Any good veggie recipes for a meat lover?

[HeadFairy]

Partly because of the horsemeat scandal, and partly because I want to cut back our food costs, can anyone suggest any good veggie recipes for meat lovers please? DH is such a carnivore... I'm quite happy to eat meat only once a week, but he wants it at every meal.

Pizza, everyone loves pizza and he won't miss the meat! Macaroni cheese (ditto). Can you try quorn/soya mince and make a hot chilli?

My determinedly meat-loving, macho, male Yorkshire friend tells me that these Beanburgers are pretty good.... but I'm on pain of death to tell anyone he knows that he actually enjoyed vegetarian food.

1 can of kidney beans, rinsed and really well drained. (Or cook your own, see below)
1 heaped tablespoon rolled oats
1 carrot, grated
1/2 onion, finely chopped and fried until golden
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
1 clove garlic, crushed
teaspoon of chilli flakes
Plenty of freshly chopped parsley
Plenty of salt and pepper
about 1 egg, beaten

1. Either mash the beans well with the back of a fork or blitz them in a mini food processor
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and enough beaten egg to mix.
3. V important.... set the mixture aside for 20 minutes to let the oats absorb the egg and everything to firm up a little. Then shape the mixture into about four patties using wet hands
4. Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook the patties for a few minutes on each side until golden and firm. (If the mixture is still a bit on the wet side, they firm up in the pan)
5. Serve in a bun with lashings of chips, cheese and ketchup or on a salad.

Cooking beans
Dried kidney beans and other pulses are cheaper than the canned sort but take some prep. Tip. If you soak and cook a whole packet at once, drain really well and then leave them to go cold, you can freeze them in a thin layer in a large freezer bag. Then they can be used like frozen peas as you need them

Frittatas or Spanish Omelettes are another really nice vegetarian dish. I make mine with a lot of spinach. You need a good non-stick frying pan that can go under the grill at the end

Serves about 4

8 eggs, beaten
1lb potatoes, cooked and sliced/diced
3 tomatoes, chopped
Bag of spinach leaves
4oz cheese, grated
Bunch of spring onions, trimmed and chopped
1 fresh chilli pepper, deseeded and chopped
salt and pepper
Oil

1. Heat the oil and add the potatoes, onions, chilli pepper and spinach. You'll have to cram down the spinach a bit to get it all in. Then put a lid over the top and allow to the spinach to steam and wilt down
2. Beat the eggs well, season with salt and pepper and stir in the chopped tomatoes and half the grated cheese
3. Once the spinach has wilted down stir the egg mixture gently into the potatoes and cook until starting to set
4. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top, put the whole thing under the grill and cook until risen and golden

Lovely with salads

I do make lots of pizzas, and dh loves them, but I usually have to chuck a handful of chopped ham on them to appease his meaty yearnings

Likewise omelettes, though I haven't done a Spanish omelette for a while.

I like the sound of those bean burgers Cogito, thanks. I won't tell him they're veggie and see if he likes them :o

He'll know they're veggie... :) But the chilli flakes and pumpkin seeds etc make them quite interesting and tasty.

Another one is a Chilli 'No' Carne.... The key thing is to fill it with lots of different kinds of beans - pinto, kidney, cannellini, black-eye - so that it's colourful and interesting and cut all the vegetables to an even size. Plus add a few extra flavourings over the meat version..... fresh chopped coriander and a square of dark chocolate in at the end for example.... a swirl of yoghurt on top to serve.

Indian food is a pretty rich vein of 'manly' veggie dishes. Really wouldn't bother trying to fob a carnivore off with soya mince and quorn.... nasty.

Apologies for those posters who've seen me wheel this recipe out before, but you don't notice the lack of meat.

Chilli with taco shells and all the toppings are very nice. You really don't miss meat at all.

Fire that recipe looks lovely. Is there sweetcorn in it? It's not listed in the ingredients, but it looks like there is some in the picture. Dh hates sweetcorn with a passion!

I have a "meaty" DH

My trick is to make Chilli, cottage pie etc with no meat (lentils and lots of veg) but add a couple of beef Oxo cubes. Makes it taste meaty iyswim

Obviously not for real vegetarians or food purists, but it helped in my mission to persuade him he doesn't need meat at every meal, then I started making the same meals without the Oxo and now he eats vegetarian without any fuss.

Would also recommend River Cottage Veg Everyday, a genuine vegetarian cookbook, but written with meat eaters in mind.

African sweet potato stew.

Google it, loads of recipes.

It's universally adored, even people that hate Peanut Butter. No good for nut allergies mind.

I make mine with butternut squash though.

Lurking....

What about fish?

How about something like a mushroom and Stilton pie? Mushrooms are quite 'meaty' tasting. Simon Rimmer has a recipe but I haven't tried it yet.

Agree re curries too. Something like dahl or mattar paneer or a potato and cauliflower curry is still delicious and filling (ie 'manly') without needing meat.