Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Quorn, Mushroom & Leek Pie



My first recipe uses a substance that seems to divide vegetarians. Quorn. Not surprising really, considering that it is as unnatural as Angel Delight (something my wife loves, incidentally). Wikipedia tells me that Quorn is a mycoprotein made from a processed edible fungus. It doesn't say which fungus but, either way, it's not mentioned on the packaging. But then chicken-style pieces does sound more appetising than mycoprotein edible fungus pieces. Still, my wife does need her protein and I'm not quite brave enough to introduce the chick pea to her diet yet so I made this pie. It serves four and is a good option for a vegetarian Sunday dinner served with my wife's amazing roast potatoes, roast beetroot and swiss chard. I'll write more about these another time.

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, halved lengthways and sliced
125g mushrooms, sliced
350g Quorn Pieces
1 small glass of white wine
125g creme fraiche
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped chives
250g puff pastry
1 egg

Recipe
1) Pre-heat the oven to 200c. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the leeks. Fry for five minutes until soft and then add the mushrooms. Continue to cook for a couple of minutes before adding the Quorn and frying for a further two minutes.

2) Now add the wine. You must reduce this right down until there isn't much liquid left. Then take the pan off the heat and add three heaped dessert spoons of creme fraiche (about 125g) and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Season with plenty of salt and pepper and cook on a medium heat until the sauce has thickened and reduced a bit. It should be at the same level as the Quorn. Spoon it into your pie dish
.
3) If you've bought a 500g block of puff pastry, cut it in half and make it into a ball with your hands. Then roll it out into a circle about 1 inch thick. Drape it over your pie filling, trim the sides and make three slashes in the top. Then beat the egg and brush the top of your pastry. Put it in the oven and cook for twenty minutes or until it is golden brown.

4 comments:

  1. Perfect! This is just the recipe I was looking for. My husband starts a new job today and, due to train delays, he got there late. I'll greet him at the door tonight with this and hopefully it will make him feel better. :)

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  2. I made this last night & it was DELICIOUS!
    Thank you, this'll be a regular on my table I'm sure
    (:

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  3. Trying this on sunday for the love of my life. Even as a carnivore myself it sounds excellent. Will keep you posted.

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  4. Tried a variation on this with vegetable stock instead of white wine and natural yoghurt instead of creme fraiche and regular shortcrust pastry - it was great! Thanks for the recipe :)

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