PUT ON YOUR DANCING SHOES ...

Change is afoot for 'meats' coming from plants

So please sit tight, just give us a chance

There is so much to share

Products and reviews for this fare

When it comes you'll do the vegetarian dance!

 watch this space!!!!

SATAN'S MEDALLIONS...

Think of beef tenderloin so good its a sin,

But could one fake those meat juices within?

Only the devil could make

Wheat gluten into a steak

So 'seitan' is where we will have to begin!

Dijonaise Crusted (and non-crusted) "Beef" Tenderloin Medallions

Unbeknownst to many, (including myself until only a few days ago), tomorrow marks "World Vegetarian Day", (established by the North American Vegetarian Society in 1977 would you believe!) and leads the way for October as Vegetarian Awareness  Month.  Just the requisite kick up the backside for me to get this Vegetarian Butcher blog back in motion.  And though I have been caught up in various other details of life and living, returning to full time work and the like since my last post over 6 months ago (eek!), my crusade continues.  I return to you with tales of my delectable encounter with satan seitan in the form of pseudo 'beef' tenderloin medallions. 

Seitan (pronounced SAY-tan), is a funny ol' substance high in protein and low in carbohydrates.  (And when I say old, I read that it was originally prepared by Zen Buddhists in China and Japan more than 1000 years ago!)  Not as recent a meat substitute as I naively once believed, seitan is used in many Asian dishes for its ability to take on the texture and flavour of meat; a characteristic that initially put me off this food in the form of 'Mock Duck', a seemingly flabby greyish blob with the highly unappetising texture of plucked duck skin. Gag reflexes activated…

But as I began searching for ways to create a juicy beefless beef medallion, (something I vividly recall enjoying in my meat-eating days at a lovely little Italian restaurant in Old Compton Street, Soho many years ago) the only recipe that peaked my interest was this curious vegan dish involving making one's own  beef-style seitan, (which I adapted to my non-vegan tastes): http://www.mimiccreme.com/DijonaiseCrustedBeefTenderloinMedallionswithVeganBernaiseSauce.html.  After a few half-hearted unsuccessful searches for the necessary ingredients, I impatiently ordered online both the Vital Wheat Gluten and the Better Than Bouillon No Beef Broth, which arrived quite quickly at a substantial cost.  Next time I will definitely spend a little more time sourcing the goods!

Although no doubt adding another tasty dimension to the dish, I refrained from preparing the vegan bernaise sauce or the roasted eggplant and garlic smashed potatoes and concentrated on the 'meat' itself, including a 'naked' version (without the dijonaise mixture).  Both resulted in an extremely juicy vegetarian tenderloin with a remarkably rich meaty texture and density, the dijonaise adding a slightly more sophisticated touch and flavour.  I think the no beef broth paste I made was too strong however and would like to experiment with a slightly more diluted concoction next time, but overall this product has serious promise! 

As barbecue season comes to an end, I imagine these no-beef tenderloin medallions cooking over a flaming grill and wonder if they could be made to entice even your most dedicated carnivore, or would that be the work of the devil!

FOR THE CHICKEN-LIVERED...

A paste made from baked chicken liver

Is a delicacy, but gives me a shiver

So I whipped up instead

A more palatable spread

Made of lentils, would you care for a sliver?

Lentil Pȃté (made from Kim O'Donnel's recipe in The Meat Lover's Meatless Celebrations)

There was a time long ago, I confess, when I would indulge in the odd bit of pȃté at a family gathering.  Just as long as I didn't stop to consider what it actually was that I was eating (chicken liver I think), it was thoroughly caked in ground peppercorns, and I studiously avoided the creepy jelly bits.   Never did I go so far as to sample foie gras, as the deliberate fattening of a bird for such purposes disgusted me even then, long before ditching meat from my diet.  But in those rare moments, I could appreciate the rich peppered flavour and the buttery texture melting on my tongue.  So despite my dietary choices, there is something about that look of pure sensual enjoyment on people's faces when they first dig in to a little terrine of pȃté that now makes me a little envious.  

But that green-eyed monster isn't enough to get me back into eating real pȃté, so I wondered if it was possible to create a vegetarian one that was just as rich and satisfying.  The only vegetarian pȃté that I ever sampled tasted dreadful and odd, with too many incongruent flavours fighting for dominance and the tin was promptly chucked in the bin.  I started my search with little hope.  

