My freezer had a defrost this week. It wasn't intentional, the door got left open over night. Fortunately the stuff I keep in my freezer isn't hugely expensive stuff, lets face it vegetables are heck of a lot cheaper than steak and meat isn't something I keep in there what with being veggie and all. What was defrosting was a lot of Quorn mince, so in the name of food safety I went into bulk cook mode and made 6 portions of spaghetti bolognese. (Except that I don't serve it with spaghetti, just twists and no one from Bologna would ever recognise it as their regional dish as it is meat free and has a tonne of vegetables in besides the tomato).
A quick word about Quorn and who can eat it. First off it contains egg so vegans or anyone with an egg allergy can't eat it. Secondly the mince does contain barley extract so coeliacs, this dish is not for you. Many with wheat intolerance will also find the barley extract an issue, luckily my husband is OK with it so long as we only have it once or twice a week. Finally it is a low fat food, great for those on a diet but not really suitable for the under-twos who need plenty of fat for brain development, this may also make it unsuitable for those with Crohns, ulcerative colitis and in some cases those with IBS as the fibre content is a bit high. This dish also contains onion, garlic and tomato which may be unsuitable for some. (You could just leave out the garlic).
It is perfectly possible to cook this with out the Quorn, it still tastes lovely but remember it wont make as many portions, it wont have the look and feel of a 'meaty' dish (which may be important to some diners who wouldn't normally eat veggie) and it will still be high fibre and low fat but now it will be low protein as well and you will need to catch that dietary requirement up later.
Who can eat it?
ME! The kids, hubby and most vegetarians.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 very large (or 2 regular sized) red onion, very finely chopped
about 1 finely chopped pepper, what ever colours are available, get a range if you can
2 finely chopped cloves of garlic
6 finely chopped mushrooms
about 800g of Quorn mince
3 tins of chopped tomatoes (if you have to deal with a sulphate allergy try Suma's own brand which is very nice and sulphate free)
1 small carrot, finely grated
1 cup of vegetarian, gluten free stock (I use Knorr)
2 tablespoons of sun dried tomato puree
1 teaspoon of oregano
a dash of vegetarian, gluten free 'worcestershire' sauce (like this one by Life)
a dash of Angostura Bitters if you have them.
You are going to need a very big wok or skillet. Gently fry the onion in the oil. Keeping the heat at medium rather than high will let the sweet flavours of the red onion out. When it goes soft and translucent (about 3 to 4 minutes) add the mushrooms and peppers. Keep the heat at medium, keep stirring and when these get soft (another 4 minutes or so) add the quorn. After stirring for one minute add the tins of chopped tomatoes and the grated carrot. (The carrot is here for two reasons, the first is to add sweetness and the second is to sneak more veg into the kids!) Now stir in all the other ingredients and leave to bubble gently for 20 minutes for the flavours to develop.
Serve with your gluten free pasta of choice or layer with lasagna sheets and and gluten free cheese sauce. OR do what I did and divide it into 6 family sized portions, allow to cool and then refreeze, while resolving to check the freezer door more often!!
After Christmas I often find I have a lot of left over vegetables. The thing is I find Christmas day dinner the most wonderful chance to have a whole host of different veg on offer, for example this year we had Brussels sprouts, swede, carrot, parsnip, roast potato, boiled potato, sweetcorn, roast pumpkin and braised red cabbage. Nine veg heaven and not bad for a girl who only made it out of bed from the flu the day before (I admit my darling husband was a GREAT help - love you honey!) I always over-buy I just can't seem to help it so then I have this lovely selection of veg begging me to do something with it and this is that thing.
Ingredients
1tbsp olive oil (other vegetable oils work well too)
2 medium sized leeks finely sliced OR half an onion finely chopped and 5 shredded Brussels sprouts
4 sticks of celery finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 carrots diced
2 parsnips diced
1/4 of a swede diced
1 sweet potato, finely grate half and dice the other half
1/2 cup of red split lentils (washed)
1/2 cup of Puy lentils (the dark green ones, also washed)
About 800ml of vegetable gluten-free stock
1 tsp of marjoram (if you haven't got any you could sub in 1/4 oregano)
2 tomatoes cut into quarters (skin them only if you have time)
To be honest like most of my cooking the relative quantities of the veg are quite flexible, I tend to aim for one medium sized freezer bag jammed full of chopped vegetables which I prepare when making Sunday lunch and then hold in the fridge (or freezer) until I'm ready to use them.
There is also a variety of ways to cook it. I usually do it in a large pot on the hob, if I'm pushed for time I tend to use the pressure cooker, if I have plenty of time I do it in the oven (180ºC/Gas mark 4) and I've done it at other peoples houses in a slow cooker (I don't have one but if I go back to work ever then it will be the first thing on my shopping list, those things are so useful for the working mum!) However if you are using sprouts and not leeks then it makes most sense to do it on the hob.
Start by heating your oil in your chosen cooking device (BIG French hotpot in my case yesterday) add the onion or the leeks depending on what you are using (do NOT add the sprouts yet if you are using them) and the celery. Fry on a moderate heat for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for a moment then add all the other ingredients except the sprouts. Stir the mixture well and bring to a simmer. If you are using a pressure cooker make sure the liquid covers all the veg well (if it doesn't then add more) and put the lid on and cook for about 10 minutes. If you are just doing it in a hot pot like me it takes about half an hour but the smaller your bits of vegetable are the quicker it will cook. If you are cooking in the oven transfer it to a suitable dish. Pop it in at gas mark 4 or 180ºC and it will take about 50minutes. And in a slow cooker go away and forget about it, come back when you are hungry!
Agh - Almost forgot the sprouts!! Pop them in half way through cooking and take the chance to give everything a quick stir.
The grated sweet potato and the red lentils should make the liquid nice and thick but if yours is a little watery then take 1tsp of maize starch and in a cup add about 3tbspns of water. (This is called 'slaking') Stir until it forms an even, white fluid then add it to the hotpot. Stir well then return the whole lot to the heat until it gets close to a boil where upon it should have thickened.
Serve with some gluten free bread as this meal is much more fun if you get to soak up all the juices at the end with some moppers!
Who is it suitable for?
This dish is vegetarian, it's vegan, it's nut-free, it's egg-free, it's yeast free (but check the stock!) furthermore it is safe for coeliacs. It's fine for a low calorie or reducing diet and if you keep the veg a little on the crunchy side it's even better because the energy inside all the plant cells will be harder for your body to reach.
Who can't eat it ?
If you are serving it to those who need a higher calorie intake then serve with lots of buttered g-f bread or even garlic bread. If anyone is allergic to alliums (onions, leeks and garlic) or tomatoes then leave them out (but take GREAT care choosing your stock to make sure that doesn't have any in). It will not be suitable for most people with Crohns or colitus as it is rather high in fibre.
What to do if you have any left overs?
I have three suggestions
1) Soup!! You don't need to blend it unless you want to, just add a little more stock.
2) Pie. (When come back bring pie!) Using gluten free pastry of course. You might need to add a little more slaked maize starch to stop the pie being too runny and you might like to add a handful of plain Quorn pieces or even some chicken if it's acceptable to all who will be eating it.
3) Fry some onion, add some curry powder and then stir in the hotpot and hey presto - veggie curry! (OK it's a bit of a cheat and it may not be the worlds best ever curry but I've not had any complaints.)
Wonder which one I'll do for my lunch.....?
