Noodling around

One of the many new cookery ideas I brought back with me from my trip to Glasgow was to use noodles in some dishes, especially in dishes involving chili. The recipe I prepared on a Friday night after work in mid-April fulfilled both of these objectives.

The record of choice, bearing in mind I had just got back from an intense week at work, was a bit undemanding pop music in the form of Eric Clapton's 1986 offering 'August'. The album was named after the month his son Conor, who died in tragic circumstances less than five years later, was born is typical of where Clapton was musically in the 1980s and the album is very much a product of its time and a period piece without question. The evidence that points to this includes the presence of a top heavy drum sound, Phil Collins as producer and a duet with Tina Turner, the album is a period piece without question but has a few evergreen songs on nonetheless.

I started by taking some Quorn Pieces that had been frozen and fried them on the hob with a tablespoon of Chili Flakes and a teaspoon of Cumin Seeds. I mixed the Cumin and Chili with the Quorn Pieces until the spices coated the pieces and the pieces began to turn a golden colour. At this point I added a diced clove of Garlic, a finely sliced red onion, around two ounces of sugar snap peas and five thinly sliced pieces of baby sweetcorn.

While these items fried steadily on the hob I boiled a pan of water an once it reached boiling point I added ten ounces of dried noodles to the pan and boiled them for five minutes until they were soft. Once the noodles were soft I added them to the Quorn and the vegetables once the onion, pepper and garlic had softened sufficiently to have a fork pushed straight through them without any trouble.

I added a teaspoon of Chili Powder to the Quorn, Noodles and Vegetables and after they had cooked on the hob for a further five minutes I served the dish. The noodles were an enjoyable addition to my already varied diet and were a fine substitute for pasta or potatoes, which are the usual carbohydrates I consume with my main meals. Any risk of them being bland was quickly dispelled with the warming strength of the chili powder, cumin and the chili flakes while the peas and baby sweetcorn added the right texture to make this a meal to fortify for the night on the town that followed that evening.

A quick and easy meal to make with texture and taste to boot.