Saturday, 15 May 2021

MMQ pies – more photos!

Nearly there!

with added gravy


and finally a sliced, cooked baked

potato top


I suppose what I'm saying is, it doesn't matter what your preference, it works.

As a guide - you will have approximately 625g of filling. The ceramic dish took 150g ish of filling x 1 pie, the foil took 115g ish of filling x 4 pies.

I have given the two potato topped pies to my friend who is now home from hospital – taste test verdict to follow shortly. I have the other two “undressed” as it were, but with the onion gravy, in my freezer – hold that thought!

Speaking of miso, here's another miso moment, this time of the sweet variety!

Miso Mushroom and Quorn (MMQ) pies – the photos …

and the variations!


First up, here's a couple of photos of my supper :


I used an individual ceramic pie dish

measuring 18x13x4.5cms (7x5x2”)

It then occurred that I had in my store cupboard stash foil pie dishes (from Lakeland) they measure 12x8x4.5cms (4¾x3x1¾”). These are very handy to have around!


I had leftover pastry from a puff pastry sheet to use, so here's a before and after with the ceramic pie dish


before

 

after!


It was yum!

The filling is packed with the miso marinade - what Quorn is famous for is taking on any flavour you introduce – in this case the marinade - nothing is wasted.

Some like it without gravy, some like it with.

I'm a “with gravy” girl. Here's the solution - I made vegetarian onion gravy and added it to the filling. You can make your own or if you want a fast short cut there are granules out there! I topped the pie with sliced, cooked, baked potatoes, added seasoning and a generous knob of butter.

More photos …





The other miso mushroom idea …

I mentioned at the end of the Miso Mushroom Snack recipe that you'd have marinade left over, which lead me to my next idea, make a pie!

This recipe follows that given for my Miso Mushroom Snacks :

Miso Mushroom & Quorn Pies

for the pie base


3 x Portabello mushrooms - 275g peeled, stalks trimmed

then sliced and chopped into small pieces, bag or box and set

aside until ready for use


3 tbsps brown rice miso paste*

2 tsps soy sauce*

2 tbsps mirin*

1 tbsp dark soft brown sugar*


350g Quorn Pieces

(from the chiller cabinet or frozen)


Mix the ingredients marked “*” thoroughly into a paste – box and fridge, or, you may find it more convenient to mix the marinade directly into a large strong food bag – e.g. Bacofoil SafeLoc. Add the mushrooms to the marinade an hour before roasting to give them time to infuse.

I used Quorn Pieces from the chiller.

When you're ready to roast, pre-heat your oven 150fan/170c/Gas 3.

Empty the marinaded mushrooms into a foil tray and roast for 20 minutes – 11 minutes in to the roasting time add the Quorn Pieces – they take 9 minutes to cook from the chiller. If you're using frozen pieces they take 12 minutes so adjust the timing accordingly.

Photos with variations on the recipe up next …



Saturday, 8 May 2021

MMS photo guide and the finished product ...

the end is in sight!

Unroll your pastry sheet and cut in half lengthways.

Divide the cooled filling between the two rectangles, laying it down the centre of the pastry.

Brush one edge with beaten egg and carefully roll up to create two long tubes. Cut each strip into 7, 2” pastries. Brush with egg and put on a lined baking tray. Sprinkle with Nigella seeds and bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot or cold.



Not wishing to blow my own trumpet, they delivered that umami flavour I was expecting – I'm not holding this out as a plant based vegan recipe so you may think this is not a balanced critique. You may be right but, in my defence, I know plenty of people who try both vegetarian and vegan products even though they also eat meat, poultry and fish. It's not a plant based recipe but it's certainly vegetarian.

As is always my practice I froze a few – I like to know how they are going to behave – usually dishes like curry or chilli develop their flavour and benefit being frozen, so lets see how these go!

I have another idea too …



Miso Mushroom Snacks (MMS) photo guide

bag or box the chopped mushrooms and

set aside until ready to marinade


if you're using a large strong food or freezer bag you

can mix the marinade directly into it, instead of a box -

cuts out the middle man!


looking good


allow the mushrooms to cool


Assembly up next and the baked snacks!



Higgidy Miso Mushroom Snack verdict

It's stating the obvious that they don't look particularly appetising but I wouldn't let that put me off. You can eat them straight away but warming is always best, which is exactly what it says on the packet. 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 10/12 minutes.

My supper treat is ready – not all six I should add – served with a side of coleslaw. I'm disappointed - I expected more of that umami punch which I didn't get.

I've been here before – although in fairness they weren't as disappointing as the ready-made cheese & onion pasties from M&S.

Not to be a clever clogs this could definitely come back to bite me and land me on my backside but I think I can do better, so here goes!

For this experiment I'm using a puff pastry sheet – here's my recipe for the filling :


Miso Mushroom Snacks

14 snack size pastries


3 x Portabello mushrooms - 275g peeled, stalks trimmed

then sliced and chopped into small pieces, bag or box and set

aside until ready for use


3 tbsps brown rice miso paste*

2 tsps soy sauce*

2 tbsps mirin*

1 tbsp dark soft brown sugar*


puff pastry sheet

1 egg, beaten for egg washing

Nigella seeds to sprinkle


Mix the ingredients marked “*” thoroughly into a paste – box and fridge, or, you may find it more convenient to mix the marinade directly into a large strong food bag – e.g. Bacofoil SafeLoc. Add the mushrooms to the marinade an hour before roasting to give them time to infuse.

When you're ready to roast, pre-heat your oven 150fan/170c/Gas 3.

Empty the marinaded mushrooms into a foil tray and roast for 15-20 minutes.

Your mushrooms should not be too wet – there will be marinade left over – freeze it or set aside to use as a drizzle if you wish.


Photo guide up next ...

Another mushroom deal!

I always keep a look out for tempting morsels and this week I found these snacks on offer :


I'm immediately attracted – it ticks all the boxes and whilst I'm not a vegan it matters not – I love miso, mushroom, crispy kale seaweed and pastry – what's not to love.

A little background – Higgidy began in West Sussex in 2003 with pies and has since grown massively producing a whole range from quiches, ready-meals, snack items and veggie and vegan options too.

You might feel that it was an expensive treat - £2 for six snack size pastries, reduced from £2.80, so I suppose just over 33p each is over the top. My justification is they definitely won't get wasted and it's for research purposes too!

Here they are, unwrapped :


Stand by for the verdict!