Vegetarian

These are the dishes that are purely vegetarian. Usually, they also do not contain milk products. 

Mushroom and Quinoa Pilaf

I needed a vegan dish for the Passover Seder meal. If you are of European origin (Ashkenazi), you cannot eat pulses during Passover; but quinoa is not a pulse and not a grain. It is a vegetable, so it can be used. I am cooking ahead of the Seder night, so that tomorrow I can focus on setting the table, whatever. Thus I know that it turned out delicious. I just hope that it reheats well. I made double the quantities below and hope to feed 12 people!

Ingredients §  10 gm dried porcini mushrooms §  3 Tbsp boiling water §  500 gm mixed mushrooms §  1 large red onion §  1 Tbsp olive oil §  6 Tbsp semi-sweet white wine. If you don’t have this, use white wine together with Vermouth. §  1 tsp ground nutmeg §  Salt and freshly ground black pepper For the quinoa §  1 cup quinoa §  1 Tbsp olive oil §  2 cups liquid (I used a mushroom broth made with the stalks of the chopped mushrooms – see step 3) §  1 Tbsp vegetable soup powder §  1 cm fresh ginger §  Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps 1.       Put the porcini mushrooms in a small bowl together with the 3 Tbsp of boiling water. Let it soak for half-an-hour. 2.       Meanwhile, take all your mushrooms and chop them finely. 3.       Don’t throw away the stalks, etc. Put them in a saucepan with 2 cups liquid and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for about 40 minutes. 4.       Line a wire sieve with a double sheet of kitchen paper, put the sieve over a small bowl, and strain the porcini mushrooms. 5.       Squeeze the mushrooms dry and chop them finely. 6.       Put the liquid in a small jar and keep for later. 7.       Chop the onion finely. 8.       Heat the olive oil and gently cook the onions for about five minutes. 9.       Add the mushrooms, wine, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook over a low heat for about 40 minutes. Leave the pan uncovered as you want all the liquid to evaporate. 10.   While the mushrooms are cooking, prepare the quinoa. Follow these instructions so that you have a really tasty quinoa without any bitterness. 11.   Put the quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and rinse it vigorously with water, to get rid of the bitterness. Let in drain. 12.   Peel and thinly slice the ginger root. 13.   Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the drained quinoa. Let it cook for one minute. 14.   Add the mushroom stock, mixed with 1 Tbsp vegetable soup powder, ginger, salt and pepper. 15.   Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. 16.   Turn off the heat and let the quinoa stand for 5 minutes. 17.   Check that it is cooked. Mine still had some liquid, though it was cooked, so I simply drained it off. 18.   Mix the quinoa and mushrooms together and serve. 19.   If you need to precook and reheat, sprinkle some of the reserved porcini mushroom liquid on top before warming.

Humble Pie

This is a great vegetarian version of cottage or shepherd’s pie, but made with seitan. This is my vegetarian son’s recipe, and he has requested that I not change the text.

Ingredients >  2 good onions >  4 largish carrots, or 5 smallish ones >  3-4 stalks of celery >  1 pack of minced seitan >  4 medium or 3 large potatoes >  ~50g margarine >  1 small pack tomato concentrate >  1 tsp Baharat >  1 tsp Paprika >  0.5 tsp Cumin >  salt and pepper >  some olive oil for cooking >  water >  Optional: a flat teaspoon of Marmite Equipment >  Big frying pan for the vegetables >  Medium pot to cook the potatoes >  Medium oven dish (I like single-use tin foil ones) >  Potato masher >  Fork, wooden spoon >  Chopping board and a good knife

