If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that I am a meat eater. What you might not know is that I used to be a vegetarian. I was not a very good vegetarian as I did not really eat fruit and vegetables. Today, I love my fruit and vegetables but I eat meat as I know it is the healthier food choice for me! However, a lot of people choose not to eat meat and they choose to eat products that are named ‘sausage’, ‘chicken’ and ‘mince’ etc. Personally I don’t get this but I also will not judge. Last year I was sent a recipe book from Fry’s who have made vegetarian ‘meat’ products since 1991. These proteins are vegan and I have tasted quite a few of them as my aunt and uncle keep a vegetarian household. They are tasty and play an important part of a healthy vegetarian diet. Other than my lack of understanding of using meat terms for a vegetarian product, I can also see no reason to note on each page of the recipe book that the recipe is meat free, vegan and suitable for vegans! I think one statement on the front would have sufficed. I chose to test the recipe for Laniéres de Poulet as Mark Naicker was the winner of the Fry’s Family Foods Curry Cook Off, and this was his winning recipe.
At the same time as I received the recipe book, I was sent some samples of quorn. Quorn is a soy free, meat free product with no added preservatives and is cooked from frozen. However, I think that the cooking times need to be extended by at least half. The ‘chicken fillets’ I used did not look appealing and have no body to them. They are bland and will take on the flavours of what you cook them in. This made using my peri peri sauce quite worthwhile. I must say that once cooked, the quorn looked like chicken. This recipe is really good and for meat eaters out there please feel free to try it using chicken. And for my vegetarian and vegan readers, I hope this recipe gives you something to add to your bookmarks of recipes to try.
Laniéres de Poulet
Ingredients
- 312 g quorn chicken fillets
- 4 sprigs mint
- 6 sprigs thyme
- 45 g butter
- 15 mls olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
- 150 g button mushrooms quartered
- 125 mls peri peri sauce
Method
- Place the quorn onto some tin foil and add the mint, thyme and butter
- Seal the foil and cook on a hot barbecue for 10 minutes
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan
- Sauté the onion until soft
- Season with salt
- Add the mushrooms and season and cook until the mushrooms take on some colour
- Add the peri peri sauce and cook for 3 minutes
- Remove the chicken from the foil and cut into strips
- Add to the pan and cook until heated through, approximately 6 minutes
Notes
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Disclosure: I was sent the recipe book to review and I was not required to write a blog post in exchange for the book. I was sent the quorn to try and I was not required to write a blog post on the product. The opinions and facts in this post are my own. This post is in line with my blogging policy.
What I blogged:
- one year ago – Chocolate Fudge Brownie Parcels
I too am a meat eater so have never really eaten much quorn. Like the way it’s cooked!
I am going to try the ‘mince’ next 🙂
Haha I actually don’t eat any of those fake meat products…they make me gag. But to each his own!
I was intrigued to know what you would comment as you are my regular vegetarian reader Joanne 🙂
I don’t like to judge people but I have never understood why vegetarians want to eat something that tastes and looks like meat. Maybe I am missing something. I also worry that there are so many “funny” things added to these products to make them taste like something.
I must say when I saw your picture, I thought it was a piece of chicken breast. Lovely flavours.
Have a super afternoon Tandy.
🙂 Mandy xo
This is my point exactly! But, saying that, the quorn products have no ‘funny’ ingredients which is a relief 🙂
I already love this dish! It looks like the dish was prepared in a restaurant!
Thank you for the compliment Sammie 🙂
Hi Tandy, never heard of quorn before. Sounds very interesting. Sure does look like chicken that is for sure. Could of fooled me.
It is amazing how once cooked this looks like the real thing!
So funny when we go to vegetarian restaurant and you read on the menu, vegetarian fish, chicken, and so on…the try to mimic fish, chicken…so why being a vegetarian?
This vegetarian chicken sure look very convincing…and the sauce looks fabulous, I might try this with real chicken.
Thanks for the recipe Tandy and hope you are having a wonderful week 😀
I am so glad I am not the only one who thinks this way! Please let me know if you try it Juliana 🙂
Thank you for this! I’ve only recently discovered Fry’s and didn’t even know this existed! I can’t wait to go shopping this weekend to get these… But will make sure as you say to add LOTS of flavour 🙂
Quorn is quite new to South Africa. Let me know if our local Pick N Pay does not stock it 🙂
It reminds of recipes like Paleo muffins – trying to make stuff out of other stuff that looks and tastes just like stuff you think you shouldn’t eat.
That sums it up quite nicely Sam 🙂
I too was once a vegetarian for many years. I was vegetarian mostly because I couldn’t get pass the smell or look of meat. Ha It wasn’t until I became pregnant that I wanted to have meat. Now, I just balance out all the food groups. I’ve haven’t seen quorn around here. Or maybe I haven’t looked hard enough. Your recipe just looks delicious!
That is so interesting to read Cindy, and thanks for the visit 🙂
I am a vegetarian, and i have no idea why they do this with vegetarian products–i dont eat any soya or quaran products–firstly the soya products look to much like meat for me to try them and the quaron products contain egg–for me i am happy with my lentils and beans & etc
I must look and see if there is egg in the Quorn product 🙂