Favorite vegetarian and vegan dishes

[whatisforteamum]

I work in a Nice garden centre with tea rooms.
I have lots of ideas being vegetarian myself but the boss wants a refresh for the new year.
Give me your favorite dishes and snacks please.

@AnonymousBleep any chamce of a link to that recipe sounds like something the veggies and meateaters here would all enjoy!

I can’t link to it but basically it’s the BBC Good Food butternut squash and blue cheese wellington recipe but I swap out the pecans for chestnuts and the blue cheese for Wensleydale with cranberries. It’s delicious!

Thank you will have alook for it!

Chilli jackets, nut roast and brie toasties, and halloumi burgers please. Bonus points if you do an option for a bowl of roast potatoes and gravy on Sundays.

I'd pick anything that was bean/ lentil / tofu based as, as well as being veggie, I'm trying to avoid excess carbs and up my protein intake. Stews, chillis and curries - all good. Recently had an amazing aubergine parmigiana. I also love a good buddha bowl/ massive salad type dish.

My least favourite veggie choices for eating out are fake meat substitutes, anything with sweet chilli sauce (ruins many a halloumi dish!) and (bad) veggie lasagne. Love a good, homemade veg lasagne but had so many awful ones out that I just don't order it anymore!

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g thank you ! I had totally forgotten about Red Dragon Pie ! This was a favourite of my son growing up (I didn't enforce vegetarianism on him, he could eat meat/burgers whatevs but I didn't cook it very often at home) And I really liked it too. From my then favourite recipe book Vegetarian Kitchen. (he has never let me forget my attempt at the lentil burgers 🤣) I am going to hunt down some aduki beans today !
And altho' risotto is often a lazy veggie option on a menu, a good one can be the best comfort food in the winter (leek, mushroom, squash)
Your menu ideas sound top notch OP !

Great list OP.

Possible snack/light dish addition is samosas with chutneys/dips.

Some soups would be good. Leek and potato. Add cream for veges, alternative for vegans. Etc.

I would say your list, while nice and offering plenty of variety, looks very 90s vegetarian food and fairly standard pub fare.

I would be looking for a few more salads, for Middle Eastern inspired stews.

How about looking at some of the current food writers like Anna Jones, Meera Sodha, even some Jamie Oliver, for ideas. also searching #vegetarian on Instagram.

I'd eat all of that!
Where are you? I'm planning a trip......

Spinach is wonderful, but I agree, please no fake meat substitutes. They're UPFs and generally revolting.

my two horror foods on a menu as a vegetarian are mushroom risotto and butternut squash risotto

they were the staple veg dish for years and years and are very unimaginative now!!

how about pea or summer veg or anything else

I still love both of those - roast butternut squash risotto is my (meat-eating) son’s favourite food (beside macaroni cheese). I just think they need updating a bit - truffle mushrooms or something a bit special and the squash has to be roasted!

I wonder if these would work with an Ikea style creamy sauce?

My current fave veggie meal is the Quorn Swedish meatballs with the Ikea sauce and mash.

Also how about a veggie sausage plait? You could do a simple one with bought pastry which would be vegan, or add some
crimbled Stilton and chopped apple which is lovely.

My friend used to do a great Squash-age roll with chutney.

I quite like pasta with a tomato and olive sauce with tomato salsa and mozzarella as a nice veggie dish.

Could do something with a flatbread possibly, maybe with pomegranate, roasted vegetables, could do some harissa or tagine type flavouring, maybe some nuts - pistachios are obviously quite in at the moment.

Shakshouka (not sure how you spell it!) is veggie and delicious.

Anything with butter beans. I am obsessed!

https://www.bytheforkful.com/creamy-butter-beans/

this is incredible and so simple.. this with crusty bread 👌🏼👌🏼

Great ideas thank you all so much .

Haven't had aduki beans in yrs.

I would also avoid a mushroom or butternut squash risotto. Had far too many over the years and they are often badly executed - not saying yours will be! But these days I wouldn't opt for it unless it was the only vegetarian option on a menu, and then I'd be annoyed.

I like things with lentils/beans as per the creamy butter beans suggested up thread. Or a lentil-based stew/tagine. Decent vegetarian or vegan dips, hummus, baba ganoush, tzatziki, guacamole or anything like that with accompanying flat breads, olives etc.

Please no meat or cheese substitutes. As someone who will often choose the meat free option on a menu, things are often spoilt by the stuff. Also, if youre serving quorn be aware that it carries a warning on the back of the packet for allergic reactions but it isnt one of the 14 declarable allergens. Greggs have a warning up about it.

My favourite dish? Burnt aubergine chilli (it's on BBC). Sounds revolting but is really, really good.

I'm not sure, the texture is a bit like a falafel so more suited to a buddy bowl or a wrap

I love all the meze stuff - so hummus, yogurt dips, eggplant things... basically all the veggie meze stuff on a Greek restaurant menu. I love finding some sort of platter like this with pita bread.

Also soup - big fan of butternut squash soup with a cheese scone.

I second no pretend meat. There's enough fantastic vegetarian food without it and they're yuk.

This is lovely and can be vegan (no parmesan for vegetarians either obviously):

https://lucyandlentils.co.uk/recipe/gnocchi-leek-and-butternut-bake

Anjum Anand's chickpea burger and coleslaw:

https://www.homemadebyyou.co.uk/recipes/main-courses/mile-high-chickpea-burgers-with-purple-coleslaw

Something with roasted beetroot and feta, a lovely combination.

A thali with a good mix of dishes on it.

For summer how about courgette and feta fritters?

This pasta dish (sorry, more feta!):
www.kilnandkitchen.com/recipes/caramelized-onion-leek-and-feta-pasta

Veggie cottage pie made with mushrooms is delicious

Chilli
Jacket potatoes
Tofu Thai curry

Please don't put chilli in all the vegetarian dishes. It's in EVERYTHING nowadays and some of us just don't bloomin like it!

Agree if you have 3 dishes they should have different flavour profiles