Steps 1.   Peel the potatoes, and cut them into cubes. They don't need to be too small, but they should be more or less the same size. 2.   Put the potato cubes into the pot, add some salt and cover with water (about a cm above the potatoes), then put on the fire. 3.   Finely chop the onions. Remember to wash your hands before you wipe your eyes. 4.   Put some olive oil in the frying pan, put it on the fire and add the onions. 5.   Peel the carrots. Once the carrots are peeled, turn the flame down under the onions. 6.   Finely chop the carrots. I usually do half across the length, then 4 across the length of each half, and finely chop. Add the carrots to   the onions in the pan. Stir things around a bit. 7.   Clean the celery, removing the wide bit at the bottom and the leaves at the top. 8.   Finely chop the celery, also into very small bits. All the fine chopping is so that people don't notice you're putting celery in their food. Everyone loves the taste of celery, they just don't like knowing it's there. Celery is the big trick in soup powder. 9.   Add the celery to the onions and carrots in the pan. Stir occasionally. 10. At some point, the potatoes will boil. When they do, turn down the flame underneath them. 11. Chop up the seitan so that it's in smaller bits and add it to the vegetable pan. Turn the heat back up and let it all fry a little. 12. Check the potatoes with a fork to see if they're ready. If they are, turn the flame off and leave them to sit there while you do more   important things. 13. After a minute or two, turn the heat back down and add the spices, salt and pepper to the pan. Stir around for a little more, until they're all mixed in nicely. 14. At this point, the vegetable mixture may seem a bit dry. That's normal, and we'll add water in a minute. Add the tomato paste, and add the Marmite if you want to. Mix it in and add a little water. The mixture shouldn't be watery, but it should be a little sticky. 15. Let it sit on a low flame while you sort out the potatoes. Mix it occasionally and add some more water if needed. 16. Drain the water from the potatoes. Be careful, steam goes up. 17. Put the margarine in the pot with the potatoes and mash. Add salt and pepper and continue to mash until it's all nice and smooth. 18. Turn the flames off under the vegetables. 19. Taste the mashed potatoes and the contents of the pan (separately) to see if they need anything else. Fix if needed. If something is missing and you don't know what, it's either salt or tomato paste. 20. Pour the entire vegetable mixture into the oven dish. Even it out so that the top is flat, and there are no hills. 21.  Spoon the mashed potatoes over it, and even that layer out as well. 22. Put in the oven at about 200 degrees for about 25 minutes, until the top is a nice light brown. 21. Remove from the oven when done, and enjoy.

Lentil Loaf

This is based on a Delia Smith (wonderful cookbooks) recipe, but as I am currently not eating solaniums, I have adapted it. 

Ingredients >    425 ml vegetable stock >    75 gm dried split peas >    50 gm red lentils >    50 gm brown lentils >    1 carrot, peeled and chopped >    1 small stick of celery, finely chopped >    1 small leek, rinsed and shredded >    1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed >    2 Tbsp olive oil >    2 tsp freshly ground garam masala >    1 large egg, beaten >    2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped >    Salt and freshly milled black pepper >    450 gm loaf tin. I use a silicone version so that the loaf is easy to extract

Steps 1.   Bring the vegetable stock to the boil, add the split peas and lentils, and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the pulses are soft. 2.   In the meantime, prepare all the vegetables. 3.    Pre-heat the oven to 190°C. 4.   Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, and use some of it to grease the loaf tin. 5.   Add all the vegetables and the garlic to the frying pan and fry for 10 minutes, or until soft and golden. 6.   Stir the pulses into the vegetables and tuen off the heat under the pan. 7.    Add the garam masala, beaten egg and parsley. 8.   Mix well and season. 9.   Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and press it down firmly. 10.  Cover with tinfoil and bake for 40 minutes. 11.  Let it stand for 15 minutes before you slice and serve it. This goes well with a salad.

Tofu with Vermouth

We all love this, and it does translate well to tofu.

Ingredients >    1 packet of firm tofu, cut into cubes >    Flour, seasoned well with salt and freshly ground pepper >    4 Tbsp oil >    1 onion, finely chopped >    3 fl. 0z (100 ml) sweet vermouth >    1 tsp tomato puree >    Pinch of mace

Steps 1.   Toss the tofu cubes, in the seasoned flour. I find it easiest to dump them into a bag and shake. 2.    Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the tofu cubes and fry until brown. 3.   Remove the cubes from the pan. 4.   Add more oil, if required, and gently cook the onion until soft and golden. 5.   Add the vermouth, tomato puree and mace, stir well and simmer on a low flame until the sauce is syrupy. This takes about 3 minutes. 6.   Return the cubes to the pan and heat through until warm. 7.   Serve immediately. This goes well with a green salad. Serves 3- 4

Ginger Tofu Noodles

This is one of those really tasty dishes that work well for vegetarians – and no dairy involved either.

