Vegetarian quick questions thread

[zippychick]

Due to the new "Complete Vegetarian Collection" being created, it made sense to have a Vegetarian quick questions thread.

So if you need help with substituting an ingredient/ replacing meat/ recipe help/ anything vegetarian related, then here's the place to ask.

Thanks

Zippy

[zippychick]

Ok, I must admit to being inspired at the amount of yummy veggie meals! So I am going to make something for laters dinner.

Wanted to see if anyone had a sugestion. I have frozen onions, pepper,s weetcorn and peas. I have 2 tins of chickpeas,2 tins toms, one tin mixed bean salad, one tin kidney beans, loads of herbs and spices , garlic,cous cous, pasta, spaghetti, cheddar, frozen grated mozerella, frozen pizza - or something - dough,brown rice, baked beans,lentils, a jar of malaysian rendang (lloyd G, was 40p ! Never tasted before ) , lemon juice, mayo, 3 types of mustard, cider, frozen roast pots, frozen pot wedges, white crusty bread, fresh italian salad leaves, one fresh tomato and various nuts and seeds, tahini and box of peas. I have only beef stock cubes (ha ha, is ther irony there, bu am trying to avoid going to the shop as i will spend on things i dont need)

SO! Has anyone any genius yum scrum meal I can come up with? Happy to freezer extra portions....

[CCP]

I do a sort of bean and veg stew in the winter - it's very warming and great for using up bits and pieces of vegetables! It's basically onions and other veg (peppers and sweetcorn from your list, maybe), some garlic and chilli flakes, a tin of beans, a tin of tomatoes and some seasoning, all simmered together in the oven for a couple of hours. It's lovely with a bit of crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

The other one that immediately occurs from your list is stromboli - sort of a pizza swiss roll - make a tomato and onion sauce, spread it over the rolled out pizza dough, sprinkle over the grated mozzarella, then roll it up and bake in the oven until golden. It's still basically pizza, of course, but just a slightly different way of doing it!

[zippychick]

Thanks CCP!

Oh wow ! That sounds lovely- the pizza thing. I also have some pizza base sauce frozen too - amongst a million other things of course!

The first sounds lovely too - if I chuck a tin of chickpeas in, that would stretch it too , wouldnt it? how does that sound? If I do this, i might add stock to some left over and blend it into soup - depending if the taste is good for soup....

I would tend to cook in the pot more - any difference to oven? I don't have a lidded casserole dish .

[CCP]

I think chickpeas would work - I tend to just use whatever tins of beans are in the cupboard, to be honest! Turning some into soup sounds like a good idea, too - think I'll try that next time I make this.

I can't see any reason why you couldn't cook it in a pot rather than in the oven. I tend to use the oven just to keep the hob clear (I don't have a great deal of work surface space in my kitchen so the hob tends to double as storage space for saucepans) - as long as you keep the heat low and stir occasionally I'm sure it would cook away quite happily in a pot.

[zippychick]

Great! I'm going to do it!

Well, after watching EG, I am trying to transform things, rather than just eat more portions of the same thing. Going to use one tin baked beans, one tin chick peas, and one tin toms. Thanks great help

Will let you know how it goes !

[zippychick]

Just wanted to report on my veggie dish!

Fried onion and garlic with some chilli flakes, then tipped in handful of frozen peppers, and frozen peas, tin value beans, tin chickpeas, and tin value toms. Sprinkled on some medium strength curry powder , brought to the boil , then a very low simmer.

The first half hour, it tastes pretty shocking , but once the flavours all developed it was gorgeous! I had it last night with a sprinking of cheese (then popped into microwave to melt cheese), 2 pieces of crusty bread.

it was gorgeous! very hearty and the bread was perfect for mopping it up. Very filling and i didn't "miss" meat. Same for dinner tonight, then going to add a small bit of stock to make the last smaller portion into soup and whizz half of it up to thicken.

Worked out roughly £1.30 ish including sprinkling of herbs etc and frozen veg . So that's 3 meals ! Bargain. Say maybe £1.50 including the stock cube so 50 p per portion.

Thanks CCP! I took a pic to post up later - will see how it looks on computer!

[CCP]

Sounds delicious - I'm glad I've just had lunch or you'd be making me feel hungry!

[flutterbyuk25]

Here's one for you to do in future as you'll need to buy some tofu (I use the Cauldron one).

Ingredients:

Tofu, tin tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, cheese (cheddar or other), tomato puree, soy sauce.

