Ideas for vegetarian meals for people that like a big dinner?

[nancy75]

we eat way too much meat, I would like to have vegetarian meals about twice a week but don't know what to cook. Dp looks like a tooth pick but eats like a lumberjack and any vege recipes I find would be seen as a side dish, so can you help me with meal ideas that don't have meat but will fill up my dps bottomless pit of a stomach?

why not cook 'traditional' meals using quorn mince, like shepherd's pie, chilli con carne, wraps, spag bol etc. (My extremely fussy dc can't tell the difference and eat it no problem)

Or jacket potatoes with various toppings.

A big beany (veggie) sausage stew/casserole.

Vegetable noodle/rice stir fry.

Tried quorn spag Bol, it ended up in the bin, jackets potato would be fine for me, but this is the problem, dp sees a jacket potato as something you have with a bit of steak!

Ottolenghi has a brilliant leek and mushroom pie recipe. It's full of creamy loveliness and very filling. Serve with mash and veg?

Chilli is also very hearty.

I like making root veg pasties and potato or cauliflower curries are also good.

Hugh fearnley whitingstall has a section in his veg book called hearty meals. My favourite of those is the North African stew, it's warming and spicy and full of flavour!

I make dahl a lot - fry onion with cumin and carrot, add lentils with homemade stock (and bacon bits can add a lot of flavour without adding much meat?) and serve with poppadums and rice. The stock makes it quite rich and satisfying as I get ravenous too.
We also make bean stews too and again might use a bit of meat (chorizo) if want extra flavour.
Is fish ok? Salmon can be very filling? I cook this in a stir fry with noodles and coriander and Thai chilli-type sauce

Thank you, I will have a look a hugh's hearty meals. Fish would be fine, however he won't eat fish! The Dahl sounds good, I don't mind a little bit of bacon or whatever i'm trying to get away from big bits of meat every day.

A massive veg curry with lots of potato, rice, naan bread
Veggie chilli with rice
Shepherds pie, lentils no mince..

I don't think I have ever even eaten a lentil, let alone cooked one, it could be interesting!

Homemade savoury pancakes stuffed with ricotta and spinach and covered in white sauce with melted cheese on top. Fold into triangles or roll into cannelloni type tubes and bung in oven. One of my dh faves!

Lentil based shepherds pie?

Vegetable lasagnes? I serve mine with salad, maybe garlic bread. But for the full stuffing experience you could add chips.

Veg curry with rice and naan.

I think you need things with lots of beans and pulses to fill him up!

Oh, just seen your lentil comment. there is a good shepherdess pie on bbc good food website.

Mushroom and stilton pie?
Root vege pie, with chestnuts
Curry
Chilli
Lasagne
Macaroni cheese
Cheese and potato pie

Chilli bean burritos
Veggie curry (spinach, potato, chick peas etc)
Righteous mac n cheese.

Delia does a fab recipe for what is essentially a fancy macaroni cheese- it's leek and bacon in a cheese sauce with penne.

It's very lovely indeed, especially if you make a crusty topping with breadcrumbs and grated cheese. And most filling.

Thank you all, lots a great ideas, I will get googling for recipes.

Ratatouille served with crusty bread is very filling ,also cheap,quick and easy .

I would try Quorn mince again in a chilli as the strong flavour masks the inherent dullness/wierd texture. It's less successful as a bolognaise sauce as you don't get any of the richness of beef just loads of tomato flavour.

I use quorn mince as a Shepherd's pie filling and I do it in the slow cooker - the only way I've ever been able to make it edible.

you see I don't really see how Ratatouille is filling as you're just eating vegetables with no protein-my DP would be eating a whole loaf to fill him up

Hugh f w does a fantastic recipe book - river cottage veg everyday. We love courgette rice file pie, and pinto bean chilli.

Good luck

I must be the only vegetarian who really doesn't like that HFW book. It does nothing for me. Over-reliant on tinned tomatoes, lots of bland recipes and lots of things no recipe even needed for (cheese on toast fgs).

Snice, that is the problem, dp will say that Mac n cheese, ratatouille or cauliflower cheese are things you have with meat, not instead of. He would eat it and then an hour later he would be eating 4 sandwiches! I have tried stuff like veggie lasagne too, he thinks it is student food. I might just tell him to cook his own flaming dinner! ( to be fair he often comes home, has dinner and then goes back to work so he doesn't have time to do his own)

We only have meat once a week at my mum's house. im not veg but the equivalent of a smoker who smokes other people'sccigs!
at the moment my fave meal mushroom wellington in filo pastry. with whiskey, sweet chilli & coconut cream sauce. i also drain the mushrooms and add liquid to the sauce. any meat eater would shovel it away double quick.

Just remembered a mushroom and camembert tart I did recently. With new potatoes and either salad or steamed vege, it's v filling (it really doesn't need the potatoes!).

Whats the hww book??