Vegetarian recipe ideas?

[tethersend]

Friends are coming for dinner in a couple of days... and I am stumped. They are complete food snobs, and cooked us a delicious parsnip roulade (Delia?) when we went to theirs.

I need a recipe which is:

a) Posh. I must wow them.
b) Vegetarian.
c) Free from mushrooms, nuts and peppers (they don't like them )

It would be a bonus if it would go with a goats' cheese starter- ie no cheese in the main, but any ideas gratefully received as i am completely clueless...

Was going to say asparagus risotto but you'd probably want parmesan with it. I roast whole red peppers, then pile the risotto into them and serve with a rocket salad with a good sharp dressing. is dead easy, looks 'posh' and is v tasty.

Otherwise perhaps some sort of puff pastry tart, maybe with asparagus or roasted tomatoes?

I'd do veggie sushi rolls, so seaweed, rice and cucumber, avocado and blanched carrots.

But I don't think it goes with your starter.

Have you searched through mumsnet recipes or even googled? There are hundreds of possibilities out there.

I have been thinking about this. Especially the fact that you feel under pressure to produce some fancy 'posh' dish just to keep up with them.

That's not right. Dinner parties are meant to be fun, not stresful.

Can you be ironic? Can you make chips, eggs and beans?

This is what I would do:

Whole roast some superb tiny new potatoes in their skins with whole cloves or garlic and olive oil and cracked black pepper.

Make a delicious home-made haricot bean and tomato stew, and serve it with the new potatoes topped with fried quail's eggs (three per person).

TaDa!

Posh chips, eggs and beans.

Sounds great.

I love baby roasted garlic potatoes.

I would do a watercress, orange and avocado salad to start with with pine nuts and lemon, olive oil and honey dressing, followed by Delia's goats cheese and tomato tart (v. v. easy and totally delish) with salad and nice bread. Very easy meal, looks pretty, v. simple.

Then maybe home-made meringues and summer fruit to follow or a tiramisu or something chocolatey.

Well this has cheese, but it is absoloutely delicious: Aubergine and mozzarella parcels with smokey mash

I do a very easy and delicious goats cheese and tomato tart if that works for your starter?

Ready rolled puff pastry, scored 1 cm round the edge (I normally make either individual tarts or one tart for two people - too large and it becomes difficult to serve). Spread a thin layer of tomato pesto inside the tart then add goats cheese and some chopped herbs - I like dill and parsley for this. Top with thinly sliced tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil and thenbake for about 20 minutes until the pastry around the edges is brown and the tomato is starting to caramalise. Serve with some rocket leaves on top and a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar.

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions! Especially the eggs, chips and beans overmydeadbody

So, in the end I just cheesed it up;

Goats cheese filo parcels to start
Butternut squash risotto with pine nuts for main
Laughably, white chocolate cheesecake with raspberries for dessert.

All my efforts were fruitless in the end, as my dp got so annihilated on the wine that I'm not sure anyone noticed the food. So, hmmm... lesson for future dinner parties- make less effort and create a distraction. Perhaps next time I will set something on fire.

I have made a note of the lovely recipes suggested here though, will be working my way through those. Alone.

Thanks again!