My in laws are coming to visit next weekend and i fancy doing them some different for lunch. They are vegetarian and generally role out the same few meals for our visits and we reciprocate with similar. Well this time i fancy taking it up a notch and provide something different (usually veg sausages, veg curry or veg meatballs) so can the hive recommend a good tasting veggie dish that isnt massively complicated and requiring 4000 different herbs and spices. We have a slow cooker as well if anyone has a good recipe for that which doesnt turn to mush. Any good veggie recipe websites?

A Banana?

I’ve just eaten one. It was yummy. Satsuma for pudding.

That would suit me fine as i am not really in to veg and generally have a meat based version of whatever i cook them!

Look at Yotam Ottolenghi – whilst not a vegetarian his recipes include a lot of vege food. Also Anjum Anand for Indian food, also Carluccio for more classic Italian.

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/red-prawn-and-mango-curry

But without the prawns and replace the stock with vegetable stock – it’s great (and I am a meat eater too)

Aubergine, courgette, red onion, peppers, sweet potatoes, leeks all cut up into big chunks and put in a couple of roasting tins. Add peeled garlic cloves, lemon slices and cherry tomatoes. Dribble with honey, add thyme and rosemary and plenty of olive oil. Roast at about 180c for a couple of hours, taking them out and moving them around occasionally. Serve with cous-cous, flatbreads and tzatziki. Dead easy, tastes amazing.

Ottolenghi, plenty online however that will fail the 1000 herbs test 😉 (edi: link above plus lots on Guardain website)

We eat vegetarian 75% of the time, the truth is to do it well you need to take care of the cooking technique and ingredient quality (as usual) as there is no meat to steal the show. I would suggest you look at some italian dishes, a vegetable pasta sauce (with fresh pasta) can be delicious and simple (note Parmesan is not vegetarian, get Gran Padano). We like a homemade lasgane with an aubergine, mushroom and tomato sauce with a little kick from cayenne or fresh chilli

We quite like mushroom flans, quality tasty mushrooms pre cooked, bought pastry blind baked, egg and cream mix with herbs then added to mushroom mix and poured into flan. Great with a salad. Can be good to do two flans, so mushroom plus say aubergine (precooked to get water out) and/or courgette with goats cheese, then guests can have a piece of each.

Do you want lunch suggestions or something akin to roast dinner?

Loads of options for vegetable / lentil soups and fresh bread.

Vegetable lasagne or lentil & ricotta moussaka ala Delia (linky), with crisp salad, olives and warmed bread.

Or google mushroom wellingtons or moroccan style chickpea (or sweet potato works well, just buy harissa paste rather than separate spices), with green veg and roast potatoes.

Or bbq-style, plenty of different salad items, roast some peppers, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes in a hand full of whatever herbs you have to hand, and grilled halloumi (or fried saganaki).

Pretty much any chicken recipe can be made vegetarian using tofu…

I quite like to dip 2cm cubes of tofu in cornflour, then brown in a frying pan. Set aside. Heat a wok with a tbsp or so of oil, then chuck in a couple of cloves of garlic (thinly sliced), and a similar amount of spring onions. When the garlic goes brown (which will take a minute at most) add 2tbsp soy sauce, 1tbsp dry sherry and maybe a bit of honey, simmer for 20s and add the tofu.

This is a favourite of mine: –

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/filostrudelwithportw_73185

Spinach and ricotta pancakes with a creamy tomato sauce.

Wilt spinach and mix with ricotta, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Cook pancakes/crepes, add a dollop of the ricotta mix and fold the pancake into quartes so thait froms a pocket with the ricotta mix in the middle.

To make the tomato sauce sweat of some onions and garlic in a little oil and then add tinned toms, simmer for a couple of minutes and blitz with a blender, stir in some double cream and season.

Serve two pancakes per person with the sauce over the top and garnish with a sprig of basil.

I’m definately a carnivore but this curry by rick stein is one of my favourites:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/dry_curry_of_cabbage_71527

Another simple, quick but tasty one:

https://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/squash-coconut-chilli

Make both and give everyone a portion of each along with some naan/chapati

Wafer thin ham?

I can’t search easily as my internet connection is patchy, but I’ve posted my Thai Chickenless Noodle Soup on here a couple of times now. At the risk of blowing my own trumpet, it’s one of the few culinary creations I’m really proud of, it’s incredible.

Otherwise, how about a veggie chilli? Make like a regular meaty one only with Quorn mince. The trick is not to overcook the mince, add it 10-15 minutes before the end of cooking, if you simmer it for half a year like with meat it disintegrates into slush.

Some fantastic sounding recipes there and most are very different from what we normally have so that will sort of be a nice surprise.
I would say its more like a roast dinner type of lunch rather than a soup/salad light lunch.

I will work my way through those links, currently looking at Ottolenghi as i have just watched one of his tv series and it was excellent.

Go for a roast but do a nut roast/loaf with a bouillon gravy. Tbh I think Indian is the best, loads of fantastic flavours to explor.

Veggie fajitas.

This is genius! They get to experience the winning taste of sausages that us carnivores love, BUT….

….and you’re going to LOVE this…..

its suitable for vegetarians…

They’re going to think you’re some kind of magician!!!

