Quorn: meaty non-meat

I am a hard-core meat lover, but still am always on the lookout for meat substitutes for myself, and especially for my guests. Quorn makes a line of meat-like products, made from mycoprotein— a member of the fungi family, that’s high in protein, plus low in fat and calories. This ingredient successfully disguises itself as chicken, meatballs, and burgers, and can be found in the frozen food section. The texture is actually quite similar to meat, and has a surprisingly enjoyable taste. I grilled the Chicken Cutlets version for 7 minutes on each side, and chopped it up with herb salad, sprouts, yellow peppers, zucchini, scallions, and added mayo. After stuffing it into some puff pastry, I would defy anyone to say that it was not the real thing. (The buttery-ness of the puff pastry crust gave me the idea to do a chicken-pot-pie-type appetizer—will have to work on that.) The Meatballs could totally come in handy for impromtu gatherings, just heat them in tomato sauce, or sauté with onions and peppers in garlic and wine, and add to pasta, like I did.