Meatless American Chop Suey
one vidalia onion chopped.
1-2 tbsp. butter.
1/2 pkg Quorn (brand name) veggie grounds frozen.
two cans Campbell’s Tomato Soup
one tblsp. catsup (yes catsup, you cannot really taste it, it just adds a rich color to the sauce)
sea salt and pepper to taste
one lb of your favorite fancy pasta in its rigati form, that means with lines, or something like gemelli or rotini
Melt butter in a medium sized skillet over low heat. Add vidalia onion and gently sauté until translucent. Add frozen Quorn grounds and heat till thawed. Add two cans soup and cook over low heat for 5-7 minutes. Add catsup salt and pepper and cook an additional 102 minutes.
Bring four quarts of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain thoroughly and add sauce to pasta. Stir to incorporate completely. Serve. Serves 4-6 people as a side.
This next one is an adaptation of a Greek-Middle-Eastern recipe for Dolma. I loved this dish as a youngster summering on Cape Cod. A wonderful Lebanese family “turned me on” to this dish and I have finally found a way to make it meatless and spectacular!
Veggie Dolmas
one jar of Grape leaves in brine
Filling:
two cup basmati rice cooked
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup of pine nuts ground
1/2 cup quorn grounds thawed
two tbsp. dried mint (or 1/4 cup fresh mint chopped fine)
one tbsp. dried parsely (or 1/4 cup fresh parsely chopped fine)
one tsp dried oregano (or 1/8 cup fresh oregano chopped fine)
one tsp. sea salt
two tsp pepper
one small can tomato paste
Juice of two lemons
Remove the grape leaves from the jar, rinse and unfold carefully and rinse again. Lay paper towels and pat dry. Gently remove any stems that are still on the leaves.
In a large bowl mix the filling ingredients together till they are well incorporated.
Carefully separate a few of the leaves and line the bottom of a 1-2 gallon stock pot.
To roll take a leaf, place one heaping tsp of filling in the center of the leaf about 1/2 inch up from the bottom edge. Fold 1/2 inch up over the filling, fold each side toward the middle, then beginning at the bottom again roll the whole package up till you have a 1-2″ “log.
Continue with the rolling process till you use up all the filling.
Line the rolled leaves up in a circular pattern in the stock pot till all are in. Pour the juice of both lemons gently over the rolled leaves. Place a dinner plate on top with a stone in the middle to keep in place. Gradually add cold water till it just covers the leaves.
Bring contents to a boil then reduce and simmer for about 1/2 hour till tender. Drain water by holding on to stone to keep plate in place and gently pour out cooking water. Leave plate on till almost cool.
Remove plate and serve with plain yogurt, yummy.
These can be frozen in 1-2 serving sizes for later. I like to do it this way then microwave them for a minute and a half for a quickie meal.
