As alluded to in September's Food and Wine Matching I have recently been having to extend my repertoire of vegetarian dishes which has been a steep learning curve. Of all the meat substitutes I have experimented with I have had the most success with Quorn® which is widely available, high in protein, gluten free and low in saturated fat. It works pretty well in a simple red Thai curry as outlined here:
Ingredients
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 head of broccoli (cut or broken in to medium sized pieces)
1 red chilli
1 green chilli
1 family pack of frozen Quorn pieces
1 vacuum pack of cooked green lentils (250g)
1 jar of red Thai curry paste (285g)
1 tin of coconut milk (400ml)
Chilli flakes
Fresh coriander
Basmati rice
Olive oil
(Serves 4 generously)
Finely slice the (de-seeded) peppers and chillies and sweat them down in a little olive oil in a heavy lidded pan along with the (broken up) broccoli for 5 minutes so they start to soften but don't catch. Heat the Quorn pieces (for 12 minutes from frozen) in a wok with a little oil and a good pinch of chilli flakes stirring until they are lightly-browned and cooked through. Add the cooked Quorn to the chillies and peppers along with the (drained) lentils, curry paste and coconut milk. Heat all ingredients together until nicely melded and hot and then serve on steamed basmati rice and sprinkle with chopped coriander.
Fresh salmon or chicken are both good alternatives to Quorn for pescetarians or omnivores respectively.
I would partner that with a nervy, aromatic Riesling – this month's selection from the Staatliche Weinbaudomäne in Oppenheim would be ideal.
