These were something I also bought from Lidl before Christmas. I think it's the only time they have them although I may be wrong. They were bought when I didn't know who would be here to feed but won't be bought again.
The pies are quite large so no potatoes needed but the contents didn't really fill the pie. I wasn't surprised at some of the odd ingredients but it was the number of things they'd used in the Vegetable Stock that amazed me - carrot juice concentrate, water, dextrose, salt, dehydrated onion, lovage juice concentrate, sunflower oil, yeast extract, leek concentrate, sugar, tomato concentrate, extra virgin olive oil, garlic concentrate, spices and herbs.........15 different ingredients! and who knew there was such a thing as lovage juice concentrate!
The pies were edible but not very interesting - more pastry than anything else.
That's the last of the bought vegetarian things from the freezer except for the small party bits that I use one or two at a time with my home made curries or home made stir fries. I'm not going to stop buying them as they come in boxes of 12 (onion bhajis, vegetable spring rolls, vegetable samosas, tempura prawns etc) and by just having one or two with curry and rice or stir-fry and noodles. I make them last for ages.
They look absolutely delicious on the box. Another case of not judging the book by its cover, I guess.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of lovage juice, let alone its concentrate! xx
A very strange ingredient indeed
DeleteI don't know what it is about mushroom pies, but the ones I had from Marks were abysmal with almost no filling and about 85% air, very heavy on the gravy and two slivers of mushroom. Fair play, I got given a £5 voucher.
ReplyDeleteThe mushroom pieces were very small as were the parsnip and not a lot of them
DeleteDanny and Emma had bought two vegetarian pies for a swift meal , and were really disappointed with them - all pastry and no flavour whatsoever! I mentioned you and how you thought the same of just about every "boughten" veggie anything you'd bought! How strange they used Lovage juice!!
ReplyDeleteI used to grow lovage once but never used it!
DeleteI googled "what is lovage good for? " and wished I hadn't!
ReplyDeleteI shall have to look
Deleteok now I have to google it ;)
DeleteLovage seeds are also called ajowan and used in a variety of Indian dishes (a sort of strong celery flavour).
DeleteI think that when family use gravy granules!
ReplyDeleteI'll investigate my gravy mix!
DeleteWhat a brilliant way to use party food! Never entered my head1
ReplyDeleteJust adds a little extra to home made curries and stirfries
DeleteYou should join a consumer panel!
ReplyDeleteI'm giving up on vegetarian frozen things now
DeleteWe stopped purchasing Lidl's meat pies as they had in our opinion become tasteless.
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking I'll find something really good - but never do
DeleteThe pictures of the pies do look good, but the ingredients sound awful.
ReplyDeleteYou can make something so much better at home, and freeze a few. Mushrooms might make pies go a bit soggy.
The pies looked good from the outside, but not on the inside
DeleteMake some shortcrust or buy puff pastry and make your own, I make 8 pies at a time then freeze find it easier that way. We like chicken and mushroom or left over curry
DeleteWhat a shame as they look lovely. I also looked up lovage and can’t think why the juice was put into a pie! Catriona
ReplyDeleteStrange ingredient and carrot juice concentrate too
DeleteBrandy and lovage make a nice tipple but what a random ingredient for a pie!
ReplyDeleteGood idea to eke out the savoury snacks, a nice curry benefits from a bhaji or samosa on the side
Alison in Wales x
Most of the party food bites are really good. Prawns in tempura batter are my favourite
DeleteFood is best when enjoyed...so a little of what you fancy can't be a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteThe party bits add a nice extra to my home made cheap curries
DeleteThose pies do look delicious, at least. Such a shame they were a let down.
ReplyDeleteI'm craving an onion bhaji now :)
We are vegetarians and not fans of any of these ready meals. The vegetable pasties from the local farm shop are good, though.
ReplyDeleteI really need to make my own more often or find some that taste better
DeleteI like portobello mushrooms. Sliced and stir fried with onions, peppers and garlic/herbs they are excellent. A local burger restaurant has a portobello mushroom burger and it is delicious with the veg and cheese on a toasted bun. Good prepared pies are hard to find. Wilson Farms in Lexington, MA sells excellent chicken and beef frozen pies. They are filled with meat, veg and gravy with a biscuit topping. Delicious. One pie bakes in the oven for 40 minutes, serves 4 people and makes a very easy meal.
ReplyDeleteThey look good from the packaging. Shame about the contents.
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice picture for sure!
DeleteAnd they look so good on the box, of course! Now I will have to make pot pies next week because once I start craving them it doesn't stop...
ReplyDeleteHope your pies are better than these!
DeleteThe little savory pies look so good on the package. It might be fun to make a homemade version--if you're not strict vegetarian you could use beef broth or gravy to make them tastier than w the odd veggie broth. Leeks and mushrooms etc, yum.
ReplyDeleteI'm not vegetarian but my pie pastry isn't good
DeleteI'm told one needs to use ''lard'' and watch your oven temp. Mine is okay, I use my mom's recipe--or a good premade.
DeleteThey look perfect on the box, but so many things are very disappointing once opened and cooked. Those are some pretty strange ingredients to make a gravy.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I've had some veggie sausages that were inedible, and some burgers that were delicious. They haven't really perfected the genre quite yet.
ReplyDeleteDiasappointing that they weren't any good as the name makes them sound quite tasty! Over here everything vegetarian is a try-to-be-like-meat product. There are no vegetable pies (unless you pay a lot of money for them). It's quite sad really
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of parsnip and mushrooms as the key ingredients. I'm going to make my own version now!
ReplyDeleteI'm am always REALLY disappointed when pies look so delicious on the box and then the actuality is so disappointing. What a let down eh!!
ReplyDelete