Vegan meal for meat-eating guest

[MillyMollyMandy78]

My DH and I are both vegan, for the last one and a half years. In that time we haven't had anyone round for dinner and i tend to cook the same boring average meals.

I have a friend coming to stay with us for a couple of days and i haven't got a clue what to cook for dinner. I can't eat indian food and my DH hates mexican food.

Want to keep it simple and casual so don't want anything too fancy, but also want to be able to show that you can still have really yummy, normal food as a vegan. Ideally something not too difficult and able to be prepared in advance. Not doing a starter as too formal a feel, so just main and perhaps a dessert or cake afterwards. Any ideas?

Can you eat Thai food? I make red Thai curry for my vegan friend, and it's pretty much my favourite quick meal. Ottolenghi xookbooks are also good for inspiration.

There are tons of vegan cake recipes, I have a lovely ginger cake recipe, but any cake made with oil can be made to suit vegans.

This is delicious (obviously minus the dairy in the mash)

golden veggie shepherds pie

I would love a garlicky mushroom pasta type thing. I eat meat, but not much and DH doesn't eat meat at all - I much prefer things that are happily meat-free rather than a vegetarian version of a meat dish IYKWIM.

The suggested <a class="break-all" href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5935/quick-braised-lettuce-and-www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10035/golden-veggie-shepherds-piepeas" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">braised lettuce and peas to go with it sounds nice too, though I haven't tried it.

Honestly? I eat meat but I'd love a vegan meal. It is " just yummy normal
Food" isn't it?

Just make what you love and any decent friend will love it too :) remember your " boring usual" is unusual for your friend!

Risotto? I do a lemon, thyme and mushroom risotto with chestnut and porcini mushrooms. Really simple and fairly foolproof. Olive oil, onions, leeks, thyme, lemon peel. Fry until soft then add arborio rice. Fry for 1 minute then add generous glug of White or rose wine. Stir and add veg stock. Keep stirring and adding stock until rice is almost done then add chopped mushrooms. When rice is cooked, add lots of finely grated vegan hard cheese, more lemon rind and juice, black pepper and fresh thyme. Delicious!

this chilli is also tasty, with all the trimmings could be nice casual guest meal

That risotto recipe sounds delicious though!

It is a favourite in our house! Particularly good with warm crusty olive bread and the remainder of the wine you opened to go in the risotto!

this chickpea and aubergine dish is amazing - obviously without the ham! We're not veggie but I never bother with the ham anyway. Good with couscous or with crusty bread to soak up the delicious juices. You could add a green salad too.

This Potato and leek rosti with chickpea salad is so easy and tasty, even my kids love it! And for pudding I would make a treacle tart, serve with Swedish Glacé vanilla ice cream.

I am definitely making that this weekend!

Poopoo - garlic mushroom pasta thing sounds straight up our street (though torn, as risotto is also a good idea). Unfortunately husband also hates thai food (awkward couple, between us both)!

Thinking maybe tagliatelle and mushrooms, with a creamy garlic sauce, using Alpro Soya cream. Could also serve it with some nice bread/ homemade garlic bread and salad.

IMVHO, as long as you avoid tofu and too many pulses, you'll be fine. A whole plate of beans seems to signal 'worthy' to my friends who eat a lot of meat, and some people (including me and I eat veggie a lot) are very funny about tofu texture. As Thea says, it's all good yummy food!

Just out of interest, DO vegans eat yeast products like bread or marmite? Please settle a long-running dispute between DH and me...

Whole wheat pasta with sauce made from an onion fried in olive oil, a couple of crushed garlic cloves, tin of tomatoes and jar of black olives. Serve with bread to mop up delicious sauce

Can I ask a couple of stupid questions? I am a "eat a bit of meat" person but prob veggie for 90% meals.

Yummy as garlic/mushroom pasta and various risottos etc sound, am I missing something or is there no protein in those? I have a bee in my bonnet about needing protein in all meals so am always trying to add pulses/seeds/nuts/eggs/cheese etc to make sure it's there. Do those sorts of meals keep you feeling full?

MrsPremise- yes, vegans do eat products with yeast! It's alive but only in the way that a plant is alive . No Central Nervous System!

spil I think protein does keep you feel full, but so does carbs, especially wholewheat.

It's a good idea to think about the amount of protein you need as a veggie, my rule of thumb would be though that you need it every day - not necessarily in every meal.

Cheese/nuts particularly you need to watch your fat. Eggs - personally I can't eat too many as it has a very unpleasant side effect on me.

Pulses are good for protein and low fat/high fibre so a good choice. But if you have, say, milk on cereal and porridge for breakfast and beans on toast for lunch, you're fine to have pasta or risotto without protein for dinner.

Aubergine and tomato casserole.
Risotto.
Thick vegi or bean soup.
veg wedges roasted in olive oil.
stuffed peppers.
Beans on toast