Recipe: Moroccan Quorn, Chickpea or Chicken One-pot

This dish makes a great weeknight dinner for the family and is easily adapted to suit vegans, vegetarians or meat eaters. It takes less than an hour to cook and can be left to simmer without requiring too much prep or attention.

Moroccan Quorn, Chickpea or Chicken One-pot

Serves 6                 

Image: BBC Good Food

Ingredients       
             

·         Vegetarian: 1 pack Quorn chicken-style pieces or 6 Quorn fillets

·         Vegan: 3 tins chickpeas, drained

·         Meat option: 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

·         3tbsp rapeseed oil

·         2 onions, roughly chopped

·         1 tin chopped tomatoes

·         Thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, chopped, or 2tsp ground ginger

·         3 garlic cloves

·         1tsp turmeric

·         1tbsp each ground cumin, coriander & cinnamon

·         1 large butternut squash, peeled & deseeded, cut into large chunks

·         600ml/1pt veg stock

·         2tbsp red wine vinegar

·         100g dried cranberries or apricots

To Serve

·         100g Feta, crumbled, or vegan cheese, or crumbled tofu

·         Handful mint leaves

·         Quinoa

·         Natural yoghurt or unsweetened soy yoghurt 
·         Zest of 1 lemon

1.      If you are using chicken, seal the chicken breasts by frying them in 2tbsp of the oil in a large stockpot-style pan, if you are using Quorn instead, skip to step 2

2.      Crush the garlic and ginger into a paste and, in a large stockpot-style pan (the same pan as the chicken if you're using chicken), fry in the (remaining) oil with the onions and spices until the onions are soft

3.      Add the tomatoes for a further 1 minute

4.      Add the Quorn or chickpeas, if you're using these instead of chicken, along with the squash, stock and vinegar and simmer  for 30 minutes

5.      Add the dried fruit and simmer for a little longer while the sauce thickens

6.      Mix the lemon zest, mint and feta and scatter over the dish then serve with quinoa and natural yoghurt

Nutritional Benefits

ü  Quorn (and chicken), feta and quinoa are packed with protein

ü  Butternut squash provides beta carotene (an antioxidant), vitamin C (essential for the immune system and healthy skin), B vitamins and iron  (both essential for energy and the immune system)

ü  Omega-3 fatty acids (vital for heart health and brain function) are contained in the rapeseed oil and squash – sprinkle some seeds onto the dish or the quinoa for even more Omega-3s

ü  Cooked tomatoes contain much more lycopene than raw – lycopene is a cancer-fighting anti-oxidant which removes toxins from the body and helps to prevent wrinkles, sun damage and inflammation

ü  Fresh mint is a natural soother of the digestive system, it contains enzymes which helps to digest food and ease discomfort such as cramps and bloating

ü  The spices in this dish are all very powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal agents and help maintain the health of your respiratory, circulatory and immune systems

ü  For extra energy-boosting iron and protein, add a tin of chickpeas to the vegetarian and meat versions