A few vegetarian suggestions, all of them are pretty simple as they involve sticking everything in 1 pan and cooking it! In fact, all of them are vegan, no animal products at all, don’t let that put you off though.
Bean Chilli - as if you were making Chilli con carne, but with more beans and no meat, here’s my recipe:
1 tin kidney beans
1 tin canellini beans
1 tin borlotti beans
1 tin black eye beans
1 tin black beans (the caribbean kind, not the chinese kind!)
1lb tomatoes, chopped
2 sweet onions, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 jalapeno chillis (or more or less for ± spicy)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tsp cumin seeds
3 tsp cinnamon powder
3 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
Olive oil
Put the oil in a big pot, fry the garlic, onion and cumin until brown, add the other spices, add the pepper, fry a little more, add the other ingredients, cover and simmer for 20 mins, serve with rice or tortillas. Simple.
Beetroot soup - a good thick soup for autumn/winter:
1/2lb beets, diced
1/2lb potatoes, diced, skins left on
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp basil
2 tsp white pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 veg stock cube
Olive oil
Water
Fry the tomatoes, basil, garlic and pepper in olive oil for a few minutes (you can stop there and you’ve got a good sauce for pasta). Add the potatoes, beets and paprika and mix well, leave to shallow fry for a minute or so, then add 2 pints boiling water and the stock cube, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, then have at it with a potato masher (leaves odd chunks). Serve with crusty bread.
Mango curry -
2 unripe mangos (firm and green)
2 sweet onions
1 tsp creamed coconut/ 1/2 tin coconut milk
2 cloves garlic
2 red chillis (again, add or take away to taste)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cumin seed
2 tsp corriander seed
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
3 cardamoms, crushed
some curry leaves
Sesame oil
In a frying pan, fry the onions and garlic in the oil until browned, add the spices, fry until the seeds begin to give off their aroma, then add the mango, fry for a few more minutes, then add the coconut milk or creamed coconut +1 cup water, continue to cook until the sauce becomes thick and sticky. Serve with naan bread or rice.
Vegetable stir-fry -
leaves of 2 pak choi or some spinach
1/2lb good mushrooms (not button mushrooms), sliced
1 bunch spring onions, sliced
2 chillis (again more or less as you like it)
1 small stem ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic
1 star anise
1 tsp Chinese five-spice (optional)
2 tbsp soy sauce
Sesame oil
Noodles
In a wok or large frying pan, on a very high heat add the garlic and star anise to the oil and heat until garlic starts to brown, add spring onions and mushrooms, fry for a minute or two, add soy sauce, other spices and pak choi, fry until the leaves just begin to wilt, take off the heat immediately and serve over noodles, takes 5 minutes tops to cook. Alternatively, when you add the pak choi, add the noodles and 1/2 pint water to the stir-fry and serve as a noodle-soup. You can also add tofu, which can be put in at the same time as the mushrooms, or baby corn, water chesnuts, bamboo shoots, really any vegetable that can be cut up fine and fried quickly. Pretty versatile.
In summary, my top tip for meatless cooking, invest in a decent spice-rack. My second top tip, go to the ethnic foods section of your supermarket, you’ll often find the same spices you’d find elsewhere in the same supermarket, but at a fraction of the cost.
Of course, any more ideas for good healthy meals are always welcome so keep ‘em comin’…