Quorn mince is a great source of protein and is low in saturated fat, making it a versatile and healthier option to meat. It can be used in so many dishes, from bolognese, pies and gravy, lasagne and chilli. Here I have made a gloriously glossy homemade vegetarian quorn mince chilli on a bed of mixed basmati and long grain rice for texture with a sprinkle of extra mature cheddar cheese. Please excuse my tastebuds whilst they attempt to drown me!
Quorn Mince Vegetarian Chilli With White Mixed Rice
Making a veggie chilli is incredibly easy and one of my favourite dishes, as it was a staple meal during my childhood and always reminds me of home. I love preparing it for my children as you can load it full of vegetables, protein and fibre and they gobble it up in seconds.
First I start by slicing, dicing and peeling the vegetables. You can really add as many or few ingredients as you like, but again when I cook I always base my meals around the ingredients in my fridge and store cupboard and adapt each dish to suit what I have in at the time. Today I used a white onion, carrot, red, green and yellow pepper, fresh ginger, garlic, white mushrooms and bay leaves from my herb garden. Once suitably chopped I scoop the vegetables into a saucepan with a few spoons of extra virgin olive oil, a vegetable stock cube and sprinkling of salt and pepper to taste, before covering with a lid to simmer on a medium heat until the vegetables have softened.
Next I free pour the quorn mince from the freezer into the pot, with a roughly even ratio of vegetables to mince because I like it to be a balanced dish and not too ‘meaty’ as it can lose flavour if the vegetables are drowned out. I then add a heap spoon of marmite which is a vegetarian friendly yeast extract, a large squirt of puree’d tomato paste, a splash of Worcestershire sauce, a tin of chopped tomatoes and a tin of kidney beans after rinsing them in water. I replace the lid and after bringing to the boil, simmer on a medium heat for around twenty to thirty minutes until the juice has a glossy oil film to the top of it.
You can also add water if you prefer the sauce to be thinner, but I enjoy a good consistency much like a blended soup. I love chilli with brown rice and cumin seeds, but as the children prefer white rice, to add a nice texture I have cooked white basmati with a long grain which gives a fluffy yet firm texture. I first rinse the rice in a pan of cold water until the starch is out and the water runs clear, before covering a couple of centimetres above the food level with water, bringing to the boil with a lid on and then turning it off to sit and steam for around fifteen minutes on the stove. Then you simply plate up the rice, add a scoop or two of chilli and a sprinkling of grated extra-mature cheddar cheese and voila! A well rounded delicious meal in just over thirty minutes. Have you tried quorn mince before? What is your favourite chilli recipe and will you be trying mine?
