To be boring enough to ask for easy but delicious vegetarian or pescetarian recipes

[DontMentionTheWar]

I have guests coming for Christmas who are vegetarians/pescetarians. I have ME and another illness so I find cooking very tiring and just do very basic food for DH and myself most of the time. It's a struggle to eat healthily sometimes to be honest.

We'll eat out for a few days and we're having Christmas dinner out but I'll probably be cooking for three or four nights and I need some help/inspiration. Christmas is a tiring time with all the extra stuff that goes on anyway.

I don't think my guests are particularly fussy and they're lovely but they're the type to eat out a lot themselves so I don't think they'll be cooking much although they will help with preparation/clearing up etc. I'd just like to make them a few nice things.

Thanks in advance.

You are sweet - so much to do and extra cooking!

Pasta us your best bet there. You can't beat pasta with a nice Napoli sauce or a Mac and cheese or a risotto. Something everyone can eat. I bet they don't want you to go to extra trouble for them.

Slice an aubergine into rounds about 0.5-1cm thick...brush with olive oil and pop in oven to brown. Layer up in a dish with a homemade or shop bought tomatoes sauce (onions, garlic, chopped tomatoes, basil). Top with mozzarella and parmesan until golden brown and bubbling. Serve with green salad.

Risotto is a great idea.

Also, vegetarian chilli.

Baked salmon with veg and new potatoes.

Sorry that should say bake in oven after topping with the cheese!

Actually just realised vegetarians don't eat parmesan do they?!

For Boxing Day or the day after that, how about a couple of veggie curries? You could cook and freeze ahead and then just do rice, breads and salads on the day. Or a veggie chilli. Or baked potatoes with cheese, salads, coleslaw etc would be low-faff.

Fish pie- we use Jamie Oliver's fantastic fish pie- is easy to make in advance and freezes well.
We seem to cater mostly for veggies or fish only, it is a bit more difficult.

They're pescatarians, they don't eat fish!

???????????? Pescatarian means they do eat fish.

Err pescatarian means you do eat fish!

Pasta & pesto is always a good bet. You can make your own pesto if you're feeling fancy.

Also black bean & sweet potato chilli is AMAZING, so look up a recipe for that (it's basically onion, peppers, whatever other veg you want to chuck in, sweet potato, tinned black beans, tinned tomatoes & spices. Bung all in a pan and leave to simmer. It's really hearty because of the beans so you don't even need rice or anything).

I also like baked eggs - chopped onion, other veg like spinach, vegetable stock, all sautéed together, and then you stick it in a shallow baking dish, make some little ditches and crack an egg into each one. Pop into the oven until the egg is cooked (usually about 10 mins).

Oh! And lentil dahl too, which is piss easy once you get the spices in. Red lentils, enough water to cover, turmeric, bit of cumin, bit of cinnamon. Fry off some onions to add at the end.

If I think of any more I'll come back and add them :)

I don't eat meat OP - but I eat everything else and I would be mortified if I felt anyone was going to extra effort to feed me. I genuinely don't want or need any special recipes.

What I have noticed over the last few years is that carnivores tend to eat a much smaller proportion of vegetables and (ime) rather staggering amounts of carbohydrates.

So - rather than focus on pasta or potatoes or whatever, I would be happier if you increased the range and quantity of vegetables (however simply prepared) and just add a piece of fish at the last moment.

Please don't stress about it.

Baked fish is very easy and tasty. Works well with Salmon, trout, tuna steaks and lots of other things, so you can easily do something that feels very special and festive, but doesn't even have to cost much. I buy tuna steaks frozen from Aldi, and they are yummy. Look up recipes for marinades, so you can marinate in advance and then just throw it all in the oven. Bake some potatoes and veg at the same time and you're sorted.

Also I know you're going out for Christmas dinner but if you do have any leftovers at any point you can't go wrong with bubble and squeak.

Basically, if your friends are pescetarian and lovely, they'll be grateful for whatever you put in front of them (I say this as an ex-vegan and wife of a vegetarian) so obviously you want to make them nice food, but don't worry about it too much

Sweet potato jackets with dhal.
Butternut squash risotto.
Goats' cheese, rocket and caramelised onion pizza. You can buy ready made pizza dough on a "roll" in Asda.
Spaghetti with lots of real butter and grano padano.

Big salads with everything.

Just marking my place so I can follow this for ideas :)

My favorite: Honey Glazed Salmon

It only takes 30 minutes to make, and really any veggie as a side will be fine.

Wow, didn't expect many so many replies so quickly, thank you all so much. Some lovely ideas. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and this has helped a lot.

Also, thank you nicename for saying I sound sweet.

I've recently discovered cauliflower cheese baked in the oven with a piece of smoked fish in the bottom of the dish.

Yummy and even fanatically carnivorous DS loves it.

Are they vegetarians or pescetarians though?

Oh oh oh

Pesto in the bottom of a bake dish, cover with veggies (lightly steamed) then smother on cheese sauce, them breadcrumbs and grated cheese. Bake and its bloody lovely.

They are pescetarians Funky but obviously they eat vegetarian dishes as well Thank you skylark2 - do you have method/recipe for that please. That sounds yummy too Nicename.

Cranks Mushroom Wellington with a red wine sauce is the most wonderful vegetarian meal and suitable for a special occasion. You can use shop bought puff pastry. It takes a little time to put together, but it' s not difficult at all and freezes well. The recipe, which you can google, makes two, so if you have freezer space, it's two meals for the effort of one. A colleague gave me one as a present a few years ago, and we now make it to eat every Boxing Day. It's not additional work, as there's no reason why any meat eater wouldn't eat it.

Do a lovely cheese and pate picnic one night. No effort required and you can even eat in the living room sat on the floor. Lovely and relaxed and no fuss. My DH and I love doing this. Selection of cheeses, salmon or trout pate, a mushroom pate, (and a meat one for you and DH), nice crusty bread, crackers, pickled onions, gherkins, sunblush tomatoes. Then something bought for pudding.

Then use the leftover cheese to make a lovely cheese and onion quiche and serve with salad or with oven chips and baked beans if you're feeling naughty

Buy sheets of ready rolled short crust pastry and it'll be made in no time.

Cheese night is an excellent suggestion. You could do a couple of baked Camemberts - ridiculously easy but seem like a feast.

Parmesan and grana padano (and gorgonzola) are never vegetarian due to the type of rennet, so may be an issue for pescetarians, but the majority of british cheeses are suitable for vegetarians

I agree you sound sweet trying to cater for your guests though!