Tomato & Feta Ciabatta

12/70


And so we continue...


This is the first recipe from the light lunches section of the book which I have attempted. I decided to give this a whirl for a Saturday lunchtime and actually we were both pretty impressed with it.


I have to say it is quick, simple and very tasty indeed, this is a picture of the finished dish:

Because it was so easy to make it was right up my street as I am just about getting back into cooking mode following a nasty cold. This is literally a recipe where you chuck everything into one dish at different times and then tip it over the warmed and sliced bread.


I used half olive oil and half balsamic vinegar to roast off the quorn pieces, tomatoes and mushrooms as this cut the fat down and worked just as well as only the oil would have done. You then chuck in the garlic, give it another 5 minutes and finally the feta. This means although the cheese is warm and crumbly it is not melting everywhere.


It is literally impossible to eat this with your hands, I gave up and used a knife and fork. Oh - and I had no fresh basil so I substituted with dried and although the fresh would be better it was ok without.


WW points wise - well, over the last week I have received all the info to switch over to the new pro-points plan which is rather different to the old plan. Wherever I can I will give both sets of points going forward, the new points are according to their actual website calculator, the old points I will calculate manually.


On the Pro-points plan which allows (me) 29 points a day, this dish is 11 points - 6 for the 2 slices of ciabatta, 2 for the quorn and 3 for the feta. On the old plan it works out at 5 for the bread, 1 for the quorn and 1.5 for the feta so a lower score of 7.5 (against 19 for the day). Either way you can see it is a pretty balanced and reasonable score for a lunch time dish.


We both really enjoyed this, even though my husband hates tomatoes when they are still whole like this (and I am not a big fan either), it was something a bit different for a lunchtime, tasty, quick and convenient and I will no doubt make it again.


Overall we gave this a 7/10, good work quorn!

Feeling Blue

Hello all,


I haven't blogged for about a week and I feel a bit lost without it to be honest but this was not my plan. A number of things have stopped me in my tracks over the last 7 days and hence I felt I should update on where I have been and why.


Last weekend we went to Amsterdam for a city break and had an excellent time, however, I had been feeling a bit unwell before we went and while we were there developed a pretty nasty cough that prevented both of us from sleeping (is there any guilt worse than that of knowing you are robbing your partner of sleep while you splutter and suffer!?). By the time I got back late on Monday I was coughing so much I was being sick and struggling to breathe, it was really quite frightening.


Anyway, on Tuesday I went to the doctors and was diagnosed with acute viral laryngitis, given anti-biotics for the associated chest infection and told to go home and rest - both myself and my voice. I did just that and was pretty much on the brink of losing my voice completely when I got a call to say that our family dog, Jonty, whom I adored, had suddenly passed away.


This was devastating news. I had only had him for the weekend a couple of weeks before and although he was clearly getting old he seemed ok. It turned out he had a tumour in his stomach that none of us knew about until it burst and was too late. My mom was very brave indeed and stayed with him to the end, I didn't know until it was all over which was no doubt for the best, but it came as a bit of a shock.


I cried so much I lost what little of my voice I had left. It is so awful losing a much loved family pet, he truly is irreplaceable. 

Beautiful Jonty on my car seat a few weeks ago.

Anyway, because of this and my illness this week, I just have not got around to blogging. Today is the first day I have even felt capable of typing but it is fair to say that my voice is coming back to normal and the anti-biotics have kicked in. The grief will probably take a bit longer to navigate.


But fear not! The Quorn Supremacy will indeed be back up and blogging by the end of this weekend, of that I have no doubt.

Quorn Biryani

11/70


So, the second curry style dish from the Quorn recipe book - and I have to say i was a little cynical when I first saw the recipe because this is cooked in the microwave. I have nothing against microwaves for reheating, defrosting and melting things but I generally do not consider them a method of 'cooking'. Here is a link to the recipe from the Quorn website.


Anyway, I was prepared to be proven wrong and so I gave it a whirl last night when I was pushed for time as we were going out to a pub quiz. The first stage of the recipe coats the quorn pieces in tikka paste mixed with boiling water and as I know quorn marinades well, I actually did the marinade bit in the morning and left them to soak all day. 


Once I embarked on the rest of the recipe that night, it was all very quick, literally all the ingredients apart from the quorn (frozen veg, a chopped red onion, chopped apricots and a load of rice with stock and boiling water) get chucked in a microwavable bowl and cooked for 6 minutes, stirred and then the quorn is added, then another 6 minutes plus 5 minutes standing, and voila!


This is at the halfway mark just after adding the quorn pieces (note my spirtle - one of the things I have learned to love from Scottish in laws!):

I hit a slight stumbling block at the end when the biryani should have been ready - timings are only given for an 800 watt microwave, but mine is only 700 watts (ancient I know, but it works!). I had already added on a couple of minutes to each 6 minute burst of cooking, so it had actually had 16 minutes in total rather than 12, plus the 5 minutes standing. But when I removed it from the microwave the rice was clearly still raw and there was still a lot of liquid.


