Any Vegetarians, please come over here and help!

[curlywurlycremeegg]

I was vegetarian from the age of 10 to 24, Vegan for a small portion of that time. When I met DH meat started to gradually creep into my diet and now we eat meat most days. I actually prefer a vegetarian diet, I am really fussy about what meat I will eat and the quality and source of it, however I have four DC and although the eat loads of veg they much prefer the meat and two veg type of option rather than a mixed veg stew/pasta dish. I really want to eradicate meat and fish from our diet but could do with some inspiration for meals. So my challenge to you is inspire me, any ideas or websites would be greafully received, I am a pretty proficient cook, trained and worked as a chef years ago, so am happy to try more challenging recipes but would also appreciate some quick standby favorites. Thanks :)

IMO mushrooms make a good 'meaty" substitute you can mix them with chestnuts or TVP with a soaked dried cep/garlic, onion sauce or gravy in a pie.

I like the World Vegetarian book by madhur jaffrey.

My favourite books are the Good Food 101 Veggie Dishes and the new Rose Elliott Complete Vegetarian.

It's hard to do a "meat and two veg" style meal unless you use a lot of meat substitutes. Although homemade nut burgers can be very tasty!

DS's favourites are lasagne, macaroni cheese, jacket potatoes (topped with cheesy veg, or beans, or some kind of stew), stir fry and veggie sausages.

DP and I also like Thai curries made with tofu, risotto, Shepherd's Pie (essentially a bean stew covered in mashed potato), Moroccan tagine with chickpeas.

I'm veggie, DH is not, and we're currently discussing whether we would like to raise our (putative future!) kids veggie or not. (consensus seems to be that we'll be led by kids, but that's another thread).

Fortunately for me DH travels a lot with work so can eat meat there and is happy to be almost completely veggie at home.

Most of what I eat is of the pasta bake/stir fry/veggie stew variety but I also really like spicy bean burgers and that kind of thing. Could you try making vegetarian pies of some description which would form the natural counterpart to 'two veg'? I also absolutely love curries (Thai and Indian mostly) which we cook from scratch which might be a good way into more mixed up food.

I've been veggie since I was 13, and recall insisting that my food was all separate on my plate (in fact mum bought me a food tray with separate compartments at one stage!) but that was mostly because I was raised in a meat and two veg way and didn't know the joy of a really tasty pasta bake.

I use the Nicola Graimes 'Complete Vegetarian' quite a bit and a couple of curry cookbooks but mostly I live on risotto, roast vegetable lasagna, pasta bake, pasta various, jacket potato, couscous, or bean burgers of some description, all of which are easy to cook and don't need cookbooks. My one big tip would be to roast masses of vegetables when you have a couple of hours at home and make them into roast veggie lasagna, or pasta, and freeze the rest for use at another time. Oh and I also love shepherdess pie like this made with aduki beans.

However I am conscious that none of these are really of the meat and two veg description, sorry, but hope there are some helpful ideas there.

Thanks everyone, I think I am going to have to try and push the one pot meals a bit more, they do like curry and chilli and the odd stew or pasta bake, they also love pulses so I am just going to have to be more inventive.

Ghosteditor, I love roasted veg but the DC do turn their noses up at this, DD will eat courgettes but only if they are the yellow ones that we have grown ourselves!

Borntofolk, do you ever serve anything with the mac cheese? It is seen as a "side dish" here so I may need to bulk it out a bit more.

Ppeatfruit, mmmmm, mushrooms and chestnuts in a wine gravy is a favorite of mine.

Thank you for the book suggestions, will check them out on Amazon :)

I usually add peas and sweetcorn to the macaroni cheese and often serve it with brocoli. I make cheese sauce in bulk and freeze it in portions so it's a very quick, easy meal to do.

Mushrooms, Chestnuts & Stilton in a red wine sauce, make a lovely filling for a homemade steamed suet pudding, & they freeze well too, so double up & next time round you only have veg & potatoes to prepare

Adding a table spoon or so dark soy sauce to frozen veggi mince & making sure its all covered at the start of cooking makesa MASSIVE difference to the flavour, & adding a handful of green lentils, linseed & sunflower seed adds texture & ups the nutritional value....this makes a great base for lots of standard recipes, from chilli to cottage pie, & I've found it goes down well with meat eaters too........

we had friends visit a while back who are known moaners, whinged none stop about the fact I wouldn't cook meat as they HATE vegetarian food, told them they either eat what was put in front of them, or p off to the pub & buy their own....they ate with us, & I really didn't expect any compliments......they not only cleaned their plates, but took the cottage pie recipe home with them

Beany burritos are fab. Make a bean based chilli then fill some tortillas, fold them up and bake them. Make a quick simple tomato sauce to pour over them and serve with rice or salad. My v. meat-eating dp loves them!

Halloumi!

ALso we make a chunky sage and onion stuffing type thing with chestnuts/fruit etc through it to go with a sunday dinner type thing instead of the meat.

Burritos/fajitas/chimechanas with beans in and chz on...don't need meat...

Homemade pizza is much more a proper meal than bought. We have with salad or a big dish of roast onions/other veg

Falafal and wraps (yoghurt and salad)

The Cranks cook book is the best imo...lots of stuff from veggy cultures so you don't feel like meat is "missing" Really unusual things I had never heard of before.

oh yeah, halloumi! Yum! We mostly just have it fried with salad but I also do a pie with halloumi and feta that is just gorgeous.

I sometimes cook puy lentils, onions, carrots in red wine and stock and then either top with mash or with ouff pastry - it's quite 'heavy' but carnivorous dp likes it!

Toad in the hole with veggie sausages, or with mushrooms and baby onions in it (roast or fry first).

Caramelised onion quiche (with some grainy mustard in it) with roasted garlic new potatoes and salad or steamed vege.

Stuffed butternut squash with roast potatoes and vege.

Stuffed peppers.

BTw Macaroni cheese is delicious with cold tinned plum tomatoes

If you all eat curry, have you used paneer much? It's much better than using something like quorn or tofu, especially if you dry fry it first to brown it a bit.
Another popular one with us is chilli baked eggs. Just a basic chilli sauce then make a well and break eggs into it and cover with grated cheese. Great in tortilla wraps.

Ugh - sorry but that sounds repulsive!

I like it with leeks in and a spinach salad on the side.

In the 101 Veggie Recipes book, there's a really good recipe for pea and paneer curry. It's really nice and handy because you just need to buy paneer and the rest are store cupboard ingredients.

I love paneer and mateer paneer (cheese and peas) is a delicious curry. Sometimes we make it with halloumi instead of paneer as it's so squeaky and delicious

belligerent could you give me the recipe fo the caramelised onion quiche? Sounds yum!

Mmmm...paneeeeeeeer....

I buy up milk when it's reduced and turn it in to paneer and freeze it

It's great in a tikka marinade and then a hot oven....

Yes, ys, yes to paneer!

Quiche =

Make (or buy) pastry and bake blind
Meanwhile fry onions sliced into thin half moons in some olive oil with a bit of brown sugar until caramelised. I lke to put a bit of fresh thyme in too.

Mix 3 eggs, a bit of cream and a bit of grainy mustard plus salt and pepper.

Shove the onions on top of the part baked pastry and then top with lots of little cubes of gruyere (or use a strong cheddar but I grate that). Shove the egg mix over and then bake it until set and golden.

yes thanks!