If you’ve cooked Quorn™ for the first time for someone this may be a familiar story but either way, do read on because I’d be interested to get everyone’s take on this- whether you’re new to Quorn or not. Anyway, mid-week, some good friends and their little ones popped round to ours for an early dinner. These particular friends have always been a bit sceptical about Quorn but I thought it was time to see if I could change their minds, even just a tiny bit. I used the Quorn Korma recipe that the Quorn chefs created as it really is an old favourite of mine. (And there are loads more gorgeous recipes on the Quorn website.) You pretty much make everything from scratch and yet it only takes 15 minutes to prepare. I wanted to share the recipe (see below) with you – note the clever pinch of cardamom that makes all the difference.
And what did our friends think of the Quorn Korma? Well, after the plates were licked clean and the rest of the pot emptied during seconds they admitted that they may have changed their minds but that they would have to try the Quorn Korma again and maybe I could make the Quorn Bolognese the next time they came round and then maybe the Quorn Thai Curry after that to make a definite decision? A tough life.
By the way, if you’ve had any similar successes with ‘Quorn first-timers’ let me know! If you used any fab new Quorn recipes, please send them blog@marlowfoods.com.
- Preparation Time: 15 Mins
- Cooking Time: 40 Mins
- Serves: 4 (but you can easily double ingredients for a larger party)
This dish only takes about 15 minutes to prepare so you’ll want to make sure everything is ready to go. Would suggest you get all ingredients out on the counter and chopped/grated/crushed as necessary.
- 426ml/¾ pint vegetable stock made with ½ vegetable stock cube
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- 284ml/½ pint low fat natural yogurt (use low fat rather than fat free yogurt as this may split in the sauce)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp finely grated root ginger
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 3 cardamom pods (When I shop for these, I buy the greenest looking pods. Avoid pods that are black in colour at all costs!)
- 1 x 2.5cm/1” piece cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½tsp mild chilli powder
- 350g Quorn Pieces, defrosted
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2tbsp freshly chopped coriander plus extra coriander leaves for garnish
- 300g basmati rice
Pour half of the stock over the onions in a pan, boil for 10 minutes, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the onion has softened. Add a little extra water if the stock boils away but I like to do this slowly so as not to use too much and dilute the flavour.
Add the garlic, ginger and spices to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring well to prevent burning. I usually crush the cardamon pods before adding to the stock to release their glorious flavour. Add the remaining stock and Quorn pieces, stir and simmer very gently for 10 minutes. Meanwhile cook the rice according to back of pack instructions. My favourite tip for basmati rice is that you should never lift the lid or stir the rice whilst its cooking. This will break the grains and release the starch, and your rice won’t be lovely and fluffy with that trademark sticky texture.
In to the korma stir in the yogurt and the freshly chopped coriander, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, take off the heat otherwise the recipe will split and serve over the basmati rice, garnish with coriander leaves.
If you have a bit of extra time on your hands while your Quorn Korma is simmering away, here is a fab recipe for pilau rice. It should take around 30 minutes to prepare.
GDA per serving:
Energy 21%
Sugar 11%
Fat 9%
Saturated Fat 8%
Salt 27%
7 Comments
I eat and enjoy Quorn products regularly, particularly Quorn Pieces in Tikka Masala or Quorn Mince Chilli. What could be easier than that? Quorn Escalopes with potato wedges are also a favourite of mine. And it all fits in well with my Weightwatchers healthy eating plan.
‘Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference’.
True to the experience you posted, a good number of my family and friends have become Quorn Qonverts (hope you appreciate the play on words!)by simply sharing a meal with us. Having 5 children 11-25 yrs old (the two eldest we call boomerang kids…they keep coming back!), mealtimes have always been quite lively and unsurprisingly we always seemed to have more at the ever increasing table than we were accountable for! My good wife has for some years now replaced all meat mince with Quorn in family favourites such as Quorn Cottage Pie, Spag. Bol, Chilli con Quorn and Taco Mince Shells. At BBQ’s, lamb style grills, peppered steaks, quarterpounders and Cumberland sausages have all won plaudits.
Attitudes to ‘that vege stuff’ have changed and the sceptics in the main have been won over. The recently launched snack products of mini savoury eggs and satay skewers have gone down a storm. These converts have truly been Quorn again!
I like the sound of the Quorn Korma, especally as I am on a high protein, low carb diet. However, my diet book advises against Quorn as it says it has wheat in it. Is this true and if so, how many carbs are in it (per 100g) please?
Being the only ‘veggie’ in a carnivorous family could be difficult if it wasn’t for Quorn. I find that I still cook meat-dishes for my family but also cook a veggie version alongside it. I use the same ingredients in both - apart from the meat! So Bolognese, chilli’s, curries etc are made to the same recipe and are dished up at the same time at the table. However, when the meat recipe is all gone, the meat eaters then eat up the leftover veggie version! I also find that the flavours intensify in Quorn mince dishes if you do make up a big batch and either freeze in portions for later or have enough left overs to put into a jacket potato for the following day. I tend to forget that Quorn products are lower fat than meat as I always feel full after my meal. The new ad has reminded me how versatile Quorn can be.
My favourite Quorn recipe is Quorn, Mushroom & Guinness pie. It’s a great Sunday lunch recipe to have with lots of roast potatoes and veg.
Fry onions and/or leeks, then add some chunkily chopped mushrooms. When they’re cooked, add a packet of Quorn Chicken Style Pieces, then most of a can or bottle of Guinness. Leave it to cook for 15 minutes or so. It can be left with the heat turned off to marinade for a while until you need it. Reheat if necessary and serve with all the trimmings as is, or bake in the oven first inside or underneath some pastry to make a nice pie.
It can be frozen for another day, and is also great the next day for Monday lunch.
Hopefully the new campaign will encourage more people to look at alternatives to meat which would lower our collective carbon footprints.
My friend made me spag bol last night. It was absolutely delicious. I have eaten Quorn for years being a vegetarian but she is a meat eater and had never tried it till I went round for dinner. She preferred the Quorn mince and said it was the best spag bol she’d ever eaten.
Hi Lesley - pleased to hear that you would like to try our Quorn Korma -it is delicious. It sounds like you are on an Atkins-type diet which is based on eating lots of protein & little carbohydrate, measuring foods by their ‘net carbs’ value. Unlike meat - which is just protein & fat with practically no carbohydrate at all - Quorn products contain protein, a little bit of fat, (mostly unsaturated), plus some carbohydrate, & essential dietary fibre of course. The amount of carbohydrate varies very widely depending on the type of Quorn product & its ingredients, from about 4% for mince & pieces to over 20% for pastry products, etc. This is why Quorn products can’t be easily classified simply as protein foods for diets like this. We are not sure how much carbohydrate your diet allows per day, but it could be that some Quorn foods, probably mince & pieces, can in fact be incorporated into your meals.
Another interesting fact about Quorn products is that they generally have a higher satiety value, (meaning they fill you up for longer), & lower energy density value, (fewer calories per gram) than similar foods, and therefore can be very useful in weight loss & weight maintenance diets.
To check the carbohydrate content for Quorn products, please visit the Our Range (www.quorn.co.uk/CMSPage.aspx?ssbid=2) section on our website and click on individual products to view the nutritional information.