Quorn Gluten-Free Product Review And Recipes.

I love nothing more than settling down to a Sunday roast with the family most weekends, however this weekend was slightly different. I was recently approached by Quorn to try out some of their new gluten-free range. So, taking the bull by the proverbial meat free horns I opted to try some of this relatively new range and create a meat free alternative main meal for all the family. I chose the Meat Free Mince and Meat Free Chicken Pieces and these are the recipes I created with them.

Individual Savoury Mince Pies

Makes: 5 Individual Pies, (3” diameter)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 shallots, finely diced
350g Quorn Mince
50g / 2oz button mushrooms, cut into quarters
1 tablespoon tomato purée
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced into batons
50g / 2oz peas
1 tablespoon gluten-free plain flour, plus extra for dusting
200ml / 7½fl oz gluten-free vegetable stock
Dash gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
400g / 14oz ready-made gluten-free puff pastry
1 medium egg, beaten

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C / Fan 180°C / 400F / Gas 6

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the shallots for approximately 4-5 minutes or until translucent. Add the Quorn Mince, mushrooms and tomato purée and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place the carrots in a small pan of boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes. Drain, then add to the Quorn mixture along with the peas. Stir in the flour, followed by the vegetable stock and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

3. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pan with a lid and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside and leave to cool whilst preparing the pastry.

4. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until it is slightly larger than the pie pots, then carefully fill each pot three quarters full. Gently drape the pastry over each pot and decorate with the pastry trimmings. Crimp around the sides to seal thoroughly, then brush with the egg wash.

5. Pierce the top of the pastry to let out the steam and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown. Serve with seasonal vegetables.

Sweet and Sour Noodles

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

350g Quorn Chicken Pieces
1 dessert spoon sesame oil
½ onion, diced finely
1 garlic clove, minced
1cm / ½” cube fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
50g / 2oz chestnut mushrooms, sliced or quartered
3 asparagus spears, cut on the diagonal
½ yellow pepper, de-seeded and cut into thin strips
Gluten-free rice noodles

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

1 teaspoon cornflour
2 tablespoons cold water
1 dessert spoon rice wine or cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 dessert spoon tomato purée
1 tablespoon gluten-free soy sauce
1 pinch cayenne pepper

Cook over a medium heat

Method:

1. Place the sesame oil in a wok, followed by the onion and sauté for approximately 4-5 minutes or until translucent. Next add the garlic and ginger. Continue to cook for a further 2 minutes.

2. Add the Quorn Chicken Pieces, chestnut mushrooms, asparagus and peppers and continue to cook for 4 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, to make the sweet and sour sauce, place the cornflour in a small bowl and gradually pour in the cold water, stirring to make a smooth liquid. Add the rice wine or cider vinegar, soft brown sugar, orange juice, tomato purée, gluten-free soy sauce and cayenne pepper. Stir until evenly blended.

4. Pour the sauce into the Quorn mixture and continue to heat until thoroughly combined and the sauce has thickened. Serve immediately with rice noodles.

What did I think?

I have not eaten Quorn for a number of years, I was surprised to discover that it has been on sale now for over 30 years. As the growing market for free from products continues to expand, it is refreshing to see that Quorn have also embraced its customer needs with this substantial gluten-free range, 20+ products covering breakfast, lunch and dinner. The range has also been certified by Coeliac UK .

There is no denying that Quorn is a healthy source of protein and a versatile blank canvas that enables you to transform it into almost any meal. Personally, I do struggle to make the correlation between the “meaty” description on the packaging and Quorn’s unique texture and so you have to almost make a conscious decision not to compare the two. That said, once we overcame this, both products were a hit in our family of five.

Whilst Quorn provided these products, all opinions are my own and I have received no payment for writing this post.