Catering for vegetarians at a house-warming party, do I need to provide separate food?

[IslandCanary]

Everyone is bringing a dish, so far most of these contain meat/fish (apart from the salad) as we're doing tapas-style.

One couple have just told me they are vegetarian.

Do I need to ask everyone to bring vegetarian dishes instead? Or is it ok to just provide some salad/rice and let them bring a dish they can eat? I don't want them to feel excluded.

I find most vegetarian food bland and unpleasant and would rather have meat/fish dishes to cater for the majority (I'm planning to make spicy chicken wings, someone else is bringing meatballs, another is bringing battered tempura prawns, crispy squid, vegetable risotto etc.

If I need to provide more veggie options does anyone have any ideas?

Meat would be bland and unpleasant if all you did was boil it. It's what you add that makes food delicious, how you make it. "Vegetarian food" isn't something separate and weird - do you mean to say you've never enjoyed egg and chips, or beans on toast? Do you think the flavour of spicy chicken wings comes solely from the meat and not the spices? Or that those same spices can't be brushed onto a corncob or something?

SuburbanRhonda - yeah, I've seen that opinion and it's bizarre. I cook vegan food (although I don't tend to necessarily tell people that) but I make lovely food (and puddings!) and omnivores leave as happy as anyone else (and sometimes unaware that they've just eaten vegan for several days!)

Most of the Ottolenghi salads are veggie
Off topic. I used to love Ottolenghi stuff until I found out he was involved in the homepopathy/Africa/AIDS charities. So now I don't eat them. I'm sure my boycott on his recipes is making a massive difference

Make sure there are a few veggie options and cater extra because the meat eaters will go for it too!

subarbia there is nothing bland about lovely homemade margharita pizza, with with motzarella and buffalow cheese, add herbs so and some extra virgin olive oil drizzled onto it, Mabey topped with some Quorn mince yummy! Or some yummy freshly made garlic potatoes, with garlic butter, salt and pepper and fresh herbs, or cous couse with rice, chopped pepper, salt and pepper, spices, turmeric yummy again. Or my friends African stew, using tofu instead of chicken, can of tomatoes, spices, salt, coconut milk, hmmmm heavenly.

I am medetarranean descent so use a lot of spices and flavours in my cooking, I woukd nit describe it as bland! I would also let the vegetarians go first in the buffet.

OK... the red pepper and pesto lasagne, typed with my own fair hand

Can be prepared in advance and then frozen. Dried lasagne is fine, no need to cook beforehand, or buy fresh. Do not use green pesto.

1 tbsp oil
2 red onions finely chopped
4 red peppers (if large) or 6 smaller ones, deseeded and chopped
1/4pt red wine
1 tin chopped tomatoes (I use Napolina or a well known type so that it isn't watery)
3/4pt white sauce (I make bechamel by infusing nearly a litre of milk with peppercorns, celery stick, carrott, bayleaft then making a roux and using this milk)
Lasagne sheets
6 tbsp red pesto
Ball of mozzarella
freshly grated parmesan (or a tub will do)

Heat oil in large frypan. Add red onion and seat until slightly soft. Add red pepper and do the same (I sweat them for at least 10mins) Add red wine and reduce slightly. Add tin toms and allow to reduce until sauce is thick. (This does take quite a while, you don't want the peppers hard). Season to taste.

In shallow ovenproof dish, spread one third of pepper mix on bottom. Arrange lasagne sheets over the top, dot with a third of the red pesto. Spread with one third of bechamel sauce and top with red pepper mix. Continue to layer up ending with bechamel sauce. Spread slices of mozzarella and sprinkle with parmesan.

Cook at about 180fan oven for 30-40 mins until brown on top.

Voila!

My meat eating DH loves it!

H

That sounds lush Rousette, I might try it

Mabey topped with some Quorn mince yummy!

Pizza topped with Quorn mince? Please tell me you're joking

Not RTwholeFT but IIWY I would do a couple of simple vegetarian things myself (antipasti, falafel, couscous in vine leaves, whatever) and ask the couple to bring something. No need for non-veggies to bring extra veggie stuff, but you might find that som of them don't use meat in their offerings anyway. Bit at the idea of veggie food being bland. I was hearing those sorts of comments in the early 90s. Thought we'd moved on by npw.

I tend to top my pizza with a mushroom medley.
Quorn mince shrivels up rather a lot if used as a topping.

MaidOfStars thank you for the info about Yotam Ottolenghi, I didn't know that and I'm massively disappointed as I have liked his cookbooks a lot. I will have to join your boycott now.

So the vegetarians have to bring enough food with them for the meat-eaters, but meat-eaters shouldn't be asked to bring anything vegetarians can eat, nosey?

I think you misunderstood, I didn't say they should bring food for the meat eaters.

Veggie lasagne is good, my mum makes a great lentil pie and also spinach and ricotta lasagne, also those spinach Indian fried things (delicious!). Potato salad is nice and quorn do mini scotch eggs etc. Plus stuffed vine leaves etc buy from waitrose.

I think you misunderstood, I didn't say they should bring food for the meat eaters.

Apologies, I did say that in my last senstence.
What I mean is, I assume the people bringing meat dishes are bringing enough to share. So the vegetarians should also bring enough to share.
The vegetarians can't eat the meat dishes but if they have enough I'm sure they wouldn't mind. I wouldn't.

Pizza topped with Quorn mince?
I was equally . It was delicious until she got to that bit....

So the vegetarians should also bring enough to share
So the vegetarians have to make enough to share with 12 people, but each meat eater has to make enough to share with only 9?

No Surbia, well I am half Armenian, and we do make pizza topped with lamb mince, called Lah Majun, but if you wanted you could put Quorn mince on top of it, or leave it out!

thank you for the info about Yotam Ottolenghi, I didn't know that and I'm massively disappointed as I have liked his cookbooks a lot
I was very sad when I found out.

and just have the buffalo, motzarella or cheddar cheese. I make my own dough, but I have just discovered the Gino DArcampo ready roll dough, which tastes really lovely and makes a fantastic base.

There is a difference, though, nosey.

You've suggested the vegetarians bring enough to share with everyone.

Whereas if the meat-eaters bring a meat-based dish, they will only be sharing with other meat-eaters, not the vegetarians. Fine if they're bringing a vegetarian dish, but you also said you didn't think the OP should ask them to bring vegetarian dishes.

Can you see how unfair that seems?

OOOh dolma is lovely, instead of adding the mince with the rice, could do cous cous, peppers. Stuffed peppers is equally lovely too. Many meant dish really can be adapted.

@ the possessive vegetarians ranting about people eating food at a buffet! If you choose to limit your diet severely that is your choice, but at a buffet, omnivores are of course going to eat a bit of anything that they like the look of. Thats how buffets work. You don't get to tell them to stick to the meat only and hands off the vegetables, we are omnivores not carnivores. Not to mention it being incredibly anti-social, weird, and totally party mood killing!
You can either ask politely to go up first, or you can bring extra food to make sure there is enough, but you can't stake claim to anything flesh-free that is there for everyone to share. Really weird attitude to think otherwise.

Yes, I get that your version of pizza is adapted to reflect your heritage, aeroflot but Quorn mince just doesn't work that that. It would just get baked into little hard balls of bleurgh.

Smarter If there were only two plates available, each with just enough to eat for one person, one meaty and one vegetarian, would you let me take the vegetarian one?

Now extrapolate.