As luck would have it, I soon stumbled across a little recipe for a lentil pȃté in one of the many cookbooks adorning my shelves. (I seem to have a strong compulsion to buy cookbooks and save recipes, even when I don't actually cook from them).  It is in a really promising book by Kim O'Donnel:  The Meat Lover's Meatless Celebration. I say 'promising', not as a reflection on her capabilities, but of the likelihood of me making more of the delicious-sounding vegetarian feasts within!  Lentils often disappoint me however, and I had my concerns I would end up with a dirty, earthy paste, not the decadence I was seeking.

Lacking the required cognac or bourbon for this recipe, I instead polished off the remains of Chef's single malt whisky (in the pȃté I swear!) but mostly stuck to the plan. Okay, there were a few other deviations following some tips from Chef: the addition of a tablespoon of cream, pressing the final mixture through a seive for an extra smooth blend (says something about my food processor!), and sprinkling the top with a coarse peppery coating for my own benefit.  Not only was it easy to make but I have to say the result was a resounding success! I witnessed Chef close his eyes for just that brief moment of quiet appreciation (before I unveiled the empty whisky bottle).  He was pleasantly surprised at how decadent it was, and how similar to the real deal.  Obviously I didn't see the look on my own face when I had the first bite but the fact I nearly devoured half the bowl might be testament enough. 

For the Vegetarian Butcher.Co we might just bake it in a pie crust for a lentil pȃté en croûte you could impress any guests with.

So chickens, be not afraid, you can keep your livers, I can over-indulge myself just fine without them! 

CORONATION CUISINE...

A chicken dish made for the queen

For her coronation banquet I mean

A spicy mix to be fed

In salads or bread

This one's made with the garbanzo bean.

Coronation Chick Peas and Potato Salad  (from Simon Rimmer's recipe in The Accidental Vegetarian)

I would have thought it unlikely that a dish most often made to use up leftover cooked chicken was originally designed for Queen Elizabeth's coronation banquet in 1953, but apparently Coronation Chicken had its debut on that menu.  It seems that chicken, curry and mayonnaise must be a bit of a royal favourite.  'Jubilee Chicken' was created for the silver jubilee of George V in 1935, another version for Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee in 2002, and again a 'Diamond Jubilee Chicken' made by Heston Blumenthal for the Royal Garden Party in 2012.  

Fitting then with the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations still reasonably fresh in our memories, I wanted a recipe to try to satisfy my fondness for this dish, vegetarian style.  This time, I came across something in one of my cookbooks, The Accidental Vegetarian by Simon Rimmer, 'Coronation Chick Peas and Potato Salad'.  It is a nicely simple recipe but with the use of Chef's freshly made mayonnaise (I had every intention of buying a jar), and a lovely homemade vinaigrette, it was particularly flavourful.  I read online that the combination of fruit, curry and mayonnaise in jubilee or coronation chicken was intended to represent the colonies of the British Empire.  Taking this sovereign symbolism one tasty step further, Chef toasted slices of freshly baked granary bread embedded with ruby-like cranberries  and drizzled with a touch of olive oil which balanced the meal with a lovely sweet finish. 

So, was it a meal fit for royalty? Although thoroughly enjoyable and I would make this recipe again, I'm afraid this one came up a bit short for our purposes.  Coronation chicken is quite versatile but most often served as a sandwich or jacket potato filling.  This one is more of a rich potato salad on its own, so just doesn't fit the bill.  The use of chick peas however might be the answer to make this a 'meaty' dish so I'm challenging Chef to come up with something more suited for The Vegetarian Butcher.Co.

In the meantime, I felt I must share with you how he made his own mayo!

HOMEMADE MAYONNAISE

Note when adding the oil ALWAYS drizzle it in slowly as you are whisking hard to avoid spitting the mixture.

combine:

300mL sunflower oil

200mL rice bran oil

1 egg yolk

1 tsp dijon mustard

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp water

Combine the oils together.  In a separate mixing bowl whisk the egg yolk and mustard rapidly for 30 seconds.  Using a third of the oil, slowly drizzle 1 tsp and whisk until absorbed into the mixture (about 10 sec), repeating the process 4 more times (using a total of 5 tsp) then double the amount of oil added each time until a third of the oil has been used.  With the mixture really thick, add 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar and all of the salt, continuing to whisk.  Repeat 2 more times using a third of oil, then adding a tbsp of white wine vinegar.  To whiten the mayo whisk in the water or leave it out for a more yellow colour.  

...THE LOVELIEST OF 'EM ALL WAS THE UNIQUORN!

