No (low) Effort Vegetarian Food

[pk.sax]

Well, I'm a vegetarian. (Yes, I'm tearing the closet door down)

There are truckloads of Quick cooking meat/chicken recipes that require minimum effort and even less time. Especially bbqing. Sometimes its as simple as marinating a steak and sticking it in the oven/bbq.

Lets hear some vegetarian options. Its generally assumed that vegos don't enjoy a bbq <_<. I'll start off:

1. Mushrooms with blue cheese on the grill - Basically, dress the mushroom with a bit of oil/butter, bit of pepper or whatever on hand and grill both sides, cup side up last - fill with blue cheese in the end and let it melt in on the grill. Can even sandwich this in some bread and eat like a burger of sorts.

2. The instant polenta sold in the supermarket - The moist cake type consistency one. Slice and bbq. Eat as crispy bbq'd polenta fingers or top with some type of sauce. I find Coconut cream with a dash of grainy dijon mustard, tiny pinch of turmeric and some chopped shallots goes very well. Don't oil the polenta. I've found that the taste really takes a dive if you oil it, it doesn't crisp as well.

3. Corn on the Cob - Classic one this. Cook on direct flame or on bbq/steel mesh separating corn from coals. Chop a lemon and put some salt (pink rock salt if available) and pepper on the lemon slice and rub it into the bbq'd corn.

4. Bbq'd vegie sandwich - Well, this one is more effort in that it involves chopping vegies - Slice some Eggplant, nice thick ones ~ 7-8 mm thick, tomatoes, onion. Bbq it all and use with some dressed salad leaves and cheese for a yummy sandwich. Pretty open to what you have on hand/like.

Heh, most of this is pretty achievable in a state of :chug: :icon_drunk:

 

[fergyle]

i often make vegetarian chilli and eat it in a tortilla with some grated cheese. takes about 20 minutes to make, but most of that is simmering time, and you'll have great leftovers as well.

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/5923/vegetarian+chilli

 

[Fourstar]

Spaghetti puttanesca (without anchovies for vego but a definite with for me). As Long as it takes to boil water and then pasta, You have a delicious sauce cooked in the meantime ready for consumption. 15-20 mins tops and will serve two people from 1 can of tomatoes.

 

[Mercs Own]

You may want to go back to the marketing drawing board for this post as 'no effort vegetarian food' makes vegetarian food seemingly not worth the effort.

how about - delicious vegetarian dishes made in minutes!

I might eat that.

 

[pk.sax]

hehe merc... Lately, I've found myself far from sober when I start cooking... these are just things one can handle with a million things going on or well, rather nothing capable of going on. I have a self imposed rule in my house, I don't buy snacks. Ever. Not even cookies or packets of chips. Forces me to cook if I'm hungry, and being vegetarian, I'd not be able to slap together a cold ham and cheese sandwich... so, this stuff is kinda perfect and does indeed take next to no effort.

I love that chilli recipe ferg, gonna give that a go

Pasta is the other fav here in a crunch, I like to pop in a small flower of broccoli in it, sauteed in a pan first though.. but thats going into the realm of too much effort.. 2 cooking dishes involved!!!

Here is my next contribution:

Potato, fetta (or ricotta), onion, olives and tomato pizza, spiced with garlic, herbs and chilli to taste.

Basically, make pizza dough.

Let it rise a few minutes 10-15 in warm weather.

Toss it all onto a baking paper lined pizza stone (or however you prefer to make pizza).

Now, oil your hands and spread the pizza by hand. This makes it just so much better and massages some olive oil into the dough. I usually sprinkle on the dried herbs near the end of the dough spreading.

Top with medium thickly chopped onions, boiled potato (microwave 3-5 mins in airtight microwave dish with pressure release vent or clingwrapped pyrex), diced fetta/ricotta, olives, long chopped onions.

throw some cracked pepper and chopped garlic on top if you like.

Top with grated/torn mozzarella for a slightly moist pizza or without the added mozzarella for a crisper pizza (use more fetta/ricotta if not adding any mozarella).

Bake on medium - high for 10-15 or as ready. I like to slide it off the baking paper onto the hot stone to finish off the crust, Found that with my hand spreading, the whole pizza will stick to the stone unless I use the baking paper.

Sprinke some freshly cracked peper and/or chilli powder or flakes onto the pizza hot out of the oven.



I have thoughts of making this on the bbq sometime, will have to work on an alternative to spreadingdirectly though.. hehe. Maybe spread on my hand in the air and keep pizza size small....

