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Best vegetarian recipes: Mushroom, goat’s cheese and butternut squash

Expert food blogger Jo Romero reveals how to make easy and delicious veggie food for National Vegetarian Week

It’s National Vegetarian Week this week (20-26th May), and to mark the occasion, we asked foodies to recommend some simple but impressive vegetarian dishes we can make at home. Need to broaden your veggie horizons? Check these out...

Roasted Coconut Squash Gringas

This dish is served at Latin American restaurant Las Iguanas, and they’ve let us in on the recipe. The zesty, tropical flavours are perfect for summer. Makes 4.

For the Roasted Coconut Squash:
500g butternut squash
25ml vegetable oil 1 teaspoon crushed chillies
1 tablespoon garlic 1 tablespoon agave syrup pinch salt pinch cracked black pepper 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
2 tablespoons cream of coconut

Peel, and remove the seeds from the butternut squash, then cut into strips approx. 60mm x 20mm x 20mm.
Place the oil, butternut, agave syrup, chillies, salt, pepper and garlic in the roasting tray and toss together. Roast in a 200ºC oven for 20-25 minutes, tossing occasionally until just cooked.
 Add the desiccated coconut and coconut cream and toss together. Roast for a further 10 minutes, tasting and adjusting seasonings if needed.

Take one 6” wheat tortilla, top with 50ml refried beans and sprinkle with 50g mixed cheese. Place another tortilla on top and place on the griddle. Top with 130g warmed roasted coconut squash, a blob of soured cream, pink pickled onions, spring onions & sliced radish to garnish. Serve with salad and fine green beans.

[Go veggie for the day this National Vegetarian Week]

For the Pink Pickled Onions:
200g red onions, finely sliced
100ml boiling water 40ml orange juice
30ml lime juice 1-2 finely diced birdseye chillies
generous pinch of salt 5g finely diced coriander

Place onions in a bowl and cover with boiling water for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally (don’t place on the heat).

Drain well, and then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Allow to cool and refrigerate until needed. Your onions will last for 2 days in the fridge and can also be used to add a kick to sandwiches or salads.

Roast Beetroot, Walnut & Grapefruit Salad with Goat’s Cheese

This sweet and tangy salad was recommended to us by the British Leafy Salads Association who are running the campaign Make More of Salad. Here, beetroot and walnut are classically paired with goat’s cheese, while the rocket, watercress and grapefruit cut its richness. Serves 4.

1 bunch beetroot (450g), trimmed and cut into wedges
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 pink grapefruit
1 bag Watercress, Rocket & Spinach salad, approx. 100g
50g walnut pieces, toasted
2 x 100g packs Capricorn Goat’s cheese, halved

[Going veggie? Here’s what you need to know to have a healthy vegetarian diet]

Preheat the oven to 200ºC, gas mark 6. Place the beetroot on a baking tray and toss in 1 tbsp each oil and vinegar, season and roast for 20-25 minutes until tender.

Meanwhile, segment the grapefruit by removing all the pith, saving any juice. Whisk the juice with the remaining oil and vinegar and season.

Toss the Watercress, Rocket and Spinach salad with the beetroot, grapefruit segments and walnuts. Toss in the dressing. Place the cheese, cut side up, under a preheated grill for 3-4 minutes until golden and place on top of the salad to serve. Feel free to use Halloumi cheese instead, if you prefer.

Pearl & Red Quinoa with Lime, Marinated Raw Courgette and Mint

Quinoa (pronounced ‘keen-wah’) contains essential amino acids needed by the body, aids digestion and is also gluten-free. This nutritious, zesty recipe was devised by Quinola Mothergrain. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
200g Pearl Quinoa
50g Red Quinoa
1 Courgette
2 limes
Fresh mint
Olive oil

Method:
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add the Red Quinoa. After 4 minutes add the Pearl Quinoa. Once the 16 minutes have elapsed from putting in the Red Quinoa, drain and rinse under cold water.

Whilst the quinoa is cooking, peel the courgette into thin strips with a peeler and marinate in the juice of the two limes and some olive oil. Chop the mint.

Once the quinoa is cooked, mix in the courgette strips with the marinade and garnish with the fresh mint.

Wild Mushroom Bread & Butter Pudding

Head Chef Alan Irwin at The Lady Ottoline restaurant in London let us in on the recipe for this savoury take on the classic bread and butter pudding. A comforting and indulgent one-pot dish. Serves 2.
        
300g mixed wild mushrooms
2 banana shallots, finely diced
1 tbsp chopped rosemary and thyme         
1 tbsp chopped garlic
300g double cream
splash of good quality Madeira
white or back truffle oil
2 free range egg yolks
8 slices brioche, crust removed
                                                                
Method                                                                               
In a heavy-based saucepan add a splash of olive oil and warm gently. Add the shallots, rosemary, thyme and garlic and cook gently for 5 minutes.To colour, add a good splash of the Madeira and reduce to a glaze. Next, add the double cream, bring to the boil and set aside.
 
Clean the wild mushrooms by dipping into cold water, and dry on kitchen towel. Heat a frying pan on the stove, add a splash of olive oil and hard fry the mushrooms for around 1 minute. Add the cooked mushrooms to the cream base, season using salt and pepper and add truffle oil to taste. Once cooled slightly, stir in the 2 egg yolks.
 
To build the puddings take two individual pie dishes and lay a slice of the brioche on the bottom, then add a generous tablespoon of the mushroom mixture. Repeat until all the brioche and mushroom mixture is used up.
 
Bake in a preheated oven at 160ºC for 12 mins, or until golden on top. Let stand for a few minutes and serve with salad or steamed asparagus.

What are your favourite vegetarian recipes? Will you be trying out any new vegetarian dishes this week? Let us know over on Twitter now.