Vegetarian meal ??????

Question

I want to cook my girlfriend a nice vegetarian meal for New Years Eve , any suggestions ?, any of you got any favorites out there ?

Answer 1

Halloumi kebabs! Get halloumi cheese (this is a Cypriot cheese which is nearly always made with vegetarian rennet so great for veggies). Cut into cubes, get some cherry tomatoes, courgette (zucchini) and mushrooms. Alternate them on kebab sticks, brush them with extra virgin olive oil and either cook on the BBQ or under the grill. They are fantastic.
You can do great roasted vegetables to go with them - chunks of carrot, sweet potato, potato, parsnip. Roast in olive oil with garlic cloves and rosemary.
Finish with some organic ice cream, or frozen yoghurt, or if you want to go vegan then Tofutti.
Most of all, cook it with love!
Enjoy your evening.

Answer 2

Here is one of my fav. meals and it is super easy and pretty inexpensive. Make some good garlic bread, salads, and buy some wine to go with it...

Cheesy Pasta Bake

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 box Mori Nu tofu, extra firm
enough pasta to fill an 8x8 pan (hand full)
8 ounces of your favorite marinara
1/2 block of vegan gourmet mozzarella
spices: parsley, basil, garlic
optional: cayenne

Directions:

Cook the spaghetti halfway. You don't want it to be mushy once you bake it.

While that's cooking, drain the box of tofu and put it into a medium/small bowl. Squish with a fork into small pieces.

Add the parsley, basil and garlic (add more of the spices you like best). I mix in a lot of all three. Blend with your fork but don't squish the tofu into too tiny of pieces.

Then, grate your mozzarella. Use 1/3 to 1/2 of a block of vegan gourmet mozzarella. Put aside.

Drain pasta. Put the pasta into the pan. Add all of the tofu ricotta mix. Mix them together.

Now pour your pasta sauce on top of the pasta/ricotta mixture. Pour a little more sauce than you think, so it doesn't dry out.

Mix all three ingredients well. You can even put some of the extra ricotta on top, if you had any left over.

Once you've mixed the pasta, ricotta and sauce so that it's equally spaced in the pan, simply add the vegan gourmet mozzarella on top. Use as much as you like.

It's important to spray the top of the cheese with your Pam or other oil spray. This makes the cheese on top melt smoothly and have a golden color when it's done.

Bake on high, at least 400 degrees (even up to 500) until it bubbles. Don't be afraid to let it cook until it bubbles and starts turning brown.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 30 minutes


You could also add steamed veggies to the dish...like squash or broccoli...

Good luck and Enjoy!

Answer 3

It's vegetarian, not vegan, so I hope that's okay.

Grown up grilled cheese:

Slice a loaf of french bread on the diagonal, and make a sandwich of it with some smoked mozzarella cheese. Dip the sandwiches in a mixture of 2 eggs, and 2 tbsp of milk, French toast style, and cook them on a hot skillet until the outside is brown, and the cheese is melty. You can put tomato slices and basil leaves in them if you like.

I like to serve them with these, a cold tomato soup and cucumber salad.

Cold tomato soup:
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes.
1 c. yogurt or sour cream (either works, really)
drizzle of olive oil
handful of fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste.

Whir it all up in a blender, and chill it.

Cucumber salad:
2 to 3 thinly sliced cucumbers
1/4 c. white or rice vinegar
1/4 c. honey
2 tsp dried dill
salt and pepper.

Toss and chill.

Very very nice with an Italian Pinot Grigio.

Answer 4

My personal favourite is (I gave the recipes to help you)

Veggie Burgers

3 Tbsp. olive oil
3/4 cup fresh corn kernels or frozen, thawed
6 mushrooms, finely chopped
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. cumin
Dash cayenne pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 small potato, peeled and grated
1/4 cup silken tofu, blended until smooth and liquidy
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the corn, mushrooms, scallions, and bell pepper. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and cayenne and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir in the spinach. Add the carrot and potato and stir to combine. Add the tofu and season with salt and pepper. Stir in enough bread crumbs so that the mixture holds together.
• Shape the mixture into 6 burgers and place on a plate. Chill for 1 hour.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a nonstick skillet and cook the veggie burgers until golden on each side.

Makes 6 burgers

Plus this sauce makes it even nicer
Zesty ranch dressing is the perfect condiment for veggies, “burgers,” “wings,” and more!
2½ containers Sour Supreme, Guacamole Style vegan sour cream
1½ cups vegan mayonnaise
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. minced fresh garlic
Dash pepper
• Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and serve.

Makes 5 cups

DONT FORGET as its new years eve follow the spanish tradition. Eat a grape at every chime of the clock. They make good snacks to nibble on throughout the evening anyway.

Answer 5

You said vegetarian, and not vegan, right? So I will assume she will eat dairy? My daughter is vegetarian too. I recently made her cheese tortellini with a creamy pesto sauce and she loved it. It is very easy. Buy frozen cheese tortellini (in the freezer section of your grocery store. You can substitute cheese raveoli if you want). Buy alfredo sauce and pesto sauce (the kind you find in the refriderated deli section of the store tastes better. Buitoni is one brand, and I think Contadina is another fresh brand) Cook the tortellini according to directions. In a small saucepan or microwave safe bowl mix 2 parts alfredo sauce to 1 part pesto sauce. Heat on very low until heated through. Be careful not to let it boil. Once tortellini is cooked, drain thoroughly and toss enough of the sauce to coat it. Sprinkle with some fresh parmesan cheese and serve. It goes well with a green salad (you can buy a bag-o-salad in the produce section to make it easier) and garlic bread (this you can get predone in the bakery or freezer section). Hope this helps!

