Learning to cook!

Jellybean1108

Hello!
I'm brand new to MSE, and i'm introducing myself on boards that are relevant to me.
This seems to be the board with the most cooking related posts on

I'm learning to cook (pretty much useless at the mo!) and would appriciate any thrifty vegetarian recipes

Thank you

Steve059

Hello, and welcome to the madhouse. OK, a simple, thrifty and vegetarian recipe. This one immediately springs to mind. Please accept it as my welcome gift to you.

LENTIL SOUP

Diogenes, the ancient Greek philosopher, was eating a meal of lentils. He was visited by a friend, who was a courtier in the court of the king. He said to Diogenes, "If you would learn to flatter the king, you would not have to eat lentils." Diogenes replied, "And if you would learn to eat lentils, you would not have to flatter the king."

Makes 2 x ~250ml bowls

INGREDIENTS

½ a carrot
1 tomato
1 onion
1 tablespoon of oil
125g of red or yellow split lentils
1 vegetable stock cube
500ml of water

METHOD

Cut the top off the carrot, peel it and chop it into 2cm (1 inch) pieces. Peel the tomato and chop it into 2cm (1 inch) pieces. Peel the onion and chop it into 2cm (1 inch) pieces.

Put the oil into a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the onion. Fry the onion for about 5 minutes until it is golden brown. Stir frequently to stop it sticking.

Add the carrot, lentils and tomato, stock cube and water. Stir thoroughly.

Bring to the boil for 10 minutes, then turn down the heat until it is just boiling (simmering). Continue to cook for 20 to 30 minutes until the lentils are soft. Check the liquid level from time to time and top up if it starts to dry out.

If you have a food processor, put the soup in it and blend it to the desired consistency. If you have a hand blender, put it in the soup and blend it to the desired consistency. If you don’t have a food processor or hand blender, use a potato masher, press the soup through a sieve with the back of a spoon, or leave it lumpy. If you used a food processor, rinse out the saucepan and put the soup back into the saucepan.

Put the saucepan on a low heat and reheat the soup gently.

ADDITIONS & ALTERNATIVES

Add ½ a tablespoon of lemon juice.

You can use green lentils, but they take much longer to cook.

TIPS

Lentils are a good source of protein for a balanced diet without meat.

Linda32

Hi, Welcome to OS If you have a look in the thread called April Grocery Challenge.

Don't worry about all the writing, its grown over the years Scroll down to the text in blue "Complete Cooking Index" or something along those lines. Click on there, then scroll down to Vegetarian. Its a long way down so keep scrolling.

Happy Reading Also if you are happy using Quorn then you can follow the recipes which have mince in off which there are probably thousands

hilstep2000

I do leek and potato soup all the time.
Take one onion, a couple of leeks and about a 500g of potatoes(more if you like it thicker) Wash and chop them up. Put some marge or butter in a saucepan, add the veg and cook for about five minutes till they start to get soft. Add about a litre of veg stock, (Homemade or a stock cube.) Bring to the boil, simmer till the veg is done. Season to taste. Add a splash of cream or milk. Blend till smooth. Easy!

Another really easy and tasty lunch thing is get a large portobello mushroom, grill it stalk and gill side up. Add some cherry tomatos and brie, grill till the cheese melts. If it's not enough I stick it on a piece of toast.

Jellybean1108

Thanks so much! I'm going to try the lentil soup next week and the leek and potato soup on saturday... thank you

And i'll efinately check out the april challenge! xx

EmmiH

As we're on a soup theme - you should try Curried Parsnip and Coconut Soup!

It's so simple that you don't even need a real recipe - simply fry some garlic and onion and dried chilli (you can use fresh if you prefer) with olive oil, a spoonful of curry powder and a pinch of salt (the salt helps stop the garlic and onion burning), toss in a medium sized chopped potato and 2-3 chopped parsnips and brown.
Add water (1-2 pints) and veg stock and simmer until the veg is soft.
Add a couple of ounces of desiccated coconut.
Blitz with handheld blender, season to taste (I usually add extra curry powder here) and eat!

It's really yummy and seems to impress friends for some reason!

tina_malteser

I just made a tesco value veg cup o soup 20p for 4 sachets and added some pasta spirals...

madmary_2

Jellybean, I do veg curry along the lines of a Jamie Oliver veg curry. He uses chick peas in his but when I tried it I didn't have any so I used a couple of small cubed potatoes. He also does a really easy chili which if you cook if for a bit longer than he suggests so the flavours intensify is fab.

And my recent discovery of Nigel Slater's courgette and potatoe crumble using breadcrumbs. All of these are on the internet and are fairly foolproof. The curry is done with a curry paste so you don't have to worry about spices etc although with some practice you can make your own curry paste.

I love cooking and I am always pleased that people are considering learning what is a very important skill.

Oh and an omlette has to be the easiest meal ever and the quickest. It was the first thing I ever did.

Mary

hilstep2000

Just thought I'd pop back! I have been looking at my cookery books today, and thught this would do you really well.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Really-Useful-Ultimate-Student-Cookbook/dp/174196024X/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366212814&sr=8-1-spell&keyword
I actually got mine from Ebay for 99p!
Try it, the recipes are so easy and cheap!:T