If not much of a cook ! What would you cook if you wanted to make someone feel cared for but they don’t eat meat

On a regular basis i chop equal weight of onions/mixed peppers/ tomatoes to make my roasted veg.
Courgettes and aubergine can also be added too if you like.
I throw the lot into a large pan and drown in olive oil.
I sprinkly salt pepper chilli flakes, one chopped bulb of garlic and mis the lot.
I slowly cook on a low heat for several hours.
I have done this in a slow cooker over night.

I then carton up into the freezer and fridge.

The above is gorgeous on toasted brown bread, topped with brie, grilled/microwaved with a salad.

It is gorgeous mixed with pasta, topped with cheese and baked In the oven.

It is lovely ina baked potato with beans, toasted veg, cheese and baked, served with a salad.

It is lovely smeared on toast instead of butter.
Lovely smeared on bread in a sandwich.

It is a wonderful gift if you fill clean jars with it and put on a pretty label as a hostess gift.

So easy, so delicious, so healthy.

@Recentgradneedingachance Gnocchi is the way to go if you don't want anything involving lentils, chickpeas etc: they're just potato dumplings with a bit of flour mixed in to firm them up, they're nice and filling, and can be dressed up with just about anything to make them look impressive for a set dinner or whatever you have in mind. Here's one website with a selection of recipes, and I strongly recommend the many quality vegetarian recipes on the website The Mediterranean Dish as well.
23 Gnocchi Recipes | olivemagazine

To show them what you really think of them, cook them something they won't want to eat.

I think, in January, we could make a rota & I could eat at a different house every night. Or spend a few nights... happy to childmind/dog walk in return!!

There are few things I like more than a simple omelette with a few chopped tomatoes mixed in, along with some really nice bread and butter.

For something more substantial, add potatoes to the omelette.

Hippy Farm Beans from the Leon cookbook. So easy but with a hint of spice. With a wedge of garlic bread and a glass of red wine, it’s a great option for entertaining. I always get asked for the recipe.

owibl.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/hippy-bean-stew/

Fish pie.

Buy a really good quality white/bechamel sauce.

Mix in a packet of fish pie mix and some extra prawns. Lay in a dish and top with ready made mash...sprinkle with some grated cheese and bake until bubbling.

Serve with some steamed asparagus

A vegetable red Thai curry.

Oh another absolutely delicious soup:

Boil a load of red lentils in (very lightly) salted water until soft.

Separately, saute an onion, a load of chopped tomatoes, a load of fresh coriander (finely chopped stalks too), grated fresh ginger, garlic, some turmeric.

Once the lentils are cooked drain, and add to the above, with fresh water to your desired consistency, bring to the boil and season to taste. It's important that the sautéed stuff is in a sufficient quantity / proportion to the lentils seeing as the liquid is just water rather than stock - I've never actually made it with stock as find it packs tons of tasty flavour but don't see why you couldn't if wanted. I guess it's kind of a daahl but made to a thinner soup consistency.

Dinner: Vegetarian lasagne but an easy but incredibly tasty version made with lots of pesto and spinach as the veg and ricotta with Parmesan and mozzarella mixed in for the béchemel bit. Served with a lovely green salad and garlic bread.

Lunch: Homemade soup - incredibly easy - roast a load of veg (maybe butternut squash with some carrots and onion chucked in, with some cumin coriander and chilli sprinkled over with a load of salt and pepper and some olive oil). Roast until all soft and a little caramelised round the edges, add good quality stock and blend - Bob's your uncle. Particularly nice with some grated Gruyère sprinkled over and some nice bread.

Easy to make, but satisfying and very tasty in a lovely homecooked way that will make someone feel cared for.

Sophie Dahl lentil cottage pie or Cathy's mushroom stew with dumplings( google them)

Not quiche, they always feel depressing in winter. “Here’s something generic we didn’t have to think about that won’t go with any wintry accompaniments.”
Great in summer with a salad though.

Vegetable ragù, spinach and ricotta in cannelloni or a pie, bean chilli with fixings, homemade soup (leek and potato is extremely easy), Chana masala (Meera Sodha’s is very easy and delicious)

You sound a very thoughtful host!

*TwistedWonder *
I'm with you.
I'm allergic to chillis/peppers and the smell of curry/spicy stuff makes me heave.
That was a major sticking point for me when l gave up meat 35 years ago, particularly when we went out to eat, the only veggie options were chilli or curry. It's why l used to end up having (almost invariably) fish and chips because there was literally nothing else on the menu l could eat.
Thankfully that's improved a lot now.