This legendary animal of yore
Inspired tapestries, stories and more
Like this unicorn meal
That has visual appeal, 
A fun dish we could serve in our store!

I don't want to mislead you here, our burgers are 100% vegetarian, and I assure you will not show up on the 11 o'clock news in any stories investigating traces of unicorn.  They do however contain the vaguely mysterious, somewhat controversial, and frankly pretty darn convincing substance called Mycoprotein.  This is the main ingredient in all Quorn products, a meat-free protein, low in fat and cholestorol. (more at http://www.quorn.co.uk)

So what is the mystery? Why the controversy? There is ongoing debate about Quorn and upon further investigation it seems to come down to 2 things.  

First, what is this Mycoprotein?  After reading several different sites describing it, I still feel in the dark.  Basically, what I can understand is that it begins as a type of naturally occurring fungus (not a mushroom) from which cultures are fermented in large vats. The result is this protein-rich solid which is then 'harvested' and is used in a broad range of products, meat-like in taste and texture.  Clear? It actually starts to sound grossly unappealing and if I wasn't already a fan of the few Quorn products I have tried, I would probably be a bit hesitant to give it a go. Fortunately for me, I have already passed that hurdle!       

Secondly there have been reports of people being very ill after eating Quorn, with an upset stomach and some kind of allergic reaction but from what I understand the cause of this response is not conclusive.  From the amount of Quorn I alone have consumed without feeling ill (past the odd moment of gluttony), I am pretty confident it is not likely a general reaction so perhaps it is based on an individual's intolerance, like some other allergies.  So for me, neither issue is a problem.  To read more about it, check out this interesting article from Wired magazine:  http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2002/04/51842

Now, back to the uniQuorn burgers...  The obvious and very easy route would have been to use a single pre-made Quorn burger patty, slap it on a bun, and le voilà, one uniQuorn burger ready to go!  (And for the record, those Quorn burgers are actually quite delish).  But this plan lacked finesse, so to put a homemade stamp on it, I found this recipe online that uses Quorn mince:  http://chiakaivalya.wordpress.com/category/vegetarian-kitchen/ (though I substituted finely crushed cream crackers for the breadcrumbs).  They turned out really well, a nice bit of spice from the chillies, and fresh flavour with the chopped coriander.  It is certainly a dish I would like to come back to as it was originally intended for meatballs on kuali.com, a recipe site hosted by Malaysian newspaper The Star, and meatballs are definitely going to be on the cards.

Homemade burger patty using Quorn mince

But there was just one thing missing to give these burgers a little something special. Something that would enable even those without access to Quorn products to adapt any burger patties to make their very own uniCorn burger...

a golden uni corn!!!

 UniQuorn Burger

IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME...

They built it and now people come 

To buy meats that are healthy and yum

And they look, taste and feel

Like meat stuffs that are real

But are protein-rich plants for your tum!!

The dream becomes a reality!!!  While I am merely enjoying a bit of 'armchair' vegetarian butchery here, slowly stocking up my theoretical shop with the best freshly made dishes I can find, in October 2011 the first genuine vegetarian butcher shop actually opened in Europe.  

It's a bit like fantasy drama film Field of Dreams, only instead of a cornfield, it's a field of lupin, and instead of Kevin Costner you have organic lupin farmer Jaap Koreweg, and instead of a game uniting questionably live baseball legends you have a shop selling convincingly real vegetarian meat substitutes... um...ok...

possible happy vegetarian butcher clientele emerging from field of lupin.....(adapted still from film Field of Dreams)

But this is not fantasy. In a very clever collaboration with a master chef,  a 'concept maker' and a professor (this is not even a joke), this farmer has developed a pretty broad range of meat substitute products from the seemingly underestimated lupin bean.  High in fibre and lean protein, their selection includes purely plant-based 'chicken', 'tuna', mince 'meat', smoked 'bacon', even an award winning vegetarian 'eel', yes 'eel', and much more.  Products that they claim are difficult to distinguish from the real thing.  Now as I've said before, there is lots to say about that another time!  The shop attracts far more than just vegetarians, pleasing even carnivores who are making a conscientious choice to eat less meat.   

Although their Vegetarian Butcher products can be found in various stores across the Netherlands and they are slowly expanding, (currently exporting to Portugal), their products have yet to reach our shores but when they do, I might be first in line to give it a try! Check them out! http://www.vegetarianbutcher.com/  

When I first came across news of this shop (called De Vegetarische Slager, Dutch for The Vegetarian Butcher) in the Netherlands, I was annoyed with myself that I had procrastinated with this idea for so long.  Discovering that it was not unique and furthermore had actually been put into a successful practice elsewhere was at first somewhat disheartening.  But when I really think about it, it is actually really exciting to share a common goal and see it happening with such a great response.   

