'Chicken' & mushroom pie with cheesy mash

This is the ultimate veggie comfort food for me and is a really good one for families as the kids will barely know that the 'chicken’ isn’t really chicken! Ok so mine won’t allow a mushroom to pass their lips, but they do like the flavour, which I’m hoping will be a step towards eating them eventually! You could switch to carrots, sweet corn or whatever veggies go down better in your house though.

A lot of people tell me that they are either trying to reduce their meat intake or they suddenly have a veggie teenager, so they need more family-friendly vegetarian recipes. This is a great one to add to your menu if you want to start making changes to your household diet because it’s a take on a classic that’s a gentle introduction to anyone skeptical about vegetarian food. I have quite a few recipes on my site (linked below) that use meat substitutes like Quorn or soya as I’ve found that it’s a good way of getting the kids to eat veggie food without sending them into shock with Ottolenghi style salads (which would obviously be my choice of menu!). I’m hoping we’ll reach that goal by the time my daughter is 16… only 5 years to go!

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 20g unsalted butter

• 300g chestnut mushrooms, sliced

• 1 garlic clove, grated

• 300g Quorn pieces

• 2 tbsp plain flour

• ½ vegetable stock cube (I use Kallo low salt)

• 400-500ml boiling water

• ½ tbsp Dijon mustard

• 250ml crème fraîche (I used low fat, but full is fine too)

• 100g fresh spinach leaves

• 1 tsp sea salt

  Topping

• 1.4 kg potatoes, chopped

• 50g unsalted butter

• 2-3 tbsp milk

• 100g cheddar cheese, grated

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 25g parmesan, finely grated

Method

• Heat the butter and a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan. Fry the onion gently for 10 minutes to soften and then add the mushrooms for 5 minutes.

• Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute and then put in the Quorn pieces and flour, stirring well.

• Next crumble in the stock cube and pour in 400ml of boiling water. Stir in the mustard and then the crème fraîche. Gently warm the sauce for 5 minutes, but keep it on low as it will split if it gets too hot.

• Finish by adding the salt and a little extra water if needed to loosen the sauce, it should easily fall off a spoon - like a thickened gravy.

• Preheat the oven to 180ºc.

• While the sauce is cooking, peel the potatoes and chop. Boil for about 12-15 minutes, so they’re soft enough to mash, drain and allow to air dry for a minute.

• Mash well with the butter and milk, then add the cheddar and salt, mix well.

• Spoon the Quorn filling into a large oven proof dish (I used 24x33cm) and stir or layer in the spinach leaves.

• Top the pie with a layer of mash and sprinkle with parmesan.

• Put in the oven for 20-25 minutes. If you can see that the sauce is bubbling underneath, but the top hasn’t browned then place under a hot grill for a few minutes to finish off. Keep a close eye on it though as it will easily burn.

Tip

• Make the filling the day before to get ahead.

• Gently top the pie with mash - flatten on the back of a large spoon with a fork and then nudge off onto the filling.

• Meat eaters can swap the Quorn for chicken, just brown it separately first and then set to one side while you cook the vegetables. Add the chicken back in with the crème fraîche.

• Or if you don’t like Quorn use a tin of chickpeas, using same method as in the main instructions.

• More family favourites: Everyday chilli, Sausage spaghetti, Bolognese, ‘Chicken’ supreme, ‘Chicken’ pie, Creamy sausage, mushroom & spinach pasta, Tomato & mascapone sausage rigatoni

'Chicken' supreme with rice

You can’t get a much more family-friendly veggie recipe than this - it’s classic comfort food which works really well in the colder months and should satisfy even the most committed meat eaters. My carnivore sons who are not especially enamoured with Quorn will eat this without complaint!

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 50g butter

• 50g tbsp flour

• 900ml semi skimmed milk

• 1 ½ tsp vegetable bouillon

• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

• ¼ tsp sea salt

• 6 Quorn chicken fillets, sliced or cubed

• 200g frozen peas or sweetcorn

• 220g brown rice or 280g white rice

Method

• First make the bechamel sauce. Add the butter to the pan, melt and then tip in the flour, mix thoroughly and allow to warm through for a minute.

