tablespoon mushroom ketchup or Vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
2 pints of vegetable stock
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon dried thyme or rosemary
MethodHeat a large pot and put in the olive oil. Put in chopped onions and garlic. Cook until slightly brown. .
Add in Puy lentils and dried herbs. Stir well to mix. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Then, put the lid on and turn to medium heat. Cook this for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a pan, fry the sausages according to packet instructions.
After 15 minutes, add in the Savoy cabbage and the grated carrots to the simmering pot. Stir and mix well. When the sausages are cooked, put them into the pot, season to taste and stir with the rest of the ingredients. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until Savoy cabbage is tender. Serve over mashed potatoes. Idea inspired by this recipe.

Mexican tamale bean pie

This is one of those good stand by store cupboard recipes. I used to make this often when quick cook polenta was easy to come by too, plus it was quite simple to put together after a hard days work. Then I got the allotment and my focus shifted to seasonal and fresh produce. I only rediscovered the recipe, whilst I was dusting the bookshelf and started flicking through some of my celebrity chef related books and looking at some of recipes I had vegified over the years. But this particular recipe for Mexican Tamale Bean Pie was already vegetarian.
Whilst looking at the photographed dish and at my scribbles on the variations, I yelped out to D
Do you fancy a Tamale bean pie tomorrow?
Do you even need to ask! was the response.
This recipe can only be described as a 'vegetarian Mexican shepherds pie', but spicy. I would even go as far as to say, its good, honest home grub.
D says he could eat this Tamale bean pie every-day. It delicious, that's for sure, but I seriously don't think he could eat it every day. For a start I won't be cooking it every day and secondly, he needs his vegetables. Spinach to have muscles like Pop-eye; carrots for good vision like Superman; and sprouts...err, well you need some vegetables to make you strong.

Mexican tamale bean pie
Serves 4
Ingredients
120g quick cook polenta
1 egg
300 - 350ml milk
120g Cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons fresh coriander
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
50g – 75g jalapeno, sliced
350g Quorn mince (can be substituted with TVP)
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato puree
410g can of black beans, drained and rinsed
250g vegetable stock
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Beat together the polenta, egg, milk, cheese and 2 tablespoons of the coriander. Season and leave to stand for 20 minutes to allow the polenta to swell.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion and garlic until softened slightly. Add 50g of the jalapenos, the Quorn mince, tomatoes, tomato puree, beans, stock, lemon juice and remaining coriander and cook on gentle heat for 30 minutes. Season to taste and pour into an ovenproof dish.
Preheat the grill to high. Stir in the remaining chillies into the polenta mixture and spoon over the mince mixture to cover. Grill for 5 minutes or until golden. Adapted from Ainsley Harriot's Low Fat Meals in Minutes.

Quorn be good, quorn be bad

Early this week, I was making space in our small freezer for the podded green peas and I came across a packet of Quorn mince nearing its sell by date. I also had an aubergine sitting in the bottom of the fridge which I had picked up earlier in the week knowing it was now in season. Looking at it today, I realised it had to be used as it was starting to lose its glossy shine.

So the question was how to combine them both. When I first became aware of vegetarian meat substitutes like TVP and Quorn, I quickly learned how to vegify meat recipes like shepherds pie, cottage pie and 'not pork pies' into vegetarian friendly ones. This recipe for Aubergine bundles happens to be one of those early recipes that I managed to vegify from some cookbook.
I am not a person who fusses with different cooking techniques, the food I put on the table tends to be rustic, homely food, but there are days when I want to take my time in the kitchen and be a bit more experimental. Today happens to be one of those days.

In my younger days, I never liked aubergine, I would frown at the thought of the spongy texture and bland taste. But over the years, I have come to appreciate them more. I wont say I am totally into aubergines, I'm not and will only eat them now and again, but they must be cooked well, because there is nothing worse than a raw aubergine. This is one way I enjoy eating aubergines.

Aubergine Bundles
Serves 4 – 6
Ingredients
1 large aubergine
Olive oil for brushing
Filling
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ teaspoon of ground cumin
½ teaspoon of ground coriander
½ teaspoon of cayenne
350g packet of Quorn mince (for vegans use TVP reconstituted according to packet instructions)
1 tablespoon of tomato puree
1 x 400g can of tomatoes
2 tablespoons of fresh mint, minced
Sauce
1 medium onion, finely sliced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic crushed
1 x 400g can of tomatoes
½ teaspoon of crushed dried chilli flakes
1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar (optional)
Method
Make the filling for the aubergines first. Heat the oil in a large wide pan. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes until tender, but not coloured. Add the garlic, cumin, and cayenne. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the tomato puree, tomatoes and seasoning and cover for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time to ensure the tomatoes have broken down, when this has happened add the Quorn mince (or TVP if using) and mint, stir and then leave to simmer for 10 – 20 minutes until the Quorn mince is cooked through and the flavours infused.

Then make the sauce. Heat oil in a saucepan, add the onions and cook for about 8 minutes until tender, then add garlic, chilli flakes and cook for a further minute. Add the tomatoes and vinegar and season well. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 – 20 minutes, until thickened slightly.

While the sauce is cooking, prepare the aubergines. Remove the stalk and cut into 6 – 8 long, thin slices. Preheat a ridged griddle pan. Brush the aubergine slices with a little olive oil and grill on both sides until tender and nicely marked with criss cross patterns.

Preheat the oven gas mark 5.

Lay the aubergine slices on a work surface and spread generously with a layer of the filling. Roll up the slices, encasing the mince and arrange the aubergine bundles, seam side down, then pour the sauce over. Cover with foil and bake on the middle shelf in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes, until hot through.