Method:

1. Drain tofu and squeeze out excess liquid (I wrap in tea towel and put under heavy pan). Slice in half, and then each half into 2 or 3 pieces. Sprinkle with soy sauce. Fry in pan or grill for few minutes.

2. Meanwhile fry onion and garlic in little olive oil, when soft add tin toms, herbs and tom puree. Cook til it becomes thick.

3. When tofu has cooled so you can handle it, slice a pocket in the each piece and fill with cheese.

4. Place tofu in ovenproof dish and cover with the tomato sauce.

5. Cook in oven for around 20mins on highish temperature (around 200C)

6. Serve with whatever you fancy. I made it yesterday and had roast pots with rosemary and cauliflower.

I find it lasts for few days in fridge so you can save a portion for later in week, but tofu doesn't freeze great so I wouldn't freeze it.

Enjoy!

x

[zippychick]

Thanks Flutterby/ I must admit i am scared of tofu........ he he

If you would like to name your dish, I can add it to the list of Veggie recipes

Tomato baked tofu? or something?

[flutterbyuk25]

Originally Posted by zippychick

Thanks Flutterby/ I must admit i am scared of tofu........ he he

If you would like to name your dish, I can add it to the list of Veggie recipes

Tomato baked tofu? or something?

Ummm we just called it stuffed tofu at home!

There's nothing to be scared with it, can't really go wrong with tofu. Then again I'm a tad scared of Quorn (I can eat the sausages and mince that's it). I grew up with tofu so stick to that.

x

[zippychick]

He he! I have never tasted tofu, hence my fear. I have heard mixed reports- so possibly have preconceptions!

I have added Stromboli, Bean and veg stew, and stuffed tofu to the veggie index.

Going to subscribe to this thread, so I can see when updated - and keep adding regular recipes!

[Nottoobadyet]

No, really. What does bacon taste like?

So heres the thing - I'm a vegetarian. I was raised in a vegetarian house and have stuck with it as an adult. Now, I'm a pretty good cook and have kept my house well fed. But how do I navigate bacon recipes? for example, the mac and cheese here looks lush:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...ooking-recipes

But how on earth do I do it without the bacon? I imagine that it tastes quite strong and salty, so it gives the dish most of its flavour, so would it be bland without? And a quorn substitute (which I wouldn't usually use anyway) certainly isnt going to melt its fat into the pan for me to keep cooking in!

So ladies, what do I do? Sprinkle in a veg oxo cube? Add some salt? Gift me with your wisdom!

[RichyRich]

Maybe you could use some smoked cheese of some description?

[annie-c]

I can't really describe the taste of bacon to you but, as someone who enjoys both meat and veggie dishes I can tell you that those ingredients will make for a lovely meal with or without the bacon. There is plenty of oil/butter so you won't need the bacon fat (which G recommends to drain off anyway) and he mentions seasoning (ie salt and pepper) which you should add to your own taste anyway. Personally I would not change the cheese for smoked cheese, parmesan has its own intense flavour. And certainly don't add an oxo cube!

Just cook it and enjoy!

(and don't let the lovely Gordon catch you asking only 'ladies' to better his recipe....)

[JulieGeorgiana]

I second that, you need strong flavours... I started buying fresh parmasan and adding it to things... so sometimes I use strong cheese and parmasan....! So put your cheese in the sauce... and parmasan and breadcrumbs as a nice crunchy top!!

Also... Fake bacon... it's quite nice... Quorn is disgusting!

[Sambucus Nigra]

Use Halloumi instead - slice it and fry it in a pan sprayed with oil, leave it to cool then chop up and use instead of bacon.

From a veggie of 26 years; Halliumi is salty enough and of a good texture to replace bacon....and if you buy Pittas Halloumi it is veggie.

Also nice in a butty with ketchup. Yum.

[Nottoobadyet]

oh fantastic, I love Halloumi! And you can get veggie Halloumi, which is much easier than finding veggie parmesean.

Thanks everyone for the responses so far, I knew this was the place to come!

[Nottoobadyet]

Fayhere - thanks, that sounds delish. Do you just get the tofu blocks, chop them thin and leave them to soak in regular soy sauce before cooking? That sounds very doable.

[Fruball]

You can buy imitations of smoked bacon... Have you tried these?

Otherwise, I would add quorn with smoked paprika for the closed flavour

(i was a vegetarian for a number of years so I know that bacon is bacon! You can't replicate it and bacon is what most converts convert back to as there is nothing like it!!!)