You don’t need meat for a nutritious (and delicious) meal. Try these quick-and-easy vegetarian dishes that will become your weekday go-tos in no time.
Summer lasagne
Serves 4 // Cooking time ± 30 minutes
Ingredients
50g butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp paprika
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
5 medium baby marrows, sliced diagonally
3 large leeks, sliced
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 rosemary sprigs, roughly chopped
180g ricotta
330g lasagne sheets, cooked in salted, