Need a starter recipe. Has to be something different and easy on time.Vegetarian?

This can have a sort of wow factor. Not too many ingredients. Won't take hours of preparation. Cold or hot. To serve 5 peopleNeed a starter recipe. Has to be something different and easy on time.Vegetarian?
Hummous and home made flatbread.



Buy 2 tins of chick peas, and liquidize them with a good splash of lemon juice, black pepper and garlic to taste - that's your hummous (addwater to get to an acceptible consistancy). Cover and chill.



Then, in a bowl, mix 8oz of self-raising flour, with 5 fl.oz of natural yoghurt. Can add flavourings as well (black pepper, cayenne pepper, black mustard seeds). Mix until you get a fairly wet dough. Take small handfuls, squash into flatbread shapes, and grill for a couple of minutes each side. Serve immediately.



OR



Very Quick Pea and Mint Soup



(This might require you to be in the UK! Trust me - this tastes really classy)



Liquidise the following:

2 tins of mushy peas

Mint Sauce to taste

Enough vegetable stock to get a good consistency



Can be served hot or cold. Garnish with some or all of single cream, chopped chives, green pesto, ice cubes (if cold ;-} ).
Is cheese allowed?Need a starter recipe. Has to be something different and easy on time.Vegetarian?
A carrot, chopped into five pieces. No?
Pasta salad... mmmmmm then you can put what u like in it and add a nice sauce (pasta tho of course) you can eat it hot straight away or cold the next day if you keep it in the fridge. i prefure it hot tho with all the chease melting on the pasta mmmmmmm drool drool.Need a starter recipe. Has to be something different and easy on time.Vegetarian?
Leek soup .......Delicious
Large flat mushroom, take out stalk and chop. Mix with your favourite cheese, splash with olive oil , place in oven [garlic bits if you fancy] oven til ready.
how about a cous cous salad with char grilled Mediterranean veg on top?
Thai Satay with Peanut Sauce



Ingredients:

4 Garden Burgers庐 (or any brand veggie burger)



Marinade:

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. soy sauce

2 cloves chopped fresh garlic (or 3 T. garlic powder)

4 T minced fresh onion (or 2 T. onion powder)



Sauce:

1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk

1 c. creamy peanut butter

1/2 c. soy sauce

3 T. garlic powder

1 T. ground cayenne pepper

1 t. ground lemon grass



Directions:

1) To prepare satay, place one-fourth of the marinade ingredients into each of four

sandwich-size Ziplock bags; shake to blend. Then, place one thawed Garden Burger

into each bag and turn gently to coat with the marinade paste. Let sit for about 15

or 20 minutes, while the broiler preheats.

2) Cut each burger into four strips and place strips on a broiler-safe cookie sheet;

broil for about five or six minutes total, turning once. Serve with a bowl of sauce on the side

3) To prepare sauce, combine all ingredients in a medium non-stick skillet or

shallow pan; stir well (a whisk is usually helpful). Bring to a boil, stir well, and

pour into a serving bowl. Best if served at room temperature, though some prefer

it chilled (nice contrast with the spicy-sweet tanginess of the sauce). Makes four

generous appetizer servings
Unbeef or Unchicken gluten/ seitan steaks



You can buy pre-made seitan in flavors at some natural foods stores; however, for convenience and economy just make your own. It's relatively simple (don't let the spices and herbs fool you) and the finished steaks freeze very well for future use, so make lots!



Unbeefy steaks



Brown boiling broth

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 T vinegar

1/3 cup maple syrup, unrefined brown sugar or molasses

1/4 tsp asfoetida (the Hindi substitute for 2 c onion and 2 cloves garlic)

2 cups chopped celery leaves, or mixed celery, parsley, cabbage and beet

8 cups water

1 tbsp dried sage

1 tsp cayenne pepper or dried ginger

2 inch piece of kombu





Basic gluten mixture



1 cup water or a drop more (non-vegans can use milk for better protein combining)

1 tsp tamari or soy sauce

2-3 tbsp lentil, chickpea or other bean flour or flaxseed or sesame seed meal (No bean flour? You can soak the water and a few tablespoons dried beans, let it sit overnight and whiz it in the blender)

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tbsp dried mushroom powder, or to taste

1 cup vital gluten flour



Preparation



Combine broth ingredients in a very large soup pot. The seitan is going to expand - x2 or 3- when cooking so you'll want lots of room for it. Bring the broth to a rolling boil, cover and simmer at an easy boil.



While broth is heating, make the gluten mixture. Place the water in a bowl and sprinkle the vital gluten flour over it. With a fork or with your hands, quickly mix the two together until it forms a very rubbery mass. Knead it for 1 or 2 minutes, then break it into 3 or 4 chunks. Squeeze each chunk over the sink to get out excess water, then set aside. When most of the excess water has been squeezed out, knead and press the chunks back together.



Form it into a log-shape, about five or six inches long and two or three inches across. Slice this into 10-12 pieces, and press and flatten each piece to about 1/4 inch thick. May be cooked right away, but for best texture, let rest about 35 minutes.



Drop these "steaks" into the boiling broth one at a time, stir, cover and reduce the heat to medium-low.



Simmer small pieces covered for about 35 minutes, stirring at the beginning to prevent sticking to the bottom, then stirring occasionally. A large single piece might make 2- 3 hours. If you take the lid off and all these huge things pop up at you...it's supposed to do that.



When they are finished cooking, drain. Reserve broth to cook additional cutlets. Save and refrigerate (10 days)or freeze (3 months)the broth for future gravies or the next batch of steaks.



You can now use the seitan "steaks" in any recipe you like, or you can let them cool and freeze them for future use. To freeze them, wrap each steak first in waxed paper, then in plastic freezer bags.



Unchicken seitan



Follow the procedure as above, but omit mushroom powder and tamari and substitute these ingredients for the broth instead:



Golden unchicken simmering broth



8 cups water

4 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

1 tsp sea salt or vegetarian chicken broth cubes

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp sage

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp tarragon

1/4 tsp rosemary

1 tsp tumeric

2 tbsp sesame or vegetable oil



Improving Gluten Texture

Hints for a firmer texture more like chicken breast



if you make the gluten from scratch, do the last mixing wash in cold water

you have to really knead it/ stretch it (once you have reformed the logs) into layers and fold, knead, stretch and fold, until it is dryer and firm. If it gets resistant, you just let it rest till the gluten relaxes, about 10-30 minutes, then continue. Have you ever made filo dough or puff pastry? It is the same sort of process.

start the cutlets cooking in cold, not hot/warm broth (preboil and cool the broth). Time from when it begins to simmer.

cook at a low simmer, not a boil to avoid puffing it so much.

sauteing the cutlets in vegetable oil BEFORE you simmer them gives a tighter, firmer texture.

baking the cutlets in a breading AFTER they are simmered, also gives a drier texture, but it doesn't tighten the grain as much as the sauteing before.

try using half soymilk, half water for the liquid.

add a little oil as part of the mixing liquid

include up to a couple of tablespoons whole wheat, millet, or teff flour, or glutinous/sticky rice flour in each cup of the vital wheat gluten.

Alternative cooking methods



Cooking gluten steaks covered in the broth in a crockpot on high for about six hours, covered in broth in the oven at 325 for about 4 hours, or steaming for about an hour for very thin pieces is good too.



If you boil the fury out of the cooking gluten, it will go toward a tougher, rubbery texture. This is undesirable in your unchicken or cutlets, but can be desirable for a chunk you are going to turn into future ground unbeef.



For oven simmering, place the cutlets or steaks in a single layer in a roasting pan with a cover large enough to allow the cutlets to rise double in size. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare enough cooking broth to completely cover the cutlets, , and pour the hot broth over the gluten cutlets, and bake uncovered for 1/2 hour. Prick them all over with a fork, and turn over. Lower the heat to 300 F, cover, and bake for 1 more hour, turning once or twice after the first half hour.
Try BBC food recipes. You can do an advanced search and choose your own requirements. (i don't know exact address but if you type BBC food recipes in the search engine it will probably be the first option)
Tex-Mex Salad with Chili Vinaigrette



Makes 8 to 10 servings



Ingredients:

Salad:

1 cup long grain rice

1 15 ounce can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen whole kernel corn

3 green onions, sliced

1/4 cup red sweet pepper, chopped

Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup corn oil

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 pickled jalape帽o peppers, stemmed, halved and seeded

1 teaspoon chili powder (or more to taste)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Preparation:

Salad:

Cook rice in salted water as directed on the package. (The rice can be cooked ahead and chilled.)



Combine cooked rice, beans, corn, green onion, and sweet pepper in a large bowl. Toss lightly to mix.

Vinaigrette:

Combine corn oil, lime juice, vinegar, brown sugar, jalape帽o pepper, chili powder, cumin and salt in a blender container or food processor bowl. Cover and blend or process until smooth.



Pour dressing over rice mixture; toss to coat. Cover and chill until serving time or up to 2 days. Serve at room temperature.
Asparagus Soup:



This elegant soup is perfect to make when asparagus comes into season in spring. It can be served hot or very well chilled.





鈥?New recipe

This elegant soup is perfect to make when asparagus comes into season in spring. It can be served hot or very well chilled.







Serves 6



Ingredients

2 lb (900 g) asparagus





2 oz (50 g) butter





1 medium onion, finely chopped





1 slightly rounded tablespoon plain flour





1戮 pints (1 litre) hot chicken stock





5 fl oz (150 ml) double cream or creme fraiche





salt and freshly milled black pepper



Prepare the asparagus by cutting away and discarding the tough, stringy white ends of the stalks, reserve 12 asparagus tips to garnish the soup, then chop the green parts of the rest of the asparagus into 1 inch (2.5 cm) lengths.



Next, melt the butter in a large saucepan over a gentle heat and cook the chopped onion in it for 5 minutes, keeping the heat low to prevent the onion colouring. Stir the asaparagus into the melted butter and onion, then put a lid on and let it sweat for about 10 minutes, giving it a stir now and then.



Sprinkle in the tablespoon of flour, stir again to soak up the juices and add the hot chicken stock, a little at a time, stirring after each addition.



When all the stock is in, bring to simmering point, season with salt and freshly milled black pepper and keeping the heat low, let the soup barely simmer, partially covered, for 20-25 minutes.



Now you need to let the soup cool a little, then pour it into a blender and blend in batches (a large bowl is helpful here). Taste to check the seasoning. Finally, stir in the double cream or creme fraiche and the reserved asparagus tips. Re-heat gently for 3-4 minutes and serve very hot in warm soup bowls or alternatively, cool and chill thoroughly before serving in chilled bowls.
theres some good websites on the Internet that do fantastic recipes for vegetarians and very cheap as well if you are on a budget however you will have to do your own research on that cos i have forgotten the name of that website however it does all sorts of food recipes sorry i couldn't give you the name of the website but you will been able to find it if you search on google cos that's where i found it.