Tasty Veggie Options (Store bought) Recommendations

JIL

I love the Richmond sausages.
The sage and onion slice from morrisons.
Love the tivalli hot dog sausages but cant find them at the moment.
Dont mind the quorn range.
I tend to make a lot of my own vege stuff, I love pasta with roasted veg and feta and olives, that's a favourite. I make a nut roast with various veg, cheese and breadcrumbs. I usually make 16 portions and freeze it.
I love halloumi, battered and fried as a treat. Love it as a burger with a big mushroom.
My son makes lots of his own vege food, he makes fake bacon, using sliced baked aubergine with smoked paprika. It is actually quite  nice.

I remember the time I was out with friends having a meal, I asked if the establishment did vegetarian food, they said they did, I could have an apple or an orange. How times have changed.

goldfinches

Forgot to add that at this time of the year there are often seasonal snack/party foods available that you can't get during the rest of the year and most of the nice ones are suitable for freezing so I do tend to stock up on those too. I really like the stuffed jalapeno peppers and camembert with cranberry sauce filo parcels are often yummy and some of the spring rolls are nice too. That sort of thing varies each year for each supermarket so well worth looking at the range online first.
@JIL - like you I have a bitter memory of being in a group at a restaurant and being given plain rice with mixed dried herbs stirred into it as a main course. Nowadays you can actually return to a restaurant and have the option of a different dish!

Proofread100

Another vote here for the Richmond sausages. I found that they now also do burgers. Different from the sausages in that you do know they are veggie burgers (with the sausages they don't taste veggie) but by far the best veggie burgers I have eaten. 

GaleSF63

JIL said:

I remember the time I was out with friends having a meal, I asked if the establishment did vegetarian food, they said they did, I could have an apple or an orange. How times have changed.

For a long time Mushroom Risotto seemed to be the standard "vegetarian option". (I hate that overused phrase).

There are quite a number of things that used to be out of bounds which have now become the norm, cheese being a prime example. It used to be very limited because it normally had rennet in it, but now it's probably more difficult to find one unsuitable for vegetarians, than ok. 

And being seasonal, the same thing has happened to mince pies and mincemeat; most of which no longer contain beef suet. 

It's surprising how little publicity producers have given to these changes. Old favourites - keep your eye on them and maybe you'll get a pleasant surprise sometimes. 
 
I'm not a vegetarian; I just like lots of different foods (and it shows!)

goldfinches

GaleSF63 said:

JIL said:

I remember the time I was out with friends having a meal, I asked if the establishment did vegetarian food, they said they did, I could have an apple or an orange. How times have changed.

For a long time Mushroom Risotto seemed to be the standard "vegetarian option". (I hate that overused phrase).

There are quite a number of things that used to be out of bounds which have now become the norm, cheese being a prime example. It used to be very limited because it normally had rennet in it, but now it's probably more difficult to find one unsuitable for vegetarians, than ok. 

And being seasonal, the same thing has happened to mince pies and mincemeat; most of which no longer contain beef suet. 

It's surprising how little publicity producers have given to these changes. Old favourites - keep your eye on them and maybe you'll get a pleasant surprise sometimes. 
 
I'm not a vegetarian; I just like lots of different foods (and it shows!)

I have an idea that was the "standard option" because Brake Bros. offered it at a very reasonable price to restauranteurs/gastro pubs still it was better than that vegetable lasagne that was mostly white sauce and carrots!
Still those sorts of options made me a very adventurous diner out and I have had some truly epic meals in Brick Lane and there was a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant in Covent Garden whose sticky rice still lives in my memory and the durian and papaya pudding was incredible. 

JIL

Agree completely, although I thought the brake brothers vege sausage rolls were ahead of their time. The number of functions I have been to and the main course made no sense at all. Weddings, I remember everyone sitting down to a roast dinner and me being brought a Linda McCartney lasagne on more than one occasion. I stopped mentioning I was vegetarian in the end and just used to give my meat to my husband and eat the veg.
One year I had my inlaws round for dinner, with the younger brother in law. I was doing beef, but bil wasnt eating beef at the time so much fuss was made about an alternative meat and gravy. I did chicken. A few weeks later we went to the inlaws house where i sat down to a plate of veg, no roast potatoes as they were cooked around the meat and gravy made from some granules i brought with me. Turned into a mini rant, apologies.

Really looking forward to trying the Richmond burgers.  I had two Richmond sausages in my casserole at teatime today and wished I had done extra. Definitely going to try them as scotch eggs at Christmas.

baggins11

We usually have the tesco plant chef sausages but I also like the Richmond ones. I moaned at my OH when he came home with them as I associate Richmond with cheap sausages! I was pleasantly surprised and had to eat my words.

For anyone who wants a meaty tasting burger iceland no bull are incredible. They really do taste like chargrilled burgers especially if you add some burger relish or sauce on. They are not cheap but sometimes on offer.

goldfinches

I've serendipitously happened across the Richmond sausages today as a new stock item in my local T*sco Express so I bought them. Has anyone used them to make sausage rolls and/or toad in the hole? If I make sausage rolls should I fry the sausages first to brown them or just pop them straight in the oven when I've wrapped them in the pastry? Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I might use as relish with them, I've got dijon mustard and various chutneys and chilli sauces and pastes and so on or I could make Delia's onion, ginger and thyme gravy for instance.

JIL

I have used vegetarian Richmond sausages to make toad in the hole. I cut mine into 3 and put them in with the blob of solid crisp and dry which I use for my Yorkshire pudding. That's as much pre cooking as they got. Until the fat was hot enough for the batter.
For my sausage rolls, I like to put a little whole grain mustard on the insides of the pastry, no pre cooking.  For a relish anything tomato or red onion base would work well. 
I had two in a scottish roll at the weekend with a hash brown and fried onion, absolutely gorgeous, but that was after a 4 mile walk so was ravenous.
I havent tried this yet but I intend to do scotch eggs. Theres a recipe on the quorn site I've tried and it involved making some fresh breadcrumbs and then blitzing down the sausages and using an egg to bind, which made a very acceptable vege sausage meat.
Another favourite of mine is a potato salad with chopped up cooked vege sausages, gherkin, spring onion or chives and a blob of mayo.
I now have 6 boxes of the vege Richmond sausages in the freezer.  They are my all time favourites, I'm yet to talk to a vegetarian who doesn't like them. I hope you like them.

Bettie

Not keen on Richmond sausages but Ive never liked the smell or taste of sausages anyway. I prefer Quorn. sausages,
My freezer is well packed  with the Aldi vegan plant range.