Answer 6

Here are two of my favorites, but I'm assuming she does consume dairy products:
Angel hair pasta with ricotta:
Buy the fresh angel hair from the refrigerated section.
Cook 2-3 minutes. Drain and pour in a casserole dish.
Drop teaspoons of ricotta cheese on top (use quite a bit, maybe
a cup altogether). Pour marinara sauce over it, then put mozzarella cheese on top. Bake about 30 minutes or until top is bubbly. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on before serving.

Bean enchiladas--easy and delicious
Mix one can each of vegetarian refried beans, black beans, pinto beans and kidney beans with 16 ounces shredded colby jack cheese, half cup diced green chiles, cup enchilada sauce.
Put about a half to one cup of mixture into a flour tortilla. Roll up. Cover enchiladas with more sauce and cheese and bake until melty and slightly browned. Then top with:
olives, chopped red cabbage, guacamole, diced tomatoes, salsa, and sour cream.

Answer 7

I would be amazed if she did not like curry. Its one of my staples. The one my girlfriend loves and she's not even a vegetarian is Madhur Jaffery's (the curry queen) mushroom and potato in red sauce. I add carrots as well and i can tell you it's might fine any time of the year. Here we go, have you got a pen or printer at the ready!!??


Mushrooms and potatoes, cooked with garlic and ginger -
Rasedar Khumbi aloo

2-3 reaonably large potatoes boiled. (she recommends in the skin, but it does not really matter)
1 carot boiled (my addition)
A large handfull of mushrooms - button are good
2.5cm square of ginger - more the merrier i reckon
6 large cloves of garlic - you can go easy or OTT, as you please.
8fl oz or water
4tbls of veg oil
salt to hand
1/3 tsp turmeric
3 whole cardamom pods (green or black can't taste the difference myself)
1 or 2 tins of tomatoes (if its just for 2 people then 1 is more than sufficent)
1 tsp of Cumin ground
1 tsp of whole cumin seeds
1/2 tsp of corriander seeds ground - ( I like a bit more)
1/4 tsp of Garam Masala
1/4 tsp of Cayenne pepper
Chopped coriander - if you have some about.

While you are waiting for the pototes and carrots to cook start the prep for the sauce.
1. peel the garlic and cut/grate to ginger. (if you have a hand blender then not to fine - if not then definitly grate the ginger and fine chop the garlic)
2. Mix the ginger and garlic with enough water to make a fine paste - normally about 1-2tbl spoons.
3. Add your ground cumin and ground corriander
4. Add your tinned tomatoes. (if you have a blender then you can whizz this mix up, but it does'nt really matter)
sauce is almost done now.

So you have cooked the potaotes and carrot.
5. Chop them so the are about the same size as your mushrooms.
6. Sprinkle about 1/8th of your turmeric and 1/4 of your salt over the potatoes and carrots.
7. place in a frying pan in the medium hot oil and fry till they brown.
8. Remove with slotted spoon leaving as much of the oil in the pan as you can.
9. Now put the Cumin seeds and Cardamom pods in the same hot oil as you fried the potaotes - don't worry about any black bits left from the potatoes it really adds to the whole taste.
10. 2-3 seconds latter they should start to pop and smell a bit, Its now time to add the Garlic and ginger paste, the tomatoes and the spices - corriander ground and the cumin ground ( the sauce from the first part)
11. about 5-8 mins the sauce will thicken and the oil will start to separate and come the the sides or top of the frying pan.
12. Add the rest of the Turmeric, the cayenne and stir a couple of times.
13. now add the mushrooms and 8fl oz of water and about1/2 tsp of salt. ( i rinse my blender and the tins of tomatoes to get all the taste and flavours and pour this in)
14. Stir to mix and and bring to a simmer on a low heat now cover for about 5 mins (cover with lid if you have one but foil is good to)
15. remove the lid and turn the heat up a touch. now cook till the water mixes in and the sauce turns thick.
16. just before you serve add the Garam Masala and chopped corriander and mix.

Just plain old rice is good for this. The sauce has plenty of taste, not hot chilli hot but flavour and spice.

For the rice, just double the quantity of rice with water - For 2 people i reckon just under a full mug of rice. Mark where the rice comes up to, and then just use 2 mugs ( to the same level) of water.
Bring to the boil and then cover, turn the heat down as low as you can go for 20 mins.
After the 20 mins, take the lid off, fluff the rice with a fork then cover with a clean tea towel for 5 mins. Serve. The perfect rice.

I appreciate its to late for new years eve, but its a winner every time i cook this one.

Happy new year

Answer 8

Don't believe what Foxhunter_Guy says. You DON'T need any animal products in your diet to make it healthy.

Try the BBC & Vegetarian Society websites for recipes. They both have categories for celebration meals as well.

Answer 9

Try this great salad. Use romaine lettuce, always rinse your lettuce. Put lettuce in salad spinner to dry or lay on paper towels. (A tip for crispy lettuce is to put lettuce in a big bowl or other container and fill with ice cubes.) Slice up an orange or buy pre-sliced mandarin slices. Lay on top of lettuce, Crumble feta cheese on top, sprinkle walnuts all around and drizzle a little balsamic vinegar. Yummy!

Answer 10

I am not a vegetarian but I do love vegetarian food.

For recipes I use BBC Food. I attach a link with various recipes for all occassions from various chefs.

Hope you find it useful.