easy vegetarian What's for dinner!

[27Mankinis]

I'd love some of your go to easy vegetarian dinner ideas!

DH is a vegetarian who mainly eats raw food. I am looking to be more plant based. I have one child with SEN who eats very limited food so his meals may need to be different and another aged 11 who eats everything.

last night I roasted butternut squash with maple syrup and chilli flakes (glorious!) and had that with loads of green veg.

Tonight I wish to make battered tofu (DH and I both adore tofu) and have that with wedges and salad.

But I would love to have some more ideas up my sleeve!

Thanks!

Asparagus - clean and chop off anything woody
Sweet potato - clean, leave skin on. Slice into disks
Tomatoes - halve

Optional - tofu marinated in soy/ honey

Coat vegetables in olive oil. I grate over loads of the chilli salts you buy from the supermarket. Could use chilli flakes.

Shove in oven (c. 200). Potatoes 1st, then asparagus in another tray. Add tomatoes to the asparagus. Either shove the tofu in the oven or fry until crispy.

Serve with crème fraiche.

nb I freeze tofu when I buy it. Boil it to defrost quickly, press then marinate.

Actually quite similar to yours, but it’s something I do regularly because it’s quick, easy cheap ish and comfort food-y.

Freezing tofu is something I was wondering about. We buy the huge caiuldron ones and it is usually too much for the two of us for one meal. Does the texture change after freezing? I have only ever defrosted it slowly and did not like the texture after that.But boiling quickly might be the key.

Freezing tofu is a game-changer. Makes it denser and chewier. No need to defrost for most things, just chop up, freeze and throw in, and no more half-finished packs of tofu in the fridge.

Frozen deep-fried tofu is even better. Throw into miso with noodles.

I think this was where I saw it first. I always forget to take it out of the freezer, so boiling makes such a difference (firm/ extra firm obviously)

https://www.holisticfoodie.com/recipes/frozen-tofu

Mine doesn’t look dry like the one in the link when I do it, but it has a really good satisfying texture.

Shakshuka goes down well here.
Yesterday I did stuffed field mushrooms filled with wild rice, onion the mushrooms stalks, spinach and topped with blue cheese.
Homemade sweet potato falafel

Last night it was bolognese https://healthylivingjames.co.uk/speedy-lentil-bolognese/
I’ve got the ingredients for this curry so think that’s what we’re having tonight https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/satay-sweet-potato-curry

Thank you all so much for the ideas and the fabulous frozen tofu advice!!

Last night DH was a bit about tofu so I made a fresh tomato goats cheese and basil risotto as that was what I needed to use up in the fridge and it was really good. Tonight the DCs are having southern fried chicken drumsticks so I might southern fry tofu as well and have it with corn and wedges.

Last night I had mock duck from the Chinese supermarket and stir fried veg in sweet and sour sauce.

I love cauliflower katsu.

cut a cauliflower into smallish florets. Toss in (vegan if you prefer) mayonnaise and then in breadcrumbs. Put in the oven for 30 mins.

Serve with katsu sauce (there are loads of recipes), rice and an Asian salad or slaw.

BBC Good Food have loads of veggie ideas!

Dahl is the big winner here. I throw it all in the slow cooker and leave it to look after itself. I fry up the spices first but that’s all the prep I do.

One of the easiest things I’ve been doing lately is:
pasta
fresh pesto
pine nuts
a whole packet of baby spinach chopped small and just stirred in at the end

For a quick meal I cook spaghetti, then separately I sauté in olive oil onion, garlic, chopped parsley stalks, finely chopped chilli (or flakes), add half a can chopped tomatoes, dried oregano,black pepper and a bit more olive oil plus a couple teaspoons capers. Add to cooked spaghetti and stir in finely chopped parsley leaf. You can add a can of anchovies at the sauté stage if you eat fish, sun the capers for olives and/or add grated Parmesan type cheese at the end.

Very quick, pretty cheap

Try Bosh. It’s vegan, but they have such delicious recipes!
https://www.bosh.tv/recipes

Cheese or cheese/black bean quesadillas toasted (no oil) in a sauté pan with soured cream and lots of raw veg/salad (we do lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, spring onions, radishes and avocado).

At the moment we are eating a lot of:
-pasta primavera
-chilli and next day make into shakshuka
-lentil & spinach curry
-asparagus risotto

Dip tofu chunks in a bit of seasoned cornflour liquid (about as runny as runny icing) then roll in sesame and chilli flakes/. Shallow fry, turning frequently as the sesame cooks quickly.

I serve that with either noodles with baby corn, sugar snaps and spring onions or savoury rice with onions, peppers and almond flakes.

At this time of year, salads are so good. You could do a grilled halloumi and watermelon salad with fresh mint and lots of crunchy salad leaves and olives. If DH is veggie, just use tofu instead of the halloumi.

Could I have your recipe? I can never make this quite right. Thank you.

Here you go - amounts are approximate for 4. Adjust spices as you like

Onion - two large
125g red lentils
Garlic
Dried curry leaves ( fresh are better if you can get them)
1tsp Turmeric
2tsp cumin seeds
2 tsps black mustard seeds
Small piece fresh ginger chopped or grated
Tin full fat coconut milk
Tin chopped tomatoes
Chillies
Coconut oil (or ghee) to fry off spices if you want to
Salt (to taste)

(extra hot water if it needs it)

I fry up the spices for a minute or two (with the onion sometimes) as this releases the flavours and then it all goes in the slow cooker for the rest of the day. Keep an eye on the liquid as you may need to add more if the lentils absorb it all. I'll often add half a tin of hot water at the start as I usually need it.

I'll use other lentils sometimes - these I parboil for 10 minutes before adding to the mix to reduce their wind producing effects!

Add salt just before serving

Egg Fried Rice with loads of veg and salted peanuts

@wildfirewonder Do you have a recipe for the pasta primavera, please? Always on the look out for non-tomato based pasta sauces.

Ours is in our head, probably not very accurately-remembered! But Felicity Cloake did an article & the one she recommends is similar: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/may/03/how-to-make-the-perfect-pasta-primavera-recipe-felicity-cloake