Then, just the other day my internet travels led me to another thriving business, this time in Sydney,  Australia...Spoon's Vegetarian Butcher.  Apparently it was Toby Maguire who inspired his vegetarian personal chef, Suzy Spoon to open this business as he preferred her food to many other vegan products.  It opened in September 2012 and frequently sells out of its products at markets, most popular being their Sunday Sausages and Vienna-style Schnitzel.  Interestingly part of their clientele even includes a few larger caterers. Find them on facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/SpoonsVegetarianButcher or http://spoonsvegetarianbutcher.com.au/

Both establishments are successfully serving a wider public than just vegans and vegetarians with their convincing fake meats.  And since they apparently taste so similar to the real deal, no one needs to be excluded! 

Eating one thing that tastes like something else....hmmm...sounds a bit familiar.  In light of the recent meat scandals with people unknowingly eating horsemeat in place of beef (and who knows what other ghastly ingredients?...) its another reason to have more of these vegetarian butchers, so at least when it looks like beef, feels like beef and tastes like beef, you can be assured its all ...plant?!

Which brings me to my next possible meal idea, a little creativity required, but inspired from a joke about these recent events...

If you think horse meat's bad, wait until you try Tesco's veggie burgers.  They're made of genuine uniQuorn.

Think of the marketing potential in that! UniQuorn burgers!!!

AS SURE AS EGGS IS EGGS...

You might think that I'd had my fill
With so many Scotch eggs on the bill
But they've just been first rate
So kept filling my plate
If there'd been more I'd be eating them still!
   

Chef's vegetarian Scotch egg with Quinoa crumbs

Well, with my somewhat inglorious start, our Scotch egg competition was obviously in Chef's favour but, honestly, he made some superb vegetarian Scotch eggs.  The tasty order from the Handmade Scotch Egg Company was a bit of inspiration I think and he incorporated a few of the things we liked best  from their many different ingredient combinations to come up with his own veggie sausage mix that was bursting with flavour.  It has been some time since I have eaten real sausages but it was actually so similar in my mind, it was a bit like eating breakfast in a ball! Dare they be called....Breakfast Balls?!!!

Although we didn't try baking any of these I would still like to see how that might turn out for a slightly healthier version.  Chef did experiment a little by using quinoa flakes to breadcrumb vs Japanese panko crumbs, and while the former cooked perhaps a little too quickly leaving a very soft inner coating, the latter were cooked to perfection.

 quinoa flake crumb        vs        Japanese panko crumbs

For the moment I don't really have much more to say about Scotch eggs (3 posts later!!) though I'm sure something profound will strike me in the wee hours of the morning. We would like to share Chef's recipe though as they really were a delectable treat!

Please let us know how they turn out for you, and enjoy!

CHEF'S VEGGIE SNORKERS

This tasty mix can be used for any other sausage substitutes!!! To make into Scotch eggs see below...

dry ingredients:

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

3/4 cup Quinoa flakes 

1 1/3 cups soy mince

1/4 cup instant oats or flaked oats

3 tbls chickpea flour or gram flour

4 tbls dried sage

1 tsp salt

pinch nutmeg

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp unrefined cane sugar (can also use Moscavado or dark brown sugar)

wet ingredients:

2 cups water

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp Marmite

cooked ingredients:

1 cup diced onion (fried in 3 tbls sunflower oil)

1/2 cup tin kidney beans (blended to a paste)

1/3 pearl barley (cooked & chopped in food processor)

Mix all your dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix all wet ingredients together then combine with the dry.  Stir in the cooked ingredients and leave to absorb for 10mins....Ready to use!!

CHEF'S SCOTCH EGGS

To make into Scotch eggs, take your Veggie Snorkers mix and form around cold boiled eggs by wetting your hands lightly.  Use enough to create approx 1.5cm layer around the whole egg.

To breadcrumb:

3-4 tbls panko breadcrumbs

Job well done.

1-2 beaten eggs

2-3 tbs seasoned flour

Coat the sausage wrapped eggs in flour, then in the egg wash.  Roll in breadcrumbs pressing firmly.  While breadcrumbing reform the shape again for a round finish.  Fry in deep fryer at about 160 degrees until golden.

Enjoy, hot or cold!!!