I put it back in for another 3 minute burst and this seemed to do the trick. I would therefore suggest for a 700 watt microwave that you put it in for 9.5 minutes twice, rather than the suggested 6. I would also add here that it does smell amazing while cooking!


I toasted my almonds for the garnish and this is it plated.

The taste of this was pretty impressive. I do think marinading the quorn had added an intensity to the flavour of the quorn itself, but the rice was delicious and fragrant and even the apricots (which I was dubious about as I hate that 70s fruit in curries vibe) really worked and gave it a lovely sweetness.


In terms of weight watchers points, this is pretty good, the quorn is 1.5 per portion, the rice is another 3, the only other points culprit is then the tikka paste and based on the amount I used this adds 1.5 per portion so a total of 6 points per portion which is darn good for such a tasty curry. It also means that you can serve it with a low fat naan for around 9 points, well worth it!


My husband loved this, despite it not being overly spicy, he thought the quorn was particularly nice and said he would give it a 7/10. I think that's a pretty fair score.


Convenient to cook (if you have the right timings), quick and easy and actually very tasty - plus very low fat. A success despite my initial doubts and one I will definitely make again.

Pesto Crusted Fillets

10/70


I tried this recipe over the weekend as a light tea, again we were pretty impressed with how it jazzed up the sometimes dull fillets. The texture of these was lovely and we really enjoyed them, they went very well with a salad but would work equally well with pasta or a more traditional accompaniment. 


My one downer on this recipe is the inescapable mess that it makes due to the difficultly of sprinkling both breadcrumbs and parmesan on top of the fillets on a baking tray, this is what mine looked like as they were about to go in the oven:

Fortunately, I took the decision to just leave the mess on the tray and sort it out later - this proved a good call as actually the breadcrumbs on the tray went lovely and crispy and mixed with the cheese were pretty tasty sprinkled over the salad and fillets once they were on the plate.


I did follow the recipe to the letter and used ciabatta breadcrumbs, as I didn't want to waste a whole loaf of ciabatta I picked up a small loose individual ciabatta roll from Sainsburys which was pretty convenient and still made more than the 40g I needed.


Astoundingly, I had never actually made breadcrumbs before (one of a number of skills I am picking up from making all these recipes!), I literally just left the ciabatta to go stale for 3 days and then dropped it in the food processor and let it do the hard work, easy, even sized breadcrumbs in less than a minute! I have frozen the majority which were excess to requirements as Nigella informs me they work perfectly well either used from frozen or defrosted first.


I must admit I was a little cautious about this recipe as neither my husband or I am massive fans of pesto flavours, however, because the pesto is not overwhelming and is literally brushed onto the fillets under the breadcrumb/cheese mix, it just lends a tasty, subtle flavour to the quorn. The basil is about the only bit of the pesto that you can taste.


We loved the way the texture of the topping was so crunchy and well combined. The recipe states you can either use italian hard cheese or normal cheddar, I used some parmesan and felt that this suited the recipe really well as it was light but full of flavour, cheddar, I think, may have gone soggy and matted over the breadcrumbs - but each to their own.


In terms of weight watchers points this is also a winner, 2 fillets equals 1.5 points but the breadcrumbs, pesto and cheese only add another 2 because it is very small portions of each, therefore the points value is only 3.5 (I also used reduced fat pesto so have been quite generous with the points really!). Served with a salad this is a great, healthy, low fat meal.


Here are my fillets once plated:

We give these fillets a 9/10 because we really enjoyed them and actually they were so quick and simple to make I know I will make them again. The spare portion we sliced up and used on lunch wraps the next day and these too were a success, a great recipe which shows how versatile boring old fillets can be.

Lemon Chilli Linguine

9/70


Cards on the table - we really did not enjoy this meal. Be warned that the overriding flavour is very much LEMON. I have no particular issue with lemon but just found it overpowering in this dish, which is also very dry. I guess there are always going to be recipes in every book which just do not float your boat. 


Strangely I notice the Quorn website feedback has been particularly positive for this recipe, maybe there are a lot of quorn loving citrus fanatics out there.


My poor husband didn't even have seconds and that says it all really. In fact he actually said this was the second worst thing I have ever cooked (in first place is an utterly monstrous vegetarian moussaka which could have been used as a weapon of mass destruction, but the less said about that the better). I did not think it deserved to be bracketed with the Moussaka of doom but I really did not like it as a dish.


To be fair, it started badly when I accidentally grated my thumb while zesting the lemon, dinner was slightly less vegetarian from that point on I am afraid. I also learnt the true pain of lemon juice in a fresh wound. The air in my kitchen went a rather electric blue.


