Quorn chicken pot pie

First post of 2018, hello!

Since I've been vegetarian I've not had a chance to eat many hearty traditional meals any more (such as pies and stews) as vegetarian versions tend not to be on offer in restaurants and pubs. It seems they don't make the effort to "vegetarianise" classic comfort food and seem to prefer offering the usual uninspired 'goats cheese and red onion tart' or stuffed mushroom, which many vegetarians dislike or are completely sick of. Having said that I do usually prefer a lighter meal and I don't often crave traditional pies and heavy meals, as I didn't really enjoy them back when I did eat meat. Though it is nice to have the option sometimes, especially on a cold winters night!

I much prefer this veggie Quorn chicken recipe to any meat or chicken pie I had before I became vegetarian (over 10 years ago!)

This recipe seems to have a long ingredients list but don't be put off as it is mostly store cupboard stuff. It's not too difficult to make but does take a little bit of time, definitely worth it though.

Quorn Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:
¾ tsp turmeric
1 leek, chopped
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic
2 stock cubes, dissolved in 700ml boiling water
1 pack Quorn chicken pieces, frozen or fresh
2 carrots, cubed small (or they won't cook)
Handful of peas
Handful of green beans
any veg
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter, melted
3tbsp plain flour
1½ tsp thyme
Dried herbs
2 bay leaves
½ tsp mustard
Dash of Lea and Perrins
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pack of ready made puff pastry (I paid the extra 30p for the pre-rolled one, lazy!)
Dash of milk/egg

Recipe adapted from The Veggie Mama

Method:

1. Preheat oven to fan 180°c.

2. Saute the leek, onion and garlic in olive oil on a medium/low heat, add the turmeric and cook for 5-10 minutes.

3. Add the stock, bay leaves and dried herbs.

4. Mix the melted butter with the flour into a paste, add some of the cooking sauce to mix out the flour lumps. Then add this mixture to the pan with the stock and stir until incorporated.

5. Add the Quorn pieces, carrots, peas, green beans and any other veg you want. Also add the Lea and Perrins, mustard and any more seasoning to taste.

Not a great photo

6. Cook for 15 or so minutes or until the carrots are nearly cooked and the sauce has thickened.

7. Pour into a large ovenproof dish and cover with the puff pastry, tucking it into the sides. Brush top with milk or beaten egg, and poke a couple of slits in the top with a sharp knife for the heat to escape.

8. Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is puffed, risen and browned. Serve with mash and broccoli!

Even my parents who are both meat eaters loved this... Enjoy!

Bella xoxo

Cooking with seitan: vegetable stew

Both Bella and I have wanted to try seitan for a long time (so many yummy sounding recipes for vegan fried chicken, hello!), and I surprisingly stumbled across it in a health food shop in Falmouth.

Today I decided to take the satanic plunge and made a veggie stew with it! As always, chuck any veggies you have into it. This evening's wildcard was a lone aubergine found in the cupboard.

Seitan vegetable stew - an Alice recipe

Easy lunches: Swedish 'quornballs' and veg

I was looking for a new lunch idea so bought these Quorn Swedish Style Meatballs when they were on offer.

This recipe is really just a case of throwing any veg into a pan and making a tomato sauce, and I found it very successful!

Quinoa pesto salad

Continuing with this weeks salad theme, here is my go-to packed lunch salad. This is really customisable with whatever veggies or ingredients you have in the fridge. If I have feta, olives, sun dried tomatoes or artichokes, they take it to the next level. Peppers and courgettes are the vegetables I usually use, as they're what we usually have. Spinach works particularly well also, and you can make other additions after its cooked such as tomatoes, avocado or sweetcorn. Basically, just chuck in whatever you have.

I was making this at around 9pm on a Sunday night, so please excuse the awful photographs. It tastes way nicer than my photos would lead you to believe.

It looks much better in real life, I swear!

Farro, kale and goats' cheese salad

This was a bit of a leap of faith for me, recipe-wise. My parents have a Waitrose calendar hanging in their bedroom and the photograph for April was of this salad. None of us knew what farro dicocco was (it turns out to be an Italian spelt readily available in Waitrose and I presume most supermarkets), but this was such a success! It was really delicious and there's even enough left over for my lunch tomorrow.

Bon appétit ! Restaurant findings from my trip to Paris

I had the chance to get back to Paris last week and it was generally pretty fantastique. The premise of the trip was officially business (I attended a trade fair) but I then had three full days to profit from the city that I called home for three years.

I spent 75% of my time eating and drinking and the remainder walking along familiar streets and loving the sunny weekend. Seeing as I haven't had the time to bake for myself this week, I thought I'd write a little bit about what I enjoyed eating in la ville lumière. With a few exceptions, these are mainly old favourites from my uni days.

Sushiken
12 rue Ernest Renan, 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

If you happen to find yourself on the outskirts of the 15th arrondissement with a craving for sushi, I'd definitely recommend you come here. Sushiken prides itself on offering an authentic Japanese experience. I somewhat blindly ordered a tasting menu where the chef decided what fish I'd be trying.

As you can see above, the plate was certainly aesthetically pleasing. The sushi tasted great and was one of the best eating experiences I've had for a long time, but there was slightly too much wasabi for my taste.

Price: 14 sushi, salad, miso soup and beer came to 25€.

Veggie sausage and apple rolls

For some people it's bacon or roast chicken, but for me one of the few things that I really miss from my meat eating days is sausage rolls. I first made these in December and they were so successful that my family asked me to make another batch.

They are simple to make, if a little frustrating at points (but that might be my fault because I am quite impatient).