Delicious Mushrooms Stew with Chickpeas and Quorn

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

    * 1 pack of Quorn "pieces" (or soy) about 250 to 300grs
    * 200grs squash pumpkin (peeled and cut into cubes)
    * 1 can of chopped tomatoes (or fresh peeled tomatoes 400grs chopped)
    * 2 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)
    * 2 red-skinned potatoes (peeled and diced)
    * 8 medium mushrooms (cut in quarters)
    * 1 can of beans (rinsed and drained)
    * 2 large carrots (peeled and cut into pieces)
    * 1 large onion (chopped)
    * A small turnip (peeled and cut in cubes)
    * 1 / 2 teaspoon turmeric
    * 1 red pepper (chopped)
    * 3 garlics (chopped)
    * A bunch of parsley (chopped, reserve some leafs for presentation)
    * Salt, pepper, and olive oil "sufficient"

How to prepare:

Place in a pan (on medium) a little olive oil + salt + pepper. Once hot, add the garlic, onion and carrot, stirring regularly until it starts going golden. At this stage add the can of chopped tomatoes, and as soon as they start to boil add the potatoes (both kinds), the turnip, pumpkin, beans, Quorn, turmeric and red pepper.

Place a lid not fully covered and cook covered over low heat for about a minimum 30 minutes, taste to see if this as you like and add to taste the salt pepper, as well as the mushrooms and cook another 4 minutes. Finally add the parsley and cook for another 1-2 minutes. 

Then you only need to serve and decorate the dish, when I tried this recipe I decided that it would be very good served with a nice  cold Rose Wine, or  a good sparkling white. Kisses and bon apetit! ...

Quorn "Meat" Balls with Tomato and Mint Sauce

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

• 1 pkt of Quorn balls (these can also be soya balls or any other vegetarian substitute, in the case of not being able to find these you can use full button mushrooms about 300 grs, or real meat)
• 300 grs spaghetti
  
• 1 diced onion
  
• 1 large diced courgette
  
• 1 very finely diced carrot
  
• 2 garlic cloves minced
  
• 1 piece of ginger root the size of a garlic piece minced
  
• 2 finely chopped medium hot chillies
  
• 1 vegetable stock cube
  
• 1 can of Italian plum tomatoes diced
  
• 1 soup spoon of paprika
  
• 11 chopped fresh mint leaves
  
• a little bunch of chopped parsley
  
• 4 soup spoons of fresh single cream (I used very little as I wish this dish to be healthy)
• a little olive oil, salt and black pepper (to taste)
  

To cook the spaghetti put a pan on the stove with some water and a little salt and vegetable oil (a couple of soup spoons full), the salt will enhance the spaghetti flavour and the oil will stop the water over-frothing when boiling the pasta due to the starch in the spaghetti. This will take 10-12 minutes to be fully cooked which should be enough time to do the sauce.

To do the sauce I used a wok pan, with a little olive oil on the stove high temp, once hot I added the, onion, courgette, garlic, carrot, ginger and chilli + seasoning. Once the onion is semi-transparent (around 4 minutes add the Quorn balls, stock cube and tomatoes, bring this to the boil and reduce heat to medium let it cook another 6-10 minutes at this stage add the cream and mint cook for a further 1-2 minutes, remove from the heat and add the parsley, mix well and serve over the spaghetti. Enjoy!!!

Quorn Enchiladas (you can use alternatives, Inc meat)

Well for a good enchilada you need a good tortilla wrap, normally I make my own as is best, however trying to save time I purchased some decent ones, ready made.

I also prepared the tray for the oven straight away, with a drizzle of olive oil so that the enchiladas don't get stuck when cooking.

And this is the filling already cooked:

Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 packet of Quorn about 250-300grs
  
• 1 Red bell pepper (cut into strips)
• 2 white onions (cut into strips, these are sweeter)
• 1 can of Flagleotti beans (but also any red small bean will do)
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 red chilli (hot, cut into strips)
  
• 1/2 soup spoon cumin powder
  
• 1/2 tea spoon Cayenne pepper
  
• 1/2 soup spoon oregano
• 2 soup spoon tomato concentrate diluted in half glass of water.
  
