[slackline]

That argument would be more compelling if Quorn actually tasted vaguely like meat...

  Its their loss though.

[wintermute]

How about stuffed butternut squash? I'm not veggie and neither is anyone i've made this for but always gone down well and pretty substantial. Plus its only a few minutes to prepare, then most of the time waiting for it to cook.

Half a small squash each;
Cut in in half, scoop out seeds and put a bit of butter and chopped garlic in each cavity. drizzle with oil, season and bung in oven for 50 minutes or so at about 190 (untill its all soft).
Scoop out the flesh, mix with some thyme, roast walnuts and blue cheese.
Put the mixture back in the skins and then top with more walnuts, cheese and a good drizzle of honey.
Back in the oven for 10 minutes or so.
Eat skins and all, goes well with any sort of salad. Personal favourite is leek and canneloni bean with mustard dressing.

Risotto also a great shout though.

[Paul B]

that sounds fantastic!

(next to a steak)

[nik at work]

I agree that does indeed sound very nice.

[Jim]

what about meat suprise?

[SA Chris]

Is the vegetarian option just called surprise?

Or how about surprise meat?

[Jim]

Or how about surprise meat?

same thing

[tomtom]

Great idea Wintermute - tasty, and simple to make... I'll run it past the commander in chief mrs TT and see what she thinks...

I seem to be experimenting with a sweet potato, carrot and lentil casserole thing tonight (heavily laced with paprika) as the chicken I was going to put in it smelt off...

[JamesR]

A butternut squash and chickpea tagine always goes down well with the veggies I know

Fry onions and garlic until soft and sweet, add a little salt and some toasted/ground cumin and coriander, cook for a little longer. Then add some tinned tomatoes (or loads of chopped fresh ones), top up with a small amount of water. Put in a cinnamon stick and a couple of bay leaves at this stage if you have them. Simmer the tomato sauce for around twenty minutes then add chunks of peeled butternut squash or pumpkin, sweet potato would work too. Simmer until the veg is starting to soften then add drained, tinned chickpeas and cook gently until it has all married together nicely. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and maybe add a bit of fresh lemon juice to bring out all the flavours. Serve this with a tzatziki style yoghurt dip, cucumber and tomato salad, fresh mint and almond flakes on top, tabouleh, flat bread or just rice.   

[fatdoc]

put some chilli in that... and some fennel seed


IMO

[Robl]

Just do a meat dish and tell em its quorn - vegetablists are always bangin on about how it tastes just like real meat...  they won't know 

*awaits flaming from said vegetablists...

[webbo]

so next time I bump in to you Rob.Instead of saying "do you like chicken well suck this its fowl" It will be a case of here comes Quorn.

[lagerstarfish]

I use Quorn ^tm occasionally because my strange daughter likes it better than chicken in a curry.

I get a better result out of frozen Quorn ^tm chunks by coating them in dark soy sauce as soon as they come out of the freezer and letting them stand for 20 mins before frying them in hot oil; they soak in the soy as they defrost a bit and the frying gives a nice texture.

mind you, adding salt and fat to anything makes it taste better IMO

[Robl]

so next time I bump in to you Rob.Instead of saying "do you like chicken well suck this its fowl" It will be a case of here comes Quorn.

haha! you know it makes sense webbo! 

[butterworthtom]

Thai green curry
If you are going to use a paste make sure it doesn't contain any shrimpy or fishy goodness. Works well with some oyster mushrooms and aubergine for the bulk. Do with some tastey buttery rice.

[Dolly]

Or better still with tofu ?

[namnok]

fried portabello mushrooms, red pesto in the cup, stuffed with seasoned breadcrumbs toppped with metled cheese

[tomtom]

There are some great ideas here - thanks

I'm going to go with the squash from Wintermute.. sounds tasty and simple.. Risotto is the back up plan in case the super-marche does not have any squashes..
Then again, I may just dish up a whopping great joint of nicely red in the middle lamb and declare "its wonderful what they can do with quorn nowadays!"...

I'll let you know how it goes down...

[JohnM]

I had a PM asking for the pitod ka saag recipe but I will post it on here in case anyone else wants to try it out.

Ingredients:
950g plain Greek style yogurt
100g chickpea flour
1tsp salt
1tsp tumeric
1/2tsp sugar
1/2tsp garam masala
3.5cm root ginger
ghee or veg oil
1tsp fennel seeds
1/2tsp cumin seeds
4 cloves
1 onion finely chopped
2 tbsp ground coriander
1/2 chilli powder
2 green chillies
chopped coriander leaves
juice 1/2 lemon

Dumplings:
Whisk the yoghurt and 500ml of water and the chickpea flour, salt, 1/2 tsp tumeric, 1/2 tsp sugar, garam masala and 2.5cm ginger finely chopped in a bowl.

Heat ghee/oil in a pan and briefly saute the fennel seeds and then add the yoghurt mix and cook, stirring constantly for 20-25mins over a medium heat until the mixture forms a soft dough.  Remove from the tin a transfer to greased 15cm square tray or tin.  Put it in the fridge for 30mins and it will set like a cake.

Sauce:
Heat oil in a saucepan over a medium/low heat and add the cumin seeds and cloves folled by the onion until it is soft.  Meanwhile whist the yoghurt with the ground coriander, remaining tumeric, red chilli powder and salt.  Add to the onions stirring constantly to stop the yoghurt splitting.  Add the green chillies and 200ml of water and cook for 5mins.  Add salt and sugar to balance the taste if it is a bit too bitter.  Finish with fresh ginger, coriander leaves and lemon juice.

Cut the dumpling cake into 2.5cm squares.  Heat oil in a pan and add the dumplings until they brown and have a slight crust.  Serve on top the the hot sauce.

[tomtom]

The meal went very well - thanks for all your help and advice. I had to make a late swerve and go with goats cheese instead of blue (due to a pregnant guest) which nearly made it a bit too rich.. but it went down really well with the guests. Served with a spinach, rocket and beetroot salad

[JohnM]

Looks great!  What is that next to the spinach salad?

[SA Chris]

A hand holding a knife.

[wintermute]

Nice one! Looks like you did it justice.

[slackline]