Recipe Challenge: Coq au Vin

Bonsoir mes petite choux fleurs!  So, a little while ago, I was contacted on this blog and challenged to try and create a veggie Coq au Vin.  I’m never one to back down from a challenge, so I gave it my best shot, and my recipe is below.  I based the dish on this recipe from the BBC (true fact: James Martin once bumped into my Dad and said, “don’t you know who I am?”) and I think it turned out pretty well!  It also takes much less time to cook than the meaty version, huzzah! Unfortunately, although I have a nice shiny smart phone at the moment, I accidentally deleted all the pictures I took, which is probably for the best anyway, ‘cos I’m a pretty rubbish food photographer.  Onwards!

Serves Two

Cooking Time: 30-40 mins

Ingredients:

25g butter
100g shallots, peeled and quartered
4 garlic cloves, crushed
100g facon, thoroughly defrosted (I used Quorn Bacon Style Slices)
A large pinch of dried thyme
200g button mushrooms
400ml red wine
400ml veg.stock (I used Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp Henderson’s Relish (optional)
200g Quorn Chicken Style Pieces (or similar alternative)
Handful fresh, chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to season

Method
Gently melt 20g of butter in a large pan.  Add the the shallots and cook until just browned, then stir in the garlic. Add the facon and thyme and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the mushrooms, turn up the heat and add the red wine, veg. stock, tomato purée, vinegar (and relish, if using). Add the Quorn chicken pieces, bring the sauce to the boil and then simmer gently for about 15 minutes.

Bring the pan back to the boil and cook for a few minutes more until the sauce has thickened slightly.

Add the parsley and the last of the butter.  Season to taste and serve with crusty bread.

And there you have it! Quick and easy veggie Coq au Vin!  Let me know if you try it out, and I’ll see you in my next blog post.  It’s Veg Fest in Bristol this weekend, so I hope to have lots of new products and recipe idea’s to share with you all soon!

Fancy submitting me a recipe challenge? Want to rant about your soggy facon or why only certain types of Haribo are veggie (WHY???) Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/500ThingsToDoWithFacon and Twitter https://twitter.com/500FaconThings

The Perfect Veggie Breakfast

Well.  It might not be your idea the perfect veggie breakfast, but it did the manchap and me okay last Sunday morning.  Also, hai, hello, yes it’s been a while since I updated the website, apologies.  Since we last met I lost my job, then I thought someone had tried to steal three thousand pounds from me, but I also got to perform at the Colston Hall and Peter Capaldi is gonna be the next doctor.  So it’s not all bad! Anyway, I promise to update more frequently in the future.  Allons’y!

Ingredients: Serves 2-3 

For the hash browns:

5 new potatoes

1/2 onion

1 egg, beaten (if you’d rather use shop bought hash browns, ignore that part of the method and cook according to packet instructions)

For the scrambled eggs:

3 eggs (I always say, one per person, one for the pot)

100ml milk

4 Closed Cup Mushrooms, or any medium sized mushroom

1/2 can of baked beans.  You can, of course, choose not to use Heinz, but Beanz Meanz Heinz and you know it.

1/2 can whole tinned tomatoes

2 veggie sausages.  I used Cauldron Lincolnshire-style

4 rashers veggie bacon.  I used Quorn frozen bacon-style rashers

4 slices bread

Oil for frying

Salt and Pepper for seasoning

Method

Hoo hah! First up, some prep. Preheat the oven for the sausages and if you’re grilling the bacon, the grill.  If you’re frying the bacon you can just pop it in the pan with the hash browns.  Put the tomato and beans in separate microwavable containers or bowls.  Peel and slice the mushrooms.  Grate the potatoes and put them in a large bowl.  Finely chop the onion and add to the grated potato with the beaten egg and plenty of seasoning.  If you’re me you’ll realise at this point that both your bread and milk are frozen and you’ll have to madly defrost them while Lindisfarne plays softly in the background.  You are not me though, so doubtless this will not happen.  And your potato may look like this.

Pop your sausages in the oven to cook. Next, heat up some oil in two pans, a smaller one for the bread and a larger one for the hash browns.  If you don’t own a large saucepan, put down down whatever you’re doing, go to Ikea and get one, come back and start cooking again.  Good, now we’re ready. You’ll also need a small saucepan for your scrambly eggs. Beat your eggs (I always do it in the pan to save dirtying extra bowls) add the milk and any seasoning you prefer.  Keep it on a low heat and stir it frequently until it begins to solidfy. Whilst this is cooking add your mushrooms to the larger pan.  I like to add a sprinkle of cumin seeds to mine. After a few minutes add small heaps of the grated potato mixture, and flatten in the pan slightly so they resemble little patties.  Cook for a few minutes until each side is brown and crispy.  In the mean time keep stirring your scrambly egg.  When the oil in the small pan is hot add the bread, one slice at a time, and fry for a few minutes each side until golden and crispy.

When the scrambled egg has almost cooked through your mushrooms, hash browns and fried bread should be done.  Pop your bacon on the grill for a few minutes each side until crispy (lawks, everything in this meal is crispy) or in the pan with your hash browns if you’re frying it.  Put the beans and tomatoes in the microwave and cook on full power for three minutes.  Stir when the microwave has dinged to make sure they’re heated through.  Take your sausages out of the oven and serve with the mushrooms, tomatoes, fried bread, bacon, scrambly eggs, beans and hash browns on a massive plate.  And then fill yer face with it.  Hurrah!

If you want any advice on where to buy the best veggie products, cooking tips or just to rant at me that you burnt your facon, feel free to drop me a line at facon500@gmail.com or via facebook.com/500thingstodowithfacon and @500faconthings on Twitter.