• salt and black pepper
  
• a little olive oil
  

Put a frying pan on the stove with a little olive oil, when hot adding also the garlic, bell pepper, cayenne, cumin powder, salt & Black pepper. Let these fry for 5 minutes stirring occasionally, then add the Quorn and the "diluted" tomato concentrate, plus the cayenne and oregano, let it cook a further 5-7 minutes stirring occasionally and the sauce is done (adding the beans around 3 minutes before cooking finishes).

The the bechamel, as done in previous recipes, so is unnecessary to give the recipe again, as you know already how it is done or you can check previous recipes.

Then I lay the sauce with the shape of a fat sausage in the middle of the tortilla living a little room from the sides, so that it doesn't spill when I roll em up.

Followed by a line of thick bechamel over the top as you can see on the photo, note that bechamel needs to be very thick.

One by one I stuffed all the enchiladas in the tray, poured bechamel over all of them followed by a line of diluted tomato concentrate + a little cheddar sprinkles on top as well as some oregano.

Then oven for around 27 minutes @ 200c, until golden brown. This has to be a must make them sometime. Yum yum!

No photo above which represents that it was all eaten. I made this one with a step by step photos etc. as to show how easy it is to make them, and how delicious it gets, so that you are encouraged to make them too, like I said at the beginning, you can use meat instead if you prefer. I accompanied this with a nice beer from Morrison, a Brazilian beer called Barahma, and was a very light in taste beer, yet fair amount of alcohol...nice.

Fungi and Quorn Cooked in a Butternut Squash Sauce & Carrot and Tomato Rice (Vegan-Vegetarian)

Receita em Português AQUI

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4)

• 1/2 Butternut Squash (very finely diced)
• 1 small onion (very finely sliced)
• 2 garlic cloves (very finely sliced)
• 1 courgette (finely diced)
• 300grs button mushrooms (whole)
• 200grs Quorn pieces
• 400grs rice
• 2 large carrots
• 1 tomato (skin removed to for rose, rest diced)
• 1 soup spoon of tomato paste
• 1/4 glass of water with a tea spoon of plain flour diluted
• 1/2 tea spoon of paprica
• 2 glugs of olive oil
  

Put a pan on the stove on high temp, cover the bottom of the pan with olive oil, then once hot add, half of the garlic half of the onion and the butternut, start stirring it and as it starts to stick and dry add a bit of water (vegetable stock is better) mix again letting it cook it will dry again pour a little more water. the process is repeated around 3 to four times until the butternut starts disintegrating into a paste, when that happens season it (salt and pepper) add about 1/2 glass of water (or veg stock) and now add the courgette, Quorn and the mushrooms, put a lid on and reduce flame to minimum, letting it simmer and cook for about 15 minutes.

While that is doing let's do the rice, put a pan with water and salt on the stove on high, then pour the rice in and give it a stir, it will take approx 10-12 minutes until fully cooked, once done strain it passing also boiling water through to remove starch then add the carrot sauce.

While the rice is boiling you put a frying pan on the stove, with a little olive oil and once hot add the carrot, remaining garlic and onion as well as some seasoning, stir fry it for about 3-5 minutes and add a little water (or veg stock) and then let it cook another 10 minutes and at this stage will join the rice.

With all taking the 15 minutes the sauce takes to be ready all will be ready at the same time, so remove the lid from the butternut sauce and add the water with flour this will thicken the sauce further making it extremely smooth and nice.

Plate it up and eat it, it has a delicate sweetish taste due to the butternut which is in my opinion quite divine. If you want a meat one just replace the Quorn with the meat of your choice.

Chilli con Quorn over Pasta Shells (vagetarian)

Receita em Português AQUI

Very easy recipe that I do repeat several times during the month, as my wife is a vegetarian, and this turns out very similar to the meat one (my opinion) I also enjoy it too. The kids are not so keen, don't take me wrong they still like it but called it fake meat and say would prefer with real meat.

