what a load of coq

Because my life currently revolves around training, eating and trying not to drink (!) here's a little recipe for you all  - Coq au Vin, or rather Quorn au Vin, marathon style :)

I discovered coq au vin paste after going to the normal place in my local Sainsbury's looking for my favourite Moroccan tagine paste, but everyone else in my neighbourhood must have had the same idea because there were none.  Out of curiosity, I picked up the coq au vin paste, thinking it probably wouldn't be vegetarian, but to my surprise it was, so I chucked it in the trolley and thought I'd give it a go.  If you couldn't find coq au vin paste you could probably find something similar - it basically had herbs, mushrooms and red wine in it.

We really enjoyed this - it was a really delicious one-bowl chilly night dinner, healthy and hearty, and all the vegetables acted like sponges for the delicious sauce!

You will need:

1 bag Quorn fillets (400g in total)
1 jar Sainsbury's Coq au Vin paste (it is essentially a herb, red wine and mushroom paste)

A good glug of joint-loving extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
400g new potatoes, quartered
2 sticks celery, sliced
200g sugar snap peas or snow peas, left whole

2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup red or white wine (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Some kind of carb to serve with it - I picked quinoa, but you could have rice, couscous, barley, or even just some nice crusty bread

****

Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot or casserole dish over medium-high heat and add the onion.  Sweat for a few minutes and then add the rest of the vegetables.  Let them soften a little, then add the Quorn fillets (add from frozen) and the jar of coq au vin paste.  Stir until everything is coated evenly in the paste.  It will smell very yummy.

Add the stock and wine (I didn't have any wine!!  Wah!!  So I added extra stock) - enough to cover the fillets and potatoes.  Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and leave for about 30 minutes until you can crush the potatoes with a wooden spoon.  Add your sugar snap peas or snow peas and stir to just heat through, to keep the crunch and lovely bright green colour.  You could also add some spinach if you like.

Serve in deep bowls with your accompanying carb of choice.

Enjoy!  Perfect "not winter any more but definitely not spring yet either" food! :)

NB: If you aren't doing a long run the next day, you might not need this much of a carb fest.  If that is the case, you can just serve the dish on its own, without rice or quinoa, etc, as the potatoes provide ample carbs and fill factor.  Or you can remove the potatoes from the dish and serve mashed potatoes alongside instead.

PS: You could of course make this with chicken, but it's been so long since I cooked meat I can't remember how - so I would just follow Mr Sainsbury's instructions on the jar :)