Spag Bol

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!!