Roasted veg is excellent (guarnteed to leave your guests windy for a few days after they’ve left 😉 ) top tip there is to understand veg / prep method will cook at different speeds (eg new potatoes vs thinly sliced carrot/parsnip vs larger spuds and chunky veg) and thus have two or three trays worth going in at different times.

Ottolenghi has his Israeli/Palestinian fusion mix going on, also Moroccan / Tunisian recipes rich source of (delicious) inspiration.

A note on above proper Indian curry is largely vegetarian (cost and religious reasons), its the Bangladeshi’s and their adaptation for UK market which gives us all the meat dishes

Are rabbits a vegetable? You could do rabbit stew

Ethical chef has some good recipes (there’s a glasto chilli recipe there – would be great with some sweet potato wedges, nice bread and a salad. And yep to using harissa instead of buying in all those individual spices – Sainsbury’s do a great single pot of harissa spices)

Aubergine Parmigiana (Melanzane alla Parmigiana)

One of my favourites…yum…Make sure aubergines are cooked before layering though. (I brush with a little olive oil and cook till golden brown – sliced at about 10mm thick they will cook down to half that)

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/aubergine-parmigiana-melanzane-alla-parmigiana/#zXwmGgAO0Z3SWG2f.97

We eat vegetarian 75% of the time

don’t think you’ve got the hang of how it works TBH… 😆

Are rabbits a vegetable?

yeah probably, I mean they eat carrots, right?

In the same way, I reckon ducks are more or less fish aren’t they? and fish seems to be on the menu for some vegetarians 😆

note Parmesan is not vegetarian, get Grana Padano

Grana Padano isn’t either.
Got rennet in it innit.

As a veggie myself. I’d personally avoid any recipe that is basically just a rehashed meat-based dish with fake meat added.

The world and its cuisine gives us gazillions of incredible foods that don’t contain meat.
Indian is a perfect place to start, another shout for Ottolenghi.

Aubergine Parmigiana (Melanzane alla Parmigiana)

Aubergines are Satans ballsack. They are the distilled essence of pure evil. If you eat them, then you’re going to burn!

FACT!

I’m veggie, but have nothing to add to this thread. I’ve bookmarked it instead.

Risotto with roasted mushrooms in balsamic vinegar

Serves 2, so scale it up.
200g Arborio rice
1pt veg stock
1 small red onion
2 cloves garlic
½ punnet Forestiere mushrooms
50g butter
Handful grated parmesan
Another slightly smaller handful of grated parmesan
A splash of white wine.
Olive oil

Finely chop the onions and garlic and sweat off in the olive oil with a lid on to retain the moisture.
Once the onions and garlic have softened stir in the rice to coat it with the oil. Replace the lid and cook for another minute.
Add the stock and turn down the heat.
Meanwhile roast the mushrooms in olive oil with a splash of balsamic vinegar.
Once the rice has absorbed the liquid add the mushrooms, the butter and the big handful of parmesan.
Plate it up and serve with the small handful of parmesan sprinkled over the top.

another shout for Ottolenghi

Ottolenghi’s recipes are great – assuming you’ve got a decent supermarket nearby.

Another suggestion on a more general level would be to go for lots of smaller dishes, instead of one main dish as you would with meat. Think tapas / mezze style.

Another favourite: beetroot and walnut dip. There’s a recipe here: http://www.honestlyhealthyfood.com/blogs/honestly-healthy-food/17967089-beetroot-walnut-dip – serve with pita bread, it’s very filling.

Can you not just do them an omelette?

Everyone loves an omelette.

I need a good vegetarian recipe.

The good thing about vegetarians is that quite a lot of them have a pretty healthy lifestyle so they usually don’t even need cooking. I can recommend Carpaccio of Vegetarian with cumin and olive oil, or tartare of vegetarian with onions and a bit of chilli. You can cook them, but they do go tough quickly (I think it’s all the fibre they eat) so don’t cook them too long, just flash fry.
😆

Have a look at http://www.annajones.co.uk
Got both of her books and love everything out of them so far.
And http://www.rebelrecipes.com -my mate’s wife Niki’s blog. Just won food blogger of the year.

Binners – that pot noodle will be what i have, ticks all the boxes as far as i am concerned.

Risotto is out of the question as FIL is a well travelled man who is always away on business and complains all the time about only having risotto to choose from on the menu. He has vowed to never eat butternut squash risotto ever again as he is sick of it. Suffice to say i have never done one for him.

We normally do a load of roasted veg and spuds and let them help themselves but its just getting boring now.

I have a few days to work on something so going through some of the ideas you have given me.

Thanks for those links Si, they look interesting.

Not really a meal idea but you should just make it anyway

https://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/cambodian-wedding-day-dip

Muttley109 is spot on with that dip. It is gorgeous.

Vegetarian recipe? Marinade well and barbecue whole.

Actually I’ve just been to This and That for cabbage and chick peas. Oh, lamb and cauliflower too, but it was mostly veg.

Get yourself a copy of this:

Full of excellent recipes

Can’t you just make a quorn mince something – cottage/sheperds pie, lasagna, bolognese, chili

Agree with Jambalaya, Italian the way to go. Spaghetti/ green beans with minimal tomato/onion/garlic sauce plus grana oadano. Lots of bread and wine and you are sorted!