• Start pouring the milk in slowly, 50ml at a time at first, so you don’t get lots of splashing as you whisk it in. Quickly add the next 50ml and repeat until you’ve got to about 300ml and then you can start adding 100ml at a time.

• Once you’ve poured in all the milk leave on a low heat for 15 minutes to cook through and get rid of the floury taste, but whisk or stir regularly so the bottom doesn’t stick and cause lumps.

• Cook the rice as per the instructions on the packet.

• Heat ½ tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and add the Quorn pieces, cooking for for 6-8 minutes until browned on at least a couple of sides.

• Add the Quorn and peas to the white sauce for 5 minutes, or until the peas have warmed through.

Creamy 'chicken' cottage pie

This is an absolute fail safe dinner in our house: everyone will eat it without complaint on any night of the week. If that’s not a winner, I don’t know what is. I’m not a massive fan of the days getting cooler, as I’m more of a summer person, but if there’s one thing I do like is a pie so that’s one reason to be happy about autumn. I made a Quorn fillet version last night, but you could easily switch for chicken if you prefer as the method would be exactly the same. You could also change the vegetables if there are others you like better too: mushrooms, squash, spinach, onion, swede, celeriac.

For a vegan option, use dairy free spread instead of butter and plant milk rather than milk. Oatly would work well as it is quite creamy.

Let me know if you make it!

Ingredients

Serves 4 generously, 5 decent portions, or 6 with extra roasties!

Mash

• 1.5kg potatoes, peeled, chopped & boiled

• 75g unsalted butter

• ¼ tsp table salt

• 5 tbsp milk 

Topping

• 10g parmesan, finely grated

• 50g mature cheddar, grated

Filling

• 30g butter 

• Drizzle of rapeseed oil

• 6 Quorn fillets, 1.5cm slices or/ 4 chicken breasts, diced

• 300g / 3 carrots, sliced

• 250g / 2 leeks, chopped in half and sliced

• 3 tbsp flour

• 650ml semi skimmed milk

• 1/2 vegetable stock cube

• 3/4 tsp sea salt 

• 1 tsp mustard, optional

Method

• First make the mash: drain the potatoes well and then add the butter, mash well and then loosen with the milk. Set aside with the lid on.

• Heat a good lug of rapeseed oil in a large pan and add the Quorn or chicken. Allow to sizzle and brown for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Don’t overcook as both Quorn or chicken will become very dry. Remove and set aside in a bowl.

• Then add a drizzle of rapeseed oil and half the butter to the pan, heat through and add the carrots and leeks. Cook on low for about 15 minutes until soft, but not browned.

• Preheat the oven to 180ºc.

• Next add the remaining butter to the vegetables, melt and then spoon in the flour. Stir well to coat the vegetables and begin to slowly add the milk about 100ml at a time. Once all the milk has been mixed in add the Quorn or chicken, stock cube and mustard if you’re using it. Cook on low for a further 15 minutes and then add the salt and a good grind of black pepper.

• When the filling is ready, assemble by pouring it into a large ceramic dish (I used 21 x 27cm, but you could probably go to 25 x 30 ish). Next top with mash and sprinkle over the two cheeses evenly.

• Place in the oven for 20 minutes until warmed right through and crispy on top.

• Serve with buttered green veggies.

  Tip

• Red potatoes make the creamiest mash if you can get hold of them, I like to use Desiree, but if you cant find them then white are fine.

• Make the mash a few hours ahead if you want to save time later. You’ll need to warm it through before putting the pie together though, as your filling will already be hot and the two elements won’t cook evenly in the oven if they’re not the same temperature. To do this I just gently warm the mash in the pan, stirring regularly, but you can transfer to a bowl and microwave if you prefer.