vegetarians - what's your 'special' dinner-party dish?

[captainmummy]

I am having to do a dinner party next week for a vegetarian couple - I am not veggie but will do my 'red-pepper lasagne' and we can all eat that. Have you got a special dish that you do for dinnerparties?

Similar - vegetarian lasagne, I use a Marie Claire recipe from about 1993 (I know that 'cos the cook book was a wedding present!). It is a basic lasagne but you use lots of different kinds of mushrooms for flavour with lots of herbs (thyme etc) and it has a "secret" layer of mozarella cheese inside which makes it very rich and yummy. Has always been a hit even with meat eaters. I am no longer vegetarian but I still like it.

My friend who is vegi does a georgeous lentil chilli

I'm not veggie, but one of my best dinner party dishes is - it's theoretically koubiliac (koulibiac), but every recipe I've found of that bears no resemblance to the dish I do.

It's a big filo log, with mushrooms, leeks, rice, filo, cheddar, currants and almonds. Very tasty.

kind of you to invite them and accmodate
vegetable lasagne with lots of bechamel sauce, and spinach

lentil spag bol
veg chilli
mushroom stroganoff

I am vegetarian and cook something completely different every time. My favourite of late (very late actually...haven't attended or hosted a dinner party since DS arrived 14m ago!) is probably the time I cooked an all-Persian meal. Stuffed peppers, rice pilaf with a potato crust, vegetables and chickpeas cooked with apricots and lots of spices and pussing was rose water and date ice cream.

{blush] Pudding

I promise there is never any pussing at my dinner parties. I'm not that kind of girl.

I'm not a veggie, but have cooked for lots.

Two things have gone down particularly well, and aubergine and chickpea tagine, which is utterly fantastic, and I often cook it for dh and me!

The other thing is the glazed onion tartlettes from Delia Smiths Xmas cook book.

I after use the latter as a starter for non veggie dinner parties

sorry, last line makes me look knobtastic, as if I'm do dinner parties , tres formal!

I mean when people come round for supper!

i've cooked delia's vegetarian moussaka for a couple of people (I don't talk about dinner parties - throwback to 80s youth). Very nice.

lol @ mb and dinne rpaties

worth posting this, as it is so good. Easy and V flexable

105ml sunflower oil
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
10ml ground coriander (or fresh, chopped)
10ml paprika
1 teaspoon each ground cumin, cinnamon and tumeric.
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
400g chickpeas
400g chopped tomatoes
300ml vegetable stock
1 large aubergine (around 253g), diced
225g halved button mushrooms
100g dried apricots
Salt and pepper to taste

225g couscous
25g flaked almonds, grilled
Chopped fresh parsley and coriander to decorate

Recipe :
? Heat 30ml oil in frying pan, add onion, garlic and spices and fry over a low/med heat for five minutes until golden. Using a slatted spoon, transfer to a saucepan with the chickpeas and their liquid, tomatoes and stock.

? Heat another 45ml oil in the frying pan, add aubergine and fry, stirring, over a high heat for five minutes, until evenly browned.

? Add aubergine to chickpea mixture. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

? Heat remaining oil in frying pan and stir-fry mushrooms for four or five minutes until browned, then add to stew with roughly chopped apricots and cook for a further 10 minutes.

? Adjust seasoning to taste.

? In the meantime, steam couscous for 10 minutes or cook according to instructions. Fork through, melt butter on top for flavour, or drizzle with olive oil.

? Serve tagine on a bed of couscous, sprinkled with toasted almonds and fresh coriander.

tofu stir fry with peanut sauce. My favourite.

MartianBishop - thanks for recipe v nice

roll out puff pastry into individual portion squares.

Spread green pesto on pastry leaving a 1 cm puff pastry border around the edge (which you brush with egg at the end.

place on cooked and well drained spinach and mozzarella over the top.

Bake in med oven until pastry has risen and mozzarella is golden brown.

simple, delicious and not too expensive either as one puff pastry frozen block will make about 8 little pies

mmmmmmmmm Loving this tasty recipes

Well if I am pushing the boat out - i.e. Xmas dinner for the relatives I do the Chestnut mushroom wellington (cranks recipe) Looks good on the dinner table and is substantial enough to please the most hardened meat eater!

It is also delish and particularly good with roast veggies and braised fennel.

bigmouth, my friend cooked that the other day for us and it was delicious. he also did the meat version for the meaties

I like to do indian dishes such as chickpea and spinach curry, garlic broccoli, and lentil dahl, with homemade chappatis and boiled rice.
Then dessert after all that will just be somekind of baked fruit or some soya icecream.

I also like to make mexican food - I will make some corn tortillas, do blackbeans and rice with mexican spices, and then make fajita style veggies (chilli powder, cumin, skoked paprika and liquid smoke, on peppers, onions, green beans, courgettes ect ect)
Then some refired beans for the side and other fajia fillings like shredded lettuce, guacamole, salsa, soyanaisse ect.

And if I have time I would make some churros (fried batter with cinnamon and sugar) but it is a bit naughty! Some good quality chocolate and coffee makes a good pud.

Spinach and Feta Filo Pie (with lots of dips and falafel type nibbles on the side)
or
Root veg curry
or
Spinach and Ricotta Crespolini (lke canneloni but with homemade pancakes instead of canneloni tubes)
or
veggie lasagne with homemade bechamel

I have a veggie friend who doesn't eat aubergine, otherwise it would be Parmigiana Mellanzane (aubergine slices layered with tomato sauce, parmesan and mozzarella - baked like a lasagne)

I don't do dinner parties but can recommend Delia's spinach/ricotta/pine nuts lasagne.

A faff but worth it. and it's very rich btw.

I'm liking this thread! I'm veggie and do a range of things when we have people round.

Middle eastern type meal - tabbouleh, hoummus, falafels, Greek salad etc

Lentil chilli with rice, avacado etc

Curry with rice and all the extras

Huge veggie lasagne with salad and garlic bread

Veggie sausages, mash, vege, onion gravy etc

Quiches, salads, bread and roasted new potatoes - or roasted garlicy potato cubey things

Am still giggling at pussing by the way!

For "pussing" or even "pudding" I usually go for icecream with something or other, followed by cake with coffee later. But I also make a mean bread and butter pudding with apricots and brandy.

lol pussing- o double entendre

OHMIGOD all these sound absolutely delish! Thanks for the recipes - needmorecofee have you got a recipe for the peanut sauce (i bought some tofu and don't know what to do with it). Mexican food/curry is just up my street Shrooms (did you know there's a horror film named after you?)
Oh and of course it's not a dinner party it's a supper party.

Savoury tarte tatin:-
Big non-stick baking tray, roast chunks of onion, garlic (could add peppers, cherry toms etc) in a good glug of red wine (plus makes house smell fab). Spread out the roasted bits evenly, and dot with pieces of feta, apple and walnuts. Cover with a piece of rolled out puff pastry, just tuck the edges v lightly down the sides. Cook for about 18 minutes. To serve, invet (carefully!) onto a big chopping board. Looks great; tastes even better. Serve with green leafy salad.
Am now hungry.

'invert', not invet, sorry