Old Fashioned Vegetarian Food

[Glitterbiscuits]

I ate at Good Earth in Leicester last week. It's a totally vegetarian restaurant. It's been open nearly 50 years.

The menu is great, so unpretentious. I'd love to recreate some of their style of dishes. They had things like parsnip loaf, bean bake. Much more of an emphasis on grains and pulses.

I used to make a great nut loaf and a veggie shepherd's pie.
We eat too much pasta, chilli, curry etc.

I want to move back to basics. Can anyone suggest some old ( I want to say hippy style) dishes they love or used to love?

Sarah Brown's Vegetarian Kitchen should be your bible.

My frittata worked out pretty well. Plus there is alot left over which will be perfect to take to work tomorrow.

When I’m back at my DM’s I’m going to look up her amazingly-named ‘North London Working Mother’s Cookbook’. It’s not veggie (although there’s a lot in there), but it’s all in this style.

Rose Eliots Christmas book is fantastic.
Have used it for nearly 30years.

Found a paperback of ‘Vegetarian Kitchen’ on Amazon for39p and World of Books seems to have loads of copies.

I finally got round to making the beanburgers and tomato sauce recipe I shared upthread. '
'Twas very good.

Mmm love spanakopita!
Who knew lidl did recipes?!

Thanks for this - we had it last night with a red wine and onion gravy, roast potatoes, various other vegetables. Absolutely delicious. Would have taken a photo but as so often with things I make, it tasted great and looked like a dog's dinner! Would certainly make it again. Good flavour, not all that difficult or time-consuming or expensive, nice and moist. We are omnivores so I was happy to add the egg and use butter to fry the mushrooms, but I'm sure it would turn out well without an egg to bind and mushrooms fried in oil or a plant-based spread.

Glad this thread is still going strong. I’m soaking some chickpeas ready for an aubergine and chickpea curry tomorrow. It’s one of my ‘go to’ dishes, feeds a crowd and tastes good.

@Craftycorvid I love chickpeas in a curry - think I'll put this on my list to make at the weekend.

I'm not vegi but I do like vegi food. Some of the simplest things on toast, beans or cheese or beans with cheese.

Cauliflower cheeses, or cauliflower and broccoli cheese.

I have a 'cheat's baba ganoush'.

1 Aubergine, 1 jar of mayo.

Put the aubergine in the oven for 20 mins (do this while you are cooking something else to save fuel).

Put in a colander and prick with a fork, put over a bowl so the bitter juices drip out.

When it is cool scoop out all the flesh and mix with the mayo.

I know it is very 1980s but filo parcels, my favorite filling is brie with mango chutney.

Stuffed peppers / beef tomatoes.

Aduki bean burgers. 1 tin of aduki beans, drained. Separate into two and mash one half, mix back with the whole beans, add seasoning, shape into patties and fry.

I have a reproduction of a WWII recipe leaflet, it has a recipe for Wooton pie, I know you can go further back in time but it is certainly old school.

That looks so good! Where's the recipe from again? Couldn't see your earlier post

It's from Plymouth Arts Centre's first cookbook, I don't think it's available anymore. It was super easy, I just subbed in tinned beans and chickpeas.

I don't know if it is old fashioned but I really love a tofu schnitzel. Firm tofu and then egg wash and crumb like schnitzel and pan fry. I am developing an addiction to sweet paprika and garlic powder and put that in the breadcrumb mix as well.

My mother used to do filo parcels stuffed with spinach and pinenuts in the 80s.

I'm loving all of these!!

I’m planning an old school mushroom stroganoff for dinner. Red dragon pie this weekend! Has to happen. 🙂

I'm also planning red dragon pie for the weekend! Which recipe are you going to use, @Craftycorvid? I've been looking at several and may end up taking bits from all of them.

My recipes are always a bit improvised! This one’s essentially what needs using up in the fridge (mushrooms, mushroom sauce, a red pepper) plus garlic, smoked paprika and possibly a cheeky dollop of cream cheese.

I cook like that a lot too. I have a tin of aduki beans, as I gather that's the key ingredient. I love mushrooms so will probably add some to the mix. May make the mash cheesey and stir through some sauted leeks.

Sounds delish @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g
My strog’ ended up like this: sauteed half a small bag of shallots that needed using up together with three chopped garlic cloves. Added a shallow teaspoon of smoked paprika, a generous dollop of ground coriander and a cheeky pinch of madras curry powder. Added a bit of water to loosen the spice mix then added a chopped bell pepper and two punnets of mushrooms sliced. I then added a supermarket chilled pasta sauce (mushroom) cream cheese and a squeeze of tomato puree. It tastes good.

I love mushroom stroganoff. I often make the Jamie Oliver one, where he sharpens up the sauce with a few sliced silverskin pickled onions. Delicious!

Ooh yes! I was wondering what would add a bit of ‘bite’. I wonder if a dash of balsamic vinegar would also work?

I don't see why not. I have even added a few sliced cornichons before, with no ill effects. But then I love all vinegary, pickley things.

There is a cauliflower & stilton quiche with a wholemeal(!!!) crust cooling on the hob for lunch and it smells divine. Alongside, a dish of roasted red peppers with balsamic, and a salad of lamb's lettuce and herbs.

I've got another school mum coming for lunch and I hope she appreciates the "old school vegetarian" vibes!

PS I will be eating all that with a big dollop of piccalilli, which is my vinegary mustardy thing of choice at the moment! Really loving piccalilli right now.