 

[kungfutigerrob]

It's not no effort, but this is easy, and very rewarding:

Skin and de-seed a small Pumpkin, or 1/2 a large Pumpkin. Cut into small cubes

Toss in a spash of oil and a slurp of sweet chilli sauce, then bake until tender

Mash Pumpkin with some lentils and 1/2 a jar (about 90 gms/or to taste) of Red Thai Curry Paste

Season to taste

The mixture should be a bit sticky

Cut a square of puff pastry into 4, egg wash them, place some Pumpkin mixture 1/3 of the way down on the puff pasty, then roll it up like a sausage roll

Brush the roll with egg wash, and sprinkle Pepita seeds over the roll

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 190c, or until puffed and golden.


Edit: add toasted chopped Walnuts and crumbled Fetta cheese to the mix for enhanced flavour. And serve with a drizzle of warmed honey for extra zing.

 

[kungfutigerrob]

Really Easy Minestrone Soup

Cut finely Onion, Carrot, Celery and Potato (brunoise)

Saute in a large stock pot until almost soft

Add vegetable stock and cook until just soft

Add a large can of Baked Beans.

That's it. For serving, place a small handfull of baby spinach into a bowl and ladle the hot soup over. Serve with toasted Ciabatta bread splashed with Olive Oil and a side dish of Pesto.


I make my own Baked Beans, based on Cannelini Beans, diced Tomatoes, Worstershire Sauce, Maple Syrup, Brown Sugar, Bay Leaves, Cider Vinegar and Vegetable Stock.

 

[pk.sax]

Kse Sptzle

To keep in the spirit of food that can be made by the getting there tipsy chef, I gave this a test last night. A beer before and a cider through it and I still made it w/o accidents

It is a really simple dish if you own a sptzle maker or a potato ricer. Use the attachment with medium sized holes, but lots of them.

Now, this IS a vegetarian version, i.e., I didn't use eggs. I've used eggs before and not used them too and honestly can't fault either.

1) melt a smidge of butter in a mixing bowl - use the half litre pyrex measuring jugs, just stick it in the oven for a min while its heating. (Oh yeah, pre-heat the oven)

2) Add a cup of flour, I find wholemeal works great and a tablespoon or so of self raising flour to the bowl. Add a little milk (optional), start mixing with a dough hook or eqv and add water as necessary to make a somewhat stiff pancake mix. Actually, sourdough consistency is not a bad thing here.

The little bit of self raising flour tends to make the noodles a little lighter and improves texture.

3) Spoon it into the potato ricer/sptzle maker.

4) I forgot, bring a pot/saucepan of water to the boil, don't fill her up though!

5) Sit the sptzle maker on the pot rim and press the noodles into the boiling water. Let it all boil up and the noodles to cook, then drain them out - use a strainer/slotted spoon.

^ Now, not everyone has a sptzle maker or potato ricer sitting around, so a substitute that works, but is more work is an icing cone. Use a reasonable good one with a smallish opening. Just squeeze out short lengths of the noodles straight into the boiling water, keep a knife handy if the noodles aren't dropping on their own...

Consistency of the dough is another thing that is very variable. Different consistency dough turns out into different texture noodle, all are yummy and cook pretty evenly. Stiff dough though can be a bitch and not turn out that well in the end.

6) Strain the noodles out int a baking dish with a bit of milk in it, put a smidge of butter in the milk too. Once you fill the dish (One press of the sptzle maker would be enough for one large serve), cover it with cheese. I find some nice tasty cheese goes well, but Jarlsberg/Swiss is delicious too, even some pizza - mozarella cheese works, mix it up as per preference.

7) Cover the dish (I use the pyrex lid or just alu foil the top) and put it in the oven until the milk has dried up a little and absorbed into the noodles. Covering the dish avoids the cheese burning off.

8) Chop up some onions, brown ones - traditional or blue/red go well too. Sautee them in soe butter to caramelize a bit, even let them get a bit crispy.

^ My small varaition, that goes down a treat is to drop a few pinches of raw sugar onto the nearly caramelized onion and let it coat them, then immediately turn the heat off. Crispy, slightly sweet onion.

9) Take the dish out of the oven, serve and top with the onion. You can throw a few pinches of your favourite green herbs on this too.

Njoi


As a variation to the baked sptzle, I'd sometimes just make a cheese sauce on the stove and simply ladle some over the sptzle on the plate and top with the sauce and onions, apparently this is how somebody's German grandma made them!!! Quite delicious either way.

--Pics on some day that I'm not too pissed to take one--

 

[pk.sax]

Mildly amusing, yet hilarious

 

[Philthy79]

i often make vegetarian chilli and eat it in a tortilla with some grated cheese. takes about 20 minutes to make, but most of that is simmering time, and you'll have great leftovers as well.

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/5923/vegetarian+chilli

Made this last night - tasted great, cheers fergyle :icon_cheers:

 

[manticle]

I've got plenty of recipes for high/reasonable effort, delicious vegetarian food but besides a cheese sandwich I can only think of this for no effort:

Even a banana has to be peeled.

 

[pk.sax]

hehe... I think I contradicted my no (low) title from the very start... Got people looking in though

Food is to be enjoyed, no matter what it is, btw, that apple is looking good about now.

 

[O'Henry]

Is an apple a snack?

 

[pk.sax]

Tomato soup (French style or something... can't quite remember)

pop a can of tomato (chopped/crushed.. whatever takes your fancy, even whole peeled works).

drop a knob of butter in a sauce pan/pot. Turn on the heat.

Chop up some garlic, 1-2 cloves for a can of tomato is about right. Drop them into the warming butter.

Now, if you like, you can chop up some onion into rings and drop that into the butter as well. Use enough butter to cover all this.

Once the garlic/onion is starting to go brown, pour in the tomato and let it reduce for a minute or so. Add water to make it a little thinner than the end result wanted. Let reduce.

Add any herbs you like towards the end of the boil and season with salt/pepper to taste.

Pour the soup into bowls (oven proof bowls).

Before you do that ^ cut up some bread of your choice the size to fit in the bowl if you floated it on the soup. Drizzle with oil and toast/grill.

Now, place the toasts on the soup in the bowls and cover with cheese. Place in the oven or under a grill for a minute or so.

Serve. Garnish with something as you please - Sage/parsley/coriander all go well.

 

[manticle]

This ones's pretty easy but requires some skill with a knife and a couple of steps. Meat eaters can use it as a base for fish, shellfish or chicken/poutlry dishes, vegoes can eat as a light salad or combine with a protein source. There's a few ingredients and a few steps that make the recipe look more complex than this thread maybe calls for.

2-3 serves

Asian style Red cabbage and noodle salad

1/3 red cabbage
6 Cos lettuce leaves
1/3 clove garlic
Sesame oil
Soy sauce
Rice vinegar
Fish sauce
1/2 Lime (juice)
2 -3 mint leaves
handful dry rice vermicelli (must be rice vermicelli - not flat rice noodles)
1-2 shallots (as in small brown onion not spring onion)
1 Dried whole chilli
teaspoon or so of flour
teaspoon grated palm sugar
2 Litres veg oil for frying
Salt and pepper

1. Heat oil in pot. Begin slowly but bring up heat till at frying temp.

2. Slice cabbage very thinly longways.
Finely chop garlic.
Finely slice/shred/chiffonade cos lettuce and mint leaves
Combine in bowl and season very lightly with salt and pepper.

3. Finely slice shallot, removing root. It will make eyes water - run your hands under cold water every so often. Separate shallot pieces from one another, dry with paper towel and lightly dust in flour. Shake off excess. Fry in hot oil till brown and crispy, remove, shake excess oil, allow air movement to dry then toss in salt.

4. Chop chillis into smaller pieces. Discard seeds if you are a wuss. Deep fry for a minute or so, drain, dry, season lightly with salt.

5. Separate rice vermicelli as much as possible. Don't worry too much if they break. Place bit by bit in hot oil. They will immediately expand and puff up. make sure all parts get coated by oil. Immediately remove, drain, dry and season lightly. A little bit goes a long way - they will expand more than 4 times their size.

6. Mix together rice vinegar, fish sauce, palm sugar, lime juice and sesame oil to taste. You want salty, sweet and a vinegar bite in balance. If you haven't used sesame oil before - a little goes a long way. Literally a few drops.

7. When the balance is right, dress the salad with the vinegar/soy mix and mix through the crispy ingredients. When dressing, you just want to coat the salad, not have heaps of excess juice at the bottom of the bowl.

You can have variations on this - add julienne carrot, ginger or galangal etc.

No tins, no microwaves. Sorry.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Cows are vegetarian , so whats the problem

 

[pk.sax]

Cows are vegetarian , so whats the problem

I like a bit of competition. No fun killing it off

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I will cry, the day they make steak taste like tofu

 

[pk.sax]

Just make sure the tofu doesn't taste like steak and we have an agreement.

PS: manticle, have you ever had pawpaw salad? You'd like that if ur into Thai/green sort of salads.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Just make sure the tofu doesn't taste like steak and we have an agreement.

Can we include bacon.........