...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!!!

SO MANY EGGS IN ONE BASKET...

My Scotch eggs arrived safe in their case

Each one delicately put in its place

Chef better get cracking

His recipe not lacking

Else he is left with egg on his face!!!

They arrived today, and what a delightful delivery!  I had planned to wait until Chef got back from work to make his own Scotch eggs, line them up and compare them to these freshly made ones from the Handmade Scotch Egg Co, but I was far too hungry and curious not to have a wee sample ahead of him.  As it turns out, not such a bad thing I was so impatient this time.  His work beckoned and it will be at least another day before he is able to make his own at home. It would have been cruel to leave me so tempted and left waiting, right?!

the Handmade Scotch Egg Co delivery!

I was unreasonably excited about receiving this delivery and the impression it made upon removing the ice and boxes from the insulated case was worth the anticipation.  I just loved the simple but perfect packaging, individual egg casings neatly labelled.  Peering down on them was like hovering over a box of chocolates without the flavour map wondering which one to pick!  

My first was the 'Worcester'.  Lovely small chunks of potato-y goodness breaking up the smoother vegetarian sausage mix, and you can taste it all; the local cheeses, the onion, the garlic.....yum!!!  They say these Scotch eggs can stay fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days but I think if they are all this nice they won't be around for long. And when I say long, I don't think they will last the night! With my curiosity calmed for a moment, hunger at bay, I thought I could wait, but within less than 20 minutes (I think that's the recommended time to determine if you are in fact still hungry?), I was back cutting into the 'Sunburst'.  Great seedy texture and again very distinct flavours, the Sunburst is probably what most people would imagine a vegetarian Scotch egg to be and has the added benefit for some of being wheat free.  Tasty, hearty but possibly not quite as good as the first.  Is it ever?!! Well, I had to continue with the others to find out...

 'Sunburst'

Not long since our foray into vegetarian haggis, I discover another one worthy of mention is 'Hetty', a Scotch egg made of vegetarian haggis wrapped snugly round a perfect boiled egg and probably best served warm with a little salt to bring out all the flavours.  It might just rival our own patties!

  

 

If I can decide a favourite I may have to try to incorporate those flavours next time I venture into making my own  vegetarian Scotch eggs.  Of course, if our Vegetarian Butcher shop ever becomes a reality these fine folks are always on the lookout for potential stockists.  Not only do they have a delicious selection from which to choose, they seem to have their shipping of fresh Scotch eggs down to a fine art.  

So no pressure Chef, but...

GREAT EGGSPECTATIONS...

Boiled eggs wrapped in a sausage like coating

Then breadcrumbed and fried its worth noting

It's a savoury bite

As a main, a delight,

Or a perfect snack if you're out boating. 

Scotch eggs. When I first started conjuring up a list of the best products that could be offered in my hypothetical vegetarian butcher shop, Scotch eggs were one of the more immediate items to pop into my mind.  Odd really, as before giving up meat I could have counted on one hand the number I had ever eaten.  Perhaps though, my more recent introduction to the mysterious world of Quorn meat substitutes (http://www.quorn.co.uk--more on this somewhat controversial substance later) and their highly addictive 'Mini Savoury Eggs' product is what has got me scrambling to find the very best vegetarian scotch egg recipes.  What I have discovered is a much bigger and more varied topic than I had could have eggspected!!  

Not only is there a supremely broad variety of possible ingredients that can make up the sausage component of a Scotch egg, whether meat or vegetarian, the eggs too offer some choice.  Pickled or boiled, hard or soft, chicken or quail.  They can be served hot or cold, as a main or a side, with an array of dipping sauces, and even on a stick! It seems the origins can't even be agreed upon with London store Fortnum & Mason claiming to be the inventor in 1738, others suggesting they are a merely a Scottish variant of the Cornish pasty or perhaps a remake of an Indian dish, Nargisi Kofta.  One particularly clever company I have stumbled across has capitalised on all this diversity: The Handmade Scotch Egg Company Ltd. http://www.handmadescotcheggs.co.uk/

I had already chosen the recipe I wanted to follow when I started looking more closely at the amazing list of handmade scotch eggs these folks offer at their online shop.   Here at my fingertips, a lovely diverse selection of freshly made vegetarian Scotch eggs...too tempting to pass up, too difficult to choose.  Beans, nuts, garlic and parsley or peanuts, carrots, oats and marmite?!!! I ordered one of each.  Its going to be an eggcellent week!

But delivery of my precious fresh cargo won't be until Wednesday and patience not being a virtue I really possess, I just had to crack on with this recipe. Admittedly I chose it not only for the simple list of ingredients and easy directions but for the pretty picture these Beetroot Scotch Eggs make: http://messinthekitchen.blogsite.org/2011/04/08/beetroot-scotch-eggs/.  With Chef away for the evening I had my first stab at vegetarian Scotch eggs on my own, but I'm afraid it was far from the grand triumph I was hoping for... 

baked or fried but not breadcrumbed!

Only a few basic ingredients I didn't have; raw beets, breadcrumbs and soy chunks.  Unexpectedly, I had to hunt through 5 shops before I was nearly able to get all three, settling for soy mince instead. Soy chunks I figured are about the size of a melon ball so I used a melon baller to estimate the 25 chunks of soy. This might have been where it began to go wrong....

just not quite right....

Gorgeous colour but far too much moisture, I more than doubled the breadcrumbs needed and still didn't achieve a good consistency. On top of this they were missing the outer breadcrumb coating.  
Here perhaps the recipe may be at fault for not mentioning this obvious step for novices like myself (though they have beautifully golden breadcrumbs in their photo so I'm sure it was intended!!). Not giving it a thought however I carried on.  Again my fledgling instincts had me try baking a couple of them instead of frying to see if this would dry them out a bit...but alas, this was not a battle I was going to win.  Cooked, they still felt a bit wet and had I accurately measured the soy this would likely have been different. Not entirely unpleasant, but with my ingredients improperly balanced and no breadcrumb coating the beetroot flavour was far too dominant, tasting more earthy and sweet than the meaty and savoury I would have preferred.  

There is potential here though and with the right soy chunks I'd like another shot at this recipe, especially as the original burgers,  but for now...

...the egg is in Chef's court.