Texas Quorn Chili with Spinach Recipe

Texas Quorn Chili with Spinach

Recently I received a bag of Quorn mince to try. Quorn is a meat substitute. According to the Quorn website, “Quorn products main ingredient is Mycoprotein which is a nutritionally healthy protein source. Mycoprotein is produced by a process of fermentation similar to that used in the fermentation of yeast in bread.” This didn’t make too much sense to me, so I consulted Wiki. Here’s wiki’s explanation:

“Quorn is made from the soil mould Fusarium venenatum strain PTA-2684. The fungus is grown in continually oxygenated water in large, otherwise sterile fermentation tanks. Glucose and fixed nitrogen are added as a food for the fungus, as are vitamins and minerals to improve the food value of the product. The resulting mycoprotein is then extracted and heat-treated to remove excess levels of RNA. The product is dried and mixed with egg albumen, which acts as a binder. It is then textured, giving it some of the grained character of meat, and pressed either into a mince resembling ground beef; forms resembling chicken breasts, meatballs, and turkey roasts; or chunks resembling diced chicken breast.”

So Quorn is produced by growing fungus in water, then it is mixed with egg whites. I suppose Quorn is quite different from laboratory grown beef.

I decided to use the fungus and egg white mixture (aka Quorn) to make Texas chili. It turned out OK. The Quorn was too soft. It felt slightly mushy but held together, if that makes sense. Quorn definitely looked like minced meat, but didn’t really feel or taste like it. However strong sauces will mask the taste, so you won’t know whether you are eating Quorn or meat.

Quorn, or other meat substitutes, don't necessarily have to taste or feel like meat, as long as it tastes delicious on its own. For example, tofu's texture is nice (debatable). Unfortunately Quorn's texture was not appealing to me, I would rather eat tofu, other vege or meat.

Adopted from Quorn.se

Ingredients

300 g Quorn mince

1 carrot, diced

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

200 g crushed tomato

100 grams spinach, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon soya sauce

2 tablespoons honey

1-2 tablespoon vegetable fond

1 tablespoon Hickory liquid smoke

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon chili spice mix

0,5 lime (juice)

Salt and pepper

Method

1.      Heat olive oil in a casserole over medium heat

2.      Add all vegetables, except spinach, and cook until softened

3.      Add the rest of the ingredients, except the Quorn and spinach, and cook covered for 10 - 20 min.

4.      Add Quorn, reduce heat and simmer for maximum 20 minutes. In the last 5 minutes, add spinach. Add water if it looks too dry. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Texas Quorn Chili with Spinach

Guacamole Spaghetti Recipe

Guacamole spaghetti

If you have some guacamole sitting in your fridge and need ideas for a quick lunch or dinner, try guacamole spaghetti. Just mix guacamole and spaghetti and your meal is ready to rock and roll.

Until very recently I was not a big fan of avocado but guacamole prepared using the recipe below is nice. The recipe may not be authentic. For example it uses oil whereas I think no oil is used in the authentic recipe. Also cilantro is missing. Even though this may not be authentic guacamole, it is still delicious. If you prefer, you can even use authentic guacamole with spaghetti.

Ingredients

2 avocados, pitted

½ red onion, minced

1-2 chilies, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil (optional)

1 tablespoon of fresh lime or lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

½ tomato, chopped (optional)

½ kg spaghetti or any other pasta

Ingredients

1.      Prepare pasta as directed on package

2.      In a food processor add all the ingredients except the tomatoes. Blend until creamy. Add tomatoes and mix well.

3.      Mix the sauce with hot pasta.

Guacamole spaghetti

Swedish Red cabbage (Rödkål) Recipe

Swedish Red Cabbage (Rödkål)

This braised red cabbage dish is usually part of the Swedish Christmas table. Its popular in other Scandinavian countries. I also heard that Germans prepare something similar, and I presume other European countries make some version of it. There are many different versions made in Sweden. The recipe below comes from Per Morberg, a Swedish actor, chef and news presenter.