Ingredients >   2 Tbsp rice wine >   2 tsp cornflour >   1 packet of firm tofu, cut into cubes >   175 – 200 gm egg noodles >   2 Tbsp oil (I use olive) >   1 medium onion, thinly sliced or chopped >   3 cm fresh ginger, peeled and finely diced >   5 Tbsp frozen peas >   125 gm fresh cashew nuts, dry roasted in a small frying pan and then chopped. (You can put them in a bag and bash them with a rolling pin.) Sauce >   100 ml vegetable stock >   2 Tbsp soy sauce >   1 Tbsp (about ½ lemon) freshly squeezed lemon juice >   1 Tbsp sesame oil >   2 tsp soft brown sugar

Steps 1.  Put the rice wine and cornflour into a chicken or tofu cubes to the bowl, stir well and set aside to marinate. 2.  Prepare the remaining ingredients and the sauce. 3.  Prepare the noodles, according to the instructions on the packet; drain and shake dry. 4.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok, add the onions and ginger and fry until soft and golden. 5.  If necessary, add a little bit more of oil. Add the tofu, and stir-fry until golden all around. 6.  Add the peas and fry for about 3-4 minutes, until the peas are just cooked. 7.  Add the drained noodles and the sauce, stir well and heat through thoroughly. 8.  Add the cashew nuts and stir. This has its own built-in carbohydrate. Serves 3 to 4

Mushroom Stroganoff

This dish is quick and easy and tastes delicious served with rice or pasta.

Ingredients >    1 large onion, thinly sliced >    200 ml vegetable stock >    600 gm mixed mushrooms (about 4 punnets), cut into medium-size chunks >    4 garlic cloves, crushed >    1 rounded Tbsp wholegrain mustard >    2 tsp tomato puree >    4 Tbsp soy cream or coconut cream >    Salt and freshly ground pepper >    Optional: freshly chopped parsley

Steps 1.   Put the onion in a saucepan with 100 ml of the stock. Cover and cook until the onion has softened and the liquid evaporated. This takes about 5 minutes. 2.   Add the mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper and stir. Then add the remaining stock, mustard and tomato puree. 3.   Cover the pan and cook for a 3 minutes. 4.   Remove the lid and cook rapidly until the liquid has been reduced and is syrupy. 5.   Remove from the heat and stir in the soy cream and parsley. Serve with rice or pasta rice. Serves 4

Red Bean Curry

This is easy to make, and warm and comforting to eat. 

Ingredients >   3 Tbsp olive oil >   1 large onion, finely chopped >   1 cinnamon stick >   2 dried bay leaves >   3 garlic cloves, crushed >   1 cm fresh ginger, finely chopped >   ½ tsp ground turmeric >   1 tsp ground coriander >   2 tsp ground cumin >   1 tsp garam masala >   2 dried red chillies >   250 gm frozen red kidney beans >   4 Tbsp (1 small tub) tomato puree >   Water >   Salt >   Optional: freshly chopped coriander leaves, for garnish

Steps 1.   Heat the oil in a large saucepan or frying pan. 2.   Add the onion, cinnamon, bay leaves, garlic and ginger, and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes. 3.   Stir in the turmeric, ground coriander, cumin, garam masala and chillies. 4.    Add the kidney beans, tomato puree, and enough water to make a thick sauce. 5.   Bring to the boil and cook on a low to medium heat, until the kidney beans are cooked – about 20 minutes. 6.       Remove from the heat, season well and garnish with fresh coriander. Serve with rice or chapatti bread. Serves 4