Vegetarian main course for a crowd

[BelligerentGhoul]

Cooking for nine people next weekend, one of whom is a v fussy, non-veggie, 11 year old (not mine!). Any ideas for something lovely that I could cook that will keep everybody happy?

Would prefer it to be entirely veggie. No mushrooms, not curry (shame - as that would be so easy) and no tinned tomatoes!

A huge pie might be nice but I have no idea what to put in it, or something else that could perhaps be served with roast or baked potatoes and vege.

I will probably do crumble and custard for pudding.

Think family 'supper' rather than dinner party style.

Thanks!

Butternut squash and sage risotto

Vegetable lasagne

Vege chilli

Vegetable pie sounds good

Shepherd's pie made with lentils and vegetables or soya mince.

Veggie lasagne
veggie shepherds pie with quorn mince
veg stew with dumpings
baked potaoes and salad with various fillings (everyone helps them self)
peppers stuffed with cous cous and feta cheese and salad
veggie chilli
Quiche and salad

any good?

All sound delicious.

Fussy child won't eat risotto, or anything that looks like mince (so lentils, veggie mince, chilli etc out).

What sorts of things could I put in a vegetable pie?

Or shall I cook whatever I fancy and give the fussy child a bowl of plain pasta? :)

what about a big quiche with jackets and roast med veg? Urm...will keep thinking. Or spanakopita type thing?

Did quiche, salads etc last time and it went down well with all. Baked potatoes and a range of fillings is a good isea.

there,s a cranks recipie for a veg pie in "mile high crust" basically a hot water crust. Have't tried it my self but apparently very easy. And keeps quite well i think (?) so could do it the day before...

Just any veg you want covered in cheese sauce. Yum.

Also like plain pasta for fussy child- how will you feel if you go to all this effort and he doesn't like it because it's the wrong colour? Best not risk it.

I know she will eat pasta and cheese!

I love water crust pastry but have never made it. Will google to see if I can find that Cranks recipe.

I would have carrots, peas, broccoli, fine beans and sweetcorn blanche and pour over a lovely cheese sauce and top with mash and grated cheese and sliced tomato or top with puff pastry, serve with roasted root veg?

I've tried google but no joy at first glance. I casn type it out for you later if you want.

Another thing I do is small pumpkins, one per person, cut off the top, remove seeds, bung cream, cheese, garlic, drop of white etc in and bake. You scoop the goo and soft flesh out. Lovely with bread and some roast tomatoes and maybe wilted spinach. Can bung in the oven and leave...always good. DO a coupd of extra as sometimes one or two collaps. blitzed up left overs make a great soup or pasta sauce

The pumpkins sound fab. I do similar with butternut squash. Am liking the Autumnal nature of all these ideas

It's quite nice to do small ones so people can have their own but big ones work well too. Not too big or the flesh collpses before the middle is sufficently gooey

What about savoury pancakes, you could do different filling to suit everyone, I do some with cheese and spinach, some mushroom and sweetcorn (I know you said no mushrooms though)basically whatever you fancy.

Or lentil and spinach cannelloni stuff cannelloni with either red or green lentils and spinach mixed, fill a big dish, pour over tinned tomatoes or passata, top with white sauce and a little grated parmesan.

Both lovely ideas Kurri but I am a horrible veggie who won't eat cooked spinach and only likes my pancakes smothered in lemon juice and sugar!

Just suggested baked potatoes and chilli to dp and he said no because he's doing a 10k run the following day and thinks the beans might be a bad idea!

Am still liking the idea of a huge pie but that is complicated by the fact that dd1 won't eat anything in white/cheese sauce (has only just, aged 15, agreed to eat cheese at all!).

How about a savoury crumble? Made just like a sweet crumble - I mix endless variations, nice with chickpeas, or aduki beans or cannellini beans plus assorted mixes of veggies, and a nice savoury topping of butter, flour, a little grated cheese, oats,breadcrumbs, chopped nuts and lots of nice seeds (pumpkin and sunflower). You can adapt this in infinite ways, it is cheap, forgiving, can be made in advance.

How about a savoury choux pastry ring? Served with veggies in a creamy white sauce?

A savoury roulade? They look very pretty/striking too, especially if you have something like a red pepper one with a cream cheese filling.

veggie sausage casserole, served with rice or mash, and some broccoli? would need a little tomato puree but no tinned toms.

massive cheese and leek potato cakes, might be more of a starter actually

Liking the sound of leek and potato cakes - will deffo make those for us at some point.

Roulade too posh. Creamy white sauce no good because of dd1. Crumble could be a possibility.

Thanks for all the ideas btw. Even if I don't use them for 'the' meal, there's lots of ideas I'd like to do for just us.

Pie!!!

It's really really nice too, as long as the parents are ok with DC eating ale-based foodstuff :)

Recipe contains mushrooms but I make it with Cauldron or quorn sausages, onions, ale etc in the middle. Could put in carrots (pre-cooked) too.

I make it with those things AND NO MUSHROOMS I mean.

Gorgeous. No good for this time but will deffo make it for dp and I.

think the cranks pie is layered roasted med veg rather than white sauce/canned toms/mince etc. Would look lovely when sliced. My mum made a hot water crust with spinach and feta in and it was lovely.

I wonder if I could maybe do a leek and feta pie, instead of spinach?

Except dd1 wouldn't eat it!