So...the plus points for this dish (because I hate to just completely slate it) are that its pretty quick and easy to cook and in terms of weight watchers points its a very low scorer, 1.5 for the quorn, 3 for the pasta, 1 for the oil and that literally is it - a total of 5.5. 


I also think that the process of frying off the quorn pieces in the lemon juice is pretty clever and really does inject a strong flavour into them. As a starting point when cooking with pieces I will no doubt use this method again, but personally I think the dish needs another strong flavour to balance against the strength of the lemon.


This is the finished dish in my wok (which I pretty much cook everything in!):

The idea of lemon and chilli together I do quite like, but the chilli I used was not hot enough to even be detected against the lemon. Once the linguine is in the pan you really have to quickly move it round because due to the lack of sauce it will stick to the pan and burn if left alone. 


Personally I found it very odd to be eating such dry, sauceless, pasta. The idea of cooking the linguine with stock in the pan instead of water is clever, but again the stock flavour was lost to the lemon.


Some of the elements of this recipe have given me inspiration for other dishes and I am sure I will indeed use the citrus idea again but in moderation. I will not, however, be making this particular recipe again.


Sorry Quorn, but this one gets a 1/10 from us.

Teriyaki Quorn

8/70


Over the weekend I made Teriyaki Quorn pieces with some steak strips, I was not overawed by it, it has to be said but the steak pieces were quite tasty, there just wasn't enough sauce for my liking.


This is the finished product:

The marinading of the quorn pieces worked pretty well and the ginger and garlic were evident even when it had been cooked, I liked the citrus flavours from the orange and lemon juices too and the flavour was pretty distinct, it just made for quite a dry dish.


The recipe gives an option of 2 tablespoons of soy sauce or teriyaki, I used one of each and in future would probably use 2 of each to try and make it more moist. I am not a big fan of egg noodles either as they can be stodgy and dry and having spent time in Thailand and Vietnam, I prefer glass or rice noodles which are much thinner. I think I will use glass noodles if I make this dish again.


In terms of weight watchers points this is a pretty good dish, 1.5 for the Quorn, 3 for the noodles and 1.5 for the oil and sauce so only 6 for the portion. Because this recipe serves 4 I cooked the whole amounts but then removed half of the steak pieces and veg before adding the noodles for 2 portions, I then reheated the pieces with fresh noodles for a second meal on another night.


So, 5 out of 10 from the other half on this one and I think I agree with that. It is ok and if I tweak it to our tastes it will probably be better, good marinade and flavours but not for us with the egg noodles and lack of sauce.

Leek Pie With Quorn Pieces - Proper Pukka Pie

7/70


*****NEWS*****


EXCITED! I got home from work today to find a letter from Quorn giving this blog the thumbs up and saying "it looks fantastic". I am over the moon to get that feedback. Rather brilliantly they have also sent me a load of money off vouchers which will certainly help with completing all the recipes.


Today just keeps on getting better - I have just passed 300 visits to the blog from across the UK, USA, Australia and Canada. I never thought it would get so much support and positive feedback so quickly so thank you everyone that has been in touch and visited the pages. 


Also, today's recipe, Leek Pie with Quorn Pieces marks one tenth of the recipes completed, so a milestone of sorts. So far all have been good to very good. Tonight's pie got a 9/10 from the other half and I have to say I would give it a 10 as it is utterly delicious.


I must admit that whilst the recipe in the book includes home made pastry, I had half a block of puff pastry in the freezer left over from making the steak pie the other week, on a week night I just don't have the time to make the pastry too so I used this ready to use block and it worked marvellously and cut half an hour off the cooking time.


The filling was simple and delicious. I had a slight problem in that the recipe calls for mustard powder. Now maybe Shropshire is just not a massive fan of it but I could not find any, anywhere. I have checked Asda in both Telford and Wolverhampton and Sainsburys in Telford, I also checked the large Co-Op in my hometown of Shifnal. None of them had mustard powder!


I therefore had to ad lib a bit and decided to substitute mustard powder for fresh wholegrain mustard which I had in the fridge. This worked really well, you can see the seeds in this picture of the filling towards the end of cooking:

The use of milk and stock with the flour seemed to work really well at producing a very tasty and wonderfully thickened sauce. By the time it came out of the oven the filling was a great, creamy consistency and for me the mustard worked perfectly with the leeks and quorn pieces. I switched the milk from semi-skimmed to skimmed and the sauce worked fine with this substitution.


Here it is cooked:

and plated:

Weight watchers points are higher for this recipe than any other so far, but then the leeks are sauteed in butter and oil for 2 points and the pastry is also an immediate 5 points. The quorn adds another 1.5 and the milk and stock another 1. This makes it 9.5 points per portion, based on the pie serving 4. 


Although it is high(ish) in points, as long as you serve with zero points veg it can still be part of a healthy meal.


Both me and the other half loved it, the sauce is delicious, the pie is substantial, filling and delicious. I will most definitely be making this again.