There's loads of vegan and veggie things now, Aldi have some nice pies and wellington type things, their beefless burgers are lush if cooking is tricky

Otherwise jack Monroe's mushroom risotto is easy and worthwhile, I have it with broccoli on the side and garlic bread and/or some griddled tofu (Aldi sell a smoked one)

I'd double the amounts though, you can eat leftovers the next day (don't freeze it though, it doesn't taste right after that!)

https://oursouthend.wordpress.com/2017/09/20/red-wine-and-mushroom-risotto-43p-vegan/

AdaColeman the people I know who eat veggie sausages actually like meat. I stopped eating it about 50 years ago, for ethical reasons, but nursing at the same time, frankly some of the things I saw looked very much like a butchers shop,or a slaughter house,mangled humans smell very much like dead animals.. I used to like the Glamorgan sausages, only found one place that now does them,brakes, minimum spend £100 and huge delivery charges. Obviously there are people who like them, the same as people who buy convenience meals and upf. The vegans fakery appear to be taking over.

Can you not ask them what they’d like to eat? It’s almost impossible to recommend a dish that’s universally to all veggies taste.

I don’t eat meat and I’d say I wouldn’t enjoy most of the suggestions on this thread. I hate lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans etc and I don’t do spice in any shape or form.

Out of the above suggestions, I’d go for something really safe such as jacket potatoes and quiche rather than attempting a recipe that might not be to their taste.

https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/lighter-aubergine-parmigiana/

This is a favourite of mine. Lovely with salad and garlic bread.

Well, someone must like them, as thousands are sold weekly!

Remember the recent uproar when a well known brand discontinued their vegetarian sausages in favour of vegan sausages only? They have now reinstated their vegetarian sausages due to consumer pressure.

Personally, I prefer my sausages to be full of pig! 🐷 🐷 🐷 🐷 🐷

Pasta, ratatouille and grated cheese.

The ratatouille is basically chopped and fried mediterranean vegetables like aubergine, onions, courgettes, and capsicum peppers, simmered in a tomato marinara sauce. Add black pepper, a little salt, grated carrot, chopped herbs, black olives, mushrooms, a few spicey peppers like sliced jalapenos, red wine - whatever you like of whatever's knocking around.

It's also good with rice and flat-breads (add some ground cumin and coriander to the ratatouille) instead of pasta and cheese, as well as with baked potatoes & spinach or green beans.

For lunches, I genuinely like stuff on toast: baked beans, eggs, cheese & tomato/onion, tinned tomatoes, tinned spaghetti; and soup with toast. Or soup and a sandwich, with a few crisps / a bit of salad.

This Delia Smith recipe. My DH loves it and he is a true carnivore. I serve it with a spinach and apple salad..and then choc mousse for dessert (also Delia)

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/international/european/italian-recipes/roasted-and-sun-dried-tomato-risotto

Agree with whoever said vegetarian chili (made with beans, not fake meat). All the sides (sour cream, cheese, guacamole or just avocadoes if you can't be bothered to make that, tortilla chips) make it feel like a special and indulgent meal, and lovely in wintertime.

Roast sweet potato soup with lovely crusty bread.
I roast sweet potatoes, onions, maybe carrots and courgettes in the oven with olive oil and mixed herbs, then put it in a big pot with water to cover, blend lightly to take the edge off, maybe a vegetable stock cube, serve with a sprinkling of any fresh herb eg parsley, sage, thyme.

If you're 'not much of a cook', buy something from a deli?

Quiche is my go to meal for an easy vegetarian dish. Buy ready made pastry, fill it with whatever you fancy! My aunt (who is vegetarian) did a lovely mushroom and gruyere one, I like caramelized onion and cheddar cheese. With eggs, obviously. 'Wet' vegetables should be used sparingly - I don't like tomatoes in or on a quiche but lots of people do. Serve with a really good salad or selection of salads.

Or you could ramp it up a bit and do a filo pastry tart. I saw Nadiya Hussein do something that looked fantastic with filo pastry scrunched up with various tasty things put on it and then egg poured over the top - I'm sure it has a proper name but I don't know what it is! Filo pastry is easy to buy and use and looks impressive. You could always do spanakopita if you like spinach and feta, I dont.

Or baked stuffed mushrooms? Large flat mushrooms topped with whatever you fancy and baked. Boursin is good, it's rich and creamy and very tasty. Top with breadcrumbs for a crunchy finish.

Baked fresh beetroot is really good if it is really fresh, and small. I wouldn't bother with old big beetroot. Corn on the cob always goes down well in my house. I've done a vegetable, cashew and noodle stir fry before and that has been popular.

I'm only suggesting easy things.... If you aren't used to cooking, something like a vegetarian curry, chilli or lasagne may be a step too far. I have, however, done a delicious rice and lentil biryani before!

I do a lot of homemade soup, carrot add a couple of spoonfuls of marmite. I do like the butternut squash one, but it can be bland, I add a little dried chilli powder or paprika. Broccoli and stilton soup,served with a nice sourdough.