A Recipe For Low Waste Flatbread With Quorn

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As part of my pursuit with reducing waste a main focus has been on food. The food we eat has a huge impact on the waste we create but fortunately, with a little information and some good recipes, reducing food waste can be really easy; it's all about making better choices about the food we buy and making sure we eat it all up. Knowing a few zero waste recipes really helps!

This is a simple and delicious recipe that's quick to make and useful when trying to avoid food waste. It's essentially an open sandwich so it's super adaptable depending on what you have in your fridge (no need to buy lots of extra ingredients!) and can be made quickly at home with little fuss. Flatbreads can be made in a couple of hours (or pre-made, frozen, and defrosted only when you need them) and the toppings all depend on whatever you fancy (or need) eating up.

Switching out animal meat for a plant-based alternative is an easy way to reduce the environmental impact of your diet. Quorn has a range of vegan-friendly products, from ham-free slices to breaded fishless fillets, which work exceptionally well for this recipe. I've chosen to use the Quorn Vegan Pieces for this recipe but you can switch them out for another of their products. Both the Quorn Smokey Ham-Free Slices and Quorn Vegan Fillets work really well for this dish.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can use any veggies you have to hand, which makes it ideal for using up all the odds and ends in your refrigerator that need eating before they wilt too far. A smear of houmous or sliced avocado, chopped spring onions, slices of radish or cucumber, toasted chickpeas, crunchy iceberg or peppery rocket. A truly zero waste solution for avoiding food waste that can be switched up to suit whatever you find needs to be eaten quickly.

Ingredients For Flatbreads

500g strong white flour
2 teaspoons salt
30ml olive oil
300ml warm water
150g-200g sourdough starter, or 1tsp yeast
1 tablespoon crushed coriander seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon crushed cumin seeds (optional)

Instructions For Flatbreads

Mix everything together in a bowl and knead for a few minutes until smooth and springy.

Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour or so until it has roughly doubled in size.

Knock back the dough and divide into 8 balls for large breads or 12 for small.

Roll the dough balls flat and then cook for 1-2 minutes in a hot, dry pan (ideally a cast iron griddle) until a little charred on each side. You'll know when they're ready because they'll puff up.

Topping Suggestions

Quorn Vegan Pieces
pesto
houmous
radish, sliced
tomatoes, sliced
cucumber, sliced
broccoli, charred
chickpeas, roasted
carrots, sliced thinly
spring onions, sliced
seeds or nuts, toasted
avocado, sliced or smashed
kale, lightly cooked and seasoned
lettuce (lambs lettuce works great for this!)
dressing and/or hot sauce

Instructions

If you're using the Quorn Vegan Pieces, cook them in a pan with a little oil on a medium heat until they cook through. You can shred the pieces a little by pulling them apart or roughly chopping with a knife and then toss them in a bowl with salt and pepper, or whatever seasonings you fancy.

You can do a similar process with the Quorn Vegan Fillets or, if you need to save on time, use shredded Quorn Ham-Free and Chicken-Free Slices instead.

Place a flatbread on a plate and start adding the toppings.

Cover the bread with a generous amount of houmous. You could also use smashed avocado, baba ghanoush, or pesto, all of which are easily made at home from ingredients you probably already have in your cupboards.

Add your toppings: a sprinkle of spring onions, some thinly sliced radishes, carrots, pepper, or cucumber. Pickles are an excellent addition for a little tangy flavour as are roasted spicy chickpeas and charred broccoli. You could even sprinkle with a few toasted seeds or nuts, sunflower seeds and pine nuts work well.

Top with plenty of leafy greens such as lambs lettuce, cooked and seasoned kale, or rocket.

If you like spice, drizzle over a little hot sauce or whichever dressing you prefer.

The last step is to top generously with the cooked and seasoned Quorn Vegan Pieces.
And serve!