Meals for a meatless Monday - recipes

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Why not try some delicious veggie dishes that will tempt even the most avid meat eater to giving up meat once a week?

CARROT, POTATO AND FETA FRITTERS

Makes about 12

2 large potatoes, peeled and grated

4 carrots, peeled and grated

2 eggs, beaten

250ml flour

5ml baking powder

125g feta cheese, crumbled

45ml chopped chives

salt and pepper

olive oil for frying

Spinach cream

125ml sour cream

60g baby spinach leaves

1 clove of garlic

15ml lemon juice

salt and pepper

Put potatoes in a sieve and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Put them in a bowl and add carrots. Toss to combine.

Add the eggs and mix well. Stir in the flour and baking powder and mix. Add the feta, chives and seasoning.

Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan, drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the pan and cook over a medium heat until golden on one side.

Turn over and cook on the other side.

Drain on paper towel. Serve warm with spinach cream.

SPINACH CREAM: Combine the ingredients in the bowl of a blender or processor and blend until smooth.

BARLEY WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES

Serves 4-6

500ml pearl barley

60ml chopped parsley

60ml chopped mint

3-4 baby marrows, sliced

2 red onions, cut into thin wedges

500g butternut, cubed

1 large brinjal, diced

5ml ground cinnamon

5ml ground cumin

salt and pepper

45ml olive oil

80ml dried cranberries or raisins

60ml pumpkin seeds, toasted

60ml plain yoghurt

Dressing

80ml olive oil

30ml lemon juice

5ml crushed garlic

5ml Dijon mustard

10ml honey

salt and pepper

Cook the barley in salted water until tender. Drain in a colander. When cool, stir in the herbs and dressing.

Combine the marrows, onion, butternut and brinjals. Sprinkle over the spices and seasoning. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat with the oil and spices.

Place on a baking tray and cook at 180°C for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Remove from the oven and toss through the cranberries.

Put the barley on a serving plate and top with the roasted vegetables. Scatter over the pumpkin seeds and drizzle with yoghurt.

DRESSING: Combine all the ingredients and mix well.

CHICKPEA AND SPINACH CURRY

Serves 4

15ml oil

1 onion, chopped

15ml grated ginger

10ml chopped garlic

15ml yellow mustard seeds

15-30ml curry powder

400g can of coconut milk

2x400g cans of chickpeas

250g cherry tomatoes

90g baby spinach

salt and pepper

45ml chopped coriander

Heat the oil in a pot and fry the onion until soft. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a minute. Add the mustard seeds and curry powder and cook for a minute.

Stir in the coconut milk and chickpeas and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted. Season to taste and stir in the coriander.

Serve with rice or naan bread.

FOOD – VEGETARIAN HOME COOKING

Author: Mary McCartney

Publisher: Random House Struik

Price: R330

It was while helping to promote the Meat Free Monday project that Mary McCartney got the idea to write a vegetarian cookbook. Having grown up in a vegetarian home with her famous parents, Paul and Linda McCartney, Mary has continued the same vegetarian lifestyle in her own home.

A photographer by profession, she prepared and photographed all the recipes in the book. As well as being a collection of recipes from her mother, the book shares her memories about her mother and what many of the dishes meant to her and her siblings while growing up.

There are six recipe sections: breakfast and brunch, snacks and sandwiches, soups, salads and starters, mains, basics and sides and everyone’s favourite desserts and baking.

The book is filled with easy recipes that will appeal to meat eaters wanting to include more vegetable meals in their diet and give dedicated vegetarians some new ideas for simple, delicious meals.

I tested two recipes from the book and found them to be very tasty.

CHEESE AND AUBERGINE OVEN BAKE

Serves 4

60ml light olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

400g can of tomatoes

15ml tomato paste

15ml dried mixed herbs

salt and pepper to taste

15ml soy sauce

2 medium brinjals, sliced widthwise into 1cm thick slices

100g soft goat’s cheese or chopped mozzarella

120g goat’s cheddar or mature cheddar, grated

a handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.

Heat 30ml of the olive oil in a pot and gently sauté the onions until soft. Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs and seasoning and simmer gently, stirring often until it thickens. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Combine the remaining olive oil and soy sauce and brush both sides of each brinjal slice. Cook in batches for 4-5 minutes until golden brown.

Spread a third of the tomato sauce over the base of a medium baking dish. Top with a layer of cooked brinjal slices and scatter over some of the goat’s cheese. Continue layering, ending with a layer of tomato sauce. Scatter over the grated cheese and basil leaves. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve warm.

WINTER WARMER HOTPOT

Serves 4

3 large potatoes, thinly sliced

3 onions, thinly sliced widthwise

2 medium carrots, cut into cubes

250g green beans, trimmed and chopped

400g can of butter beans

3 vegetarian sausages, cooked and chopped into bite-size pieces

30ml chopped fresh parsley

800ml vegetable stock

15ml cornflour

30 light olive oil for drizzling

black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Take half the potatoes and arrange them in the bottom of a casserole dish. Add a layer of onion slices. Scatter over the carrots, then green beans, butter beans and sausage pieces. Sprinkle with herbs and season. Top with the remaining potatoes.

Carefully pour in the stock. Drizzle with olive oil and black pepper. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for an hour and 45 minutes.

Remove the foil and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes or until potatoes are golden and crispy.

* When preparing the dish, I used the whole packet of vegetarian sausages and it gave the dish a more meaty flavour. - The Star

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