I am always on the lookout for a cheaper way to make meat substitute for our family. We buy Quorn meat substitutes from the supermarket at the moment and that stuff is expensive, so I continually look for other high protein, high iron plant based meat substitutes. I found this recipe recently and thought I would give it a try.

It is basically a mix of cauliflower and mushrooms grated into fine pieces with 1/2 cup of blended nuts and some flavourings.

I used;

1 medium cauliflower, grated

4 cups of grated mushrooms

1/2 cup macadamia nuts (blended)

1/2 red capsicum

1/2 cup tomato paste

1 teaspoon Pink Murray River salt

Black pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

I blended and grated up everything then stirred it all together until it looked like mince. Next I spread it onto two baking trays with silicon sheets on them and bunged the trays into the oven on a medium heat.

I had to set my phone alarm for 10 minute intervals so I remembered to turn the mixture and stir it up somewhat. The goal is for the ‘mince’ to brown and get a little bit crispy in places. It really helps to develop the meat-like texture. The total cooking time was about 50 minutes; a long time for me to maintain focus in the kitchen.

When it was ready… eventually… I made a lasagne out of it and had just a bit left to freeze for another recipe.

I really like this recipe; it tastes good, is high in whole proteins and iron (thanks to the mushrooms) and it is reasonably cheap to make. The down side is the long cooking time, but I think I will just make large batches so I don’t have to do it often.