• 2 red chillies (finely sliced) medium hot
  
• 1/2 red pepper and 1/2 green pepper (diced)
• 1 onion diced
  
• 1 large carrot (thinly sliced)
  
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
  
• 1 soup spoon tomato concentrate
  
• 1 tin of tomatoes (diced) can also use fresh ones but de-seed them and remove the skin first about 3 large will do (diced)
  
• 1 tin mixed beans (or just kidney beans will do)
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1 tea spoon full of cumin powder
  
• 300grs of Quorn (or alternatively soya mince)
  
• 400grs of pasta shells (cooked in water with two crushed garlic cloves)
  
• 1/2 glass of white wine
  
• 4 soup spoons of olive oil
  

Well this recipe is very simple, place the oil in pan and once very hot add the following: Onion, Garlic, chilly, peppers, carrots, cumin powder, salt and black pepper (to taste), let it all cook stirring occasionally until the onion is semi transparent, at this stage add the tomato, the tomato concentrate and the wine, reduce to medium heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Now add the Quorn or Soya and let it continue to simmer stirring occasionally for a further 5 minutes, at the of which you add the beans and let it continue to simmer for a further 3-5 minutes more and the sauce is ready. So remember to put the pasta on cooking around the time you added the Quorn to the sauce.

Once all is ready place the pasta on the plate (you can also do this with rice or Bulgar or even cus cus) and pour a good couple of serving spoons over the pasta, (optionally) you can add some grated cheddar and a little Parmesan on top. makes it just delicious, of course is also good without it. For a meat one just replace the Quorn with beef or pork or lamb mince.

Tip: for fairly hot use the whole chillies sliced, if less heat is required just cat the chillies in half and remove the seeds and the white veins, before cooking them.

Turkey Curry and / or Quorn Curry

Receite em Português AQUI (com pequenas diferenças)

Pictures above illustrate the Turkey dish (and the rice was boiled with turmeric)

Endeavouring to do something quick but at the same time good enough for vegetarians (as my wife is one) and also for meat eaters as I wanted to use some turkey I decided to do a Curry to feed 6 people.

Recipe Ingredients:

• 2 large carrots (thinly sliced)
  
• 1 & 1/2 onions (diced)
  
• 1 large courgette (diced)
  
• 1 large red pepper (diced)
  
• 10 medium mushrooms (quartered)
  
• 1 chilli (de-seeded and thinly sliced)
  
• 3 large garlic cloves (thinly sliced)
  
• 1 big bunch of coriander (chopped)
  
• 1 & 1/2 tin of tomatoes
• 2 soup spoons of tomato paste (diluted in a little water)
  
• 1 large soup spoon of cumin powder
• 1 large soup spoon of garam masala
• 2 large soup spoons of turmeric
  
• 1 large soup spoon of coriander seeds powder
• 1 large soup spoon of sweet paprika
• 6 glugs of olive oil (half per pan)
• 300grs Turkey
  
• 300grs Quorn
  

I mixed all the powders together than divided it in half, on two seperate pans I poured 3 "glugs" of olive oil, once hot added the powders and let it cook for a little time once it formed a paste and cooked a little I added theonion, garlic the chilli and the meat/quorn (please notice I divided ingredients all the way through in half, for each pan appart from the meat and quorn which is one 300grs for each pan) cooked this until the meat/quorn was cooked through adding a little water when a little dried, then i added the pepper, the courgette the mushrooms the and carrots cooked this for about 5 minutes and added the tomato (again half to each pan) and let this cook for 10 minutes then added the tomato paste (half each) and let this cook for a further 10 minutes.
While this was doing I boiled some rice with 4 crushed cardoms, 2 crushed garlic, a tea spoon of cumin powder and a tea spoon of turmeric (if you want the rice to be white don't use turmeric), once the rice is cooked drained it rinsed with boiling water removed the cardoms and put it in a pan drizzled with a little olive oil (optionally you can stir in some chopped coriander and some green raisins) put a lit and let it rest for 2 minutes.
Once the curry is one minute away from being cooked add a generous bunch of coriander (half each) and garnish each plate with a fe coriander leaves on top see picture...this one was really tasty.

These Pictures bellow illustrate the Quorn Curry (and rice was boiled without turmeric)