Braised red cabbage might sound dull and boring. Not this version, the sweet and acidic flavours are quite addictive. I couldn’t stop eating them. The salad is quite refreshing, and of course cabbage is good for you as well.

I wasn’t sure whether I found the cabbage a bit too sweet for my liking, I am undecided. That’s just my personal preference, I might prefer slightly more acidity and less sweetness. Next time I will half the about of syrup.

Swedish Red Cabbage (Rödkål)

Adopted from recept.nu

Ingredients

1 red cabbage, about 0.5 kg

1 onion

2 apples

4 tablespoons syrup or honey (you can use syrups such as maple, dark or golden)

4 tablespoons red currant jelly (or any other jelly such as strawberry or raspberry)

2 tablespoons cider vinegar (or substitute with red wine or balsamic vinegar)

5 pcs cloves, ground

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup water

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Shred the cabbage. 
2. Peel and slice the onions and apples
3. Heat butter over medium high heat in a large saucepan
4. Sauté cabbage, onions and apples until onions turn soft
5. Cover and cook until cabbage turns tender
6. Add jelly, syrup or honey, vinegar, water, and cloves and cook uncovered for a further 5 minutes
7. Add salt and pepper to taste

Draniki (Belarusian Potato Pancake) Recipe

Draniki

Some years ago a Belarusian friend promised to make me draniki’s if I visited Belarus. I didn’t visit, never got the chance to try authentic homemade draniki and it got forgotten until I saw it on Yuliya’s blog. It brought back memories and the urge to make it in my own home.

The word draniki means 'having being grated'. It may not be the most enticing sounding name but don't let the word discourage you. With its crispy exterior and soft interior, draniki's are absolutely delicious. It is generally served with sour cream but I was quite happy to eat it on its own.

Russiapedia has the following to say about draniki:

Draniki originated in Russia some 200 years ago. The first mention of the dish dates back to 1830, though it is also said the dish was a kind of imitation of a German course. There are international variants of Russian draniki such as Ukrainian deruny or kakorki, Polish tartyuhy and Israeli latkes.

Draniki, quite unlike Japanese sushi or French fondue are not considered an exquisite dish. This is due to the “low origin” of the main ingredient – the potato.

There are numerous recipes for the dish that vary from family to family and from region to region. Some add onions; others who are more carnivorous add minced meat and still others mix grated potatoes with grated carrots.

But traditional Russian draniki are prepared in accordance to several fixed rules, the main one being never use flour when making draniki!

The traditional recipe just uses potatoes, onion, sourcream and salt. All ingredients are mixed then fried. The traditional recipe looks interesting but I have already made something similar before, my baked version. The traditional version mixes sourcream with the batter whereas the ‘modern’ recipe serves sourcream on the side. Perhaps the Belorussians deconstructed the original recipe even before today's chefs knew what deconstruction means!

Draniki

Recipe source: Yuliya’s Kitchen and More

Ingredients

5 lbs potatoes

1 medium onion

2 eggs

3 tablespoons flour

3 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil

Sour cream for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Grate the onions and potatoes in a large bowl. Grate onions first. If you start with potatoes they will discolor 
2. Add eggs, flout, garlic, salt and pepper and mix well
3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of oil
4. Place tablespoons of batter in the pan and flatten
5. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, turn over and cook on the other side. You may need to add more oil when turning over the pancakes

Draniki

Spinach and Blue Cheese Filo Triangles (Spanakopita) Recipe

 Spinach and blue cheese filo triangles

This is a slight variation of spanakopita. Spanakopita is generally made with feta cheese. I substituted with blue cheese. I think both feta and blue cheese work well with spinach, but blue cheese is what I had in the refrigerator when I made this.

Making these spinach and blue cheese filo triangles is simple but you need gentle hands. Filo is quite delicate to work with, it can tear quite easily if it is dry or not defrosted properly, in case you are using frozen pastry. Other than that, it is as simple as gift wrapping. Here's a word of wisdom! You can wrap the present or spinach mixture as neatly as possible but ultimately it is the contents that count. So wrap your presents neatly but don't put too much effort into it. And wrap that spinach mixture neatly as well but don't overdo it.

To prevent filo pastry from getting dry, cover with damp cloth. Damp cloth will not stick to the pastry.

Ingredients

200 grams frozen spinach, defrosted

200 grams blue cheese

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon oil

Salt, pepper and chili powder to taste

Melted butter

Filo pastry

Directions

1. Heat oven to 190°C/375°F
2. Heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion has become tender.
3. Drain the water from the spinach. Add spinach, blue cheese, salt, pepper and chili powder to the onions and mix well. Let it cool
4. Place unrolled filo pastry sheets on a flat surface. Brush one sheet with melted butter and then cut the filo pastry into strips about 10-12 cm wide
5. Place another filo pastry on top of the buttered filo pastry.
6. Place a generous amount of the spinach mixture on one side. Fold one end over so it forms a triangle (see picture above)
7. Continue folding until you reach the end
8. Brush the pastry triangles with butter, place on baking tray and bake until golden brown and delicious, about 30-40 minutes.

 Spinach and blue cheese filo triangles

Glamorgan Vegetarian Sausages Recipe

Glamorgan Sausage 

Mention Britain and we probably think of fish and chips.

Mention Ireland and we probably think of Guinness and Irish Stew.

Mention Scotland and we probably think of whisky and fried Mars bars (maybe).

Mention Wales and we probably hit a blank.

Personally I have never come across a Welsh dish, other than Welsh rarebit, which I didn't think came from Wales. Just like Afghan Cookies are not from Afghanistan.

Wales does have a few interesting dishes, glamorgan sausage being one of them. And surprisingly it is vegetarian, if you consider an egg to be vegetable, or non-meat. Glamorgan sausage is also known as poor mans sausage because it has no meat. 

The sausage is made from a few very basic ingredients which are most probably sitting in your pantry and refrigerator. Even though the ingredients are pretty basic, the result really surprised me. I found it absolutely delicious, crunchy on the outside and firm but soft on the inside. It reminded me of a pie that I ate in New Zealand, and which I haven’t seen anywhere else. I don’t remember the name and it wasn’t quite a regular pie. The pie was coated with bread crumbs and either deep fried or baked. It was cheesey inside. Glamorgan sausage has very similar smell and taste. 

The recipe suggests caerphilly cheese. Caerphilly cheese is a hard, white crumbly cheese originating from the area around the town of Caerphilly in Wales. It generally has a fat content of around 48%. I didn’t have caerphilly cheese so I substituted with cheddar. It was perfect. Maybe next time I will try feta.

Glamorgan Sausage 

 

Recipe adopted from Telegraph

Ingredients

4 cups (250g) fresh white breadcrumbs

200g Caerphilly cheese (or use cheddar)

75g leek (white part) or spring onions or regular onions, finely chopped

1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs (or 1 tablespoon fresh parsley and ½ teaspoon thyme)

2 eggs lightly whisked

1½ teaspoon English or Dijon mustard

3 tablespoon milk

Salt and pepper

Butter for shallow frying

Directions

1. Mix together 170g of the breadcrumbs, cheese, milk, leek or onion, herbs, salt and pepper. I put everything in a food processor and pulsed it. Note: only use 170 grams breadcrumbs, set aside the rest for coating the sausage
2. In a separate bowl mix the eggs with mustard and set aside about ¼. This will be for coating the sausage
3. Add the rest of the eggs to the breadcrumb mixture and mix until a paste is formed.
4. Divide the mixture into 12 and shape each portion into a sausage. Refrigerate for 10-20 minutes so it sets (optional)
5. Coat the sausages with the egg mixture, followed by the breadcrumbs. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (optional)
6. Heat frying pan over medium heat and shallow fry the sausage until golden brown and delicious, about 5-8 minutes.

Glamorgan Sausage 

Roasted Beetroot Garlic Soup (Not Quite Borscht) Recipe

Roasted Beetroot Garlic Soup

I am not claiming this to be an authentic borscht, it is probably quite far from it.

Borscht originated in Ukraine, according to Wikipedia. Some people may dispute this since many other countries have their own versions. I suppose it will be a never ending discussion trying to identify where it originated and what goes in an authentic borscht. 

None of the authentic recipes I came across use roasted beets. I preferred roasted beets since it adds more flavour. Some versions use cabbage. I excluded it since I ate cabbage yesterday. And I excluded potatoes because I wanted a stronger beet flavor rather than have the flavour diluted with potato. With these variations the soup was not quite authentic. It tastes quite different from the versions I tried in different restaurants. 

The recipe is quite simple to make. You can vary it quite easily to suit your taste.

And here’s some more of my amateurish half decent attempts at borscht art. Most of them probably qualify to be considered 'abstract'. Looks like a child did it, actually it was a child!

 

Recipe adopted from whole living

Recipe adopted from whole living

Ingredients

3 medium beets, peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling

6 unpeeled garlic cloves

1 small onion, diced

1 teaspoon mixed herbs

3 cups water (or use stock or milk)

Sour cream (optional)

Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 220°C/425°F.
2. Coat the beets and garlic in oil. I find it easier to add some oil to a pot, add the beets and garlic and swirl and toss. Use the same pot for cooking the onions and soup later
3. Spread the beets and garlic in a single layer in a roasting pan. Bake until the beets are tender, about 25 -30 minutes.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook until tender. Add beets, garlic, herbs and 3 cups water. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Puree the mixture and serve with sour cream (optional)

Marmite Garlic Spaghetti Recipe

Vegemite Garlic Spaghetti   

Vegemite, or marmite if you are British, is one of those love it or hate it ingredients. Vegemite is popular in just a few countries, and there is probably a good reason for it. But I love vegemite, and seeing the vegemite spaghetti recipe really excited me. 

Apparently Anna del Conte, an Italian, invented this recipe while Nigella Lawson popularized it. Anna’s recipe suggests adding a squirt of ketchup while Nigella’s is the stripped down 3 ingredient version using just spaghetti, butter and vegemite. 

I tried three versions of the recipe. Firstly the good news, especially if you are a vegemite hater. The dish has a very mild smell and taste of vegemite. Chances are that if you didn’t know the dish was made with vegemite, you probably wouldn’t guess it. Think fish sauce and belachan. They smell and taste uninviting (or revolting) in raw undiluted form but it does miracles when added to food. Vegemite almost has the same effect here. Which brings me to the bad news.

I first tried Nigella’s stripped down version. I found it mild and bland, the spaghetti that is. I added more vegemite which improved it slightly but still didn’t excite me, still talking about spaghetti. I then tried the second version, with chili garlic sauce. It was fantastic but the vegemite flavor completely disappeared. It was like eating spaghetti and chili garlic sauce. Unimpressed but still excited I tried my own garlic version. That was an improvement. Garlic complemented vegemite rather than overpowering it. 

With just three ingredients and incredibly quick and easy to prepare, I think I will revisit this recipe, and perhaps modify it more. 

I have submitted this to Presto Pasta Nights. The Presto Pasta Night is coming to an end.

Adopted from Nigella

Ingredients

375 grams dried spaghetti

3-4 cloves garlic, or more, minced

50 grams unsalted butter

1 -2 teaspoons vegemite, or more

Directions

1. Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the packet. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water  
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and add garlic. Cook until just before the garlic starts to turn brown. Remove from heat. Add vegemite and 1 tablespoon of the pasta water. Mix thoroughly to dissolve
3. Add the pasta to the vegemite mixture and mix to incorporate. Add some of the pasta water if necessary
4. If you still find the dish mild and bland, you can add more vegemite or add salt and pepper. If you want to add more vegemite, dissolve it in a small amount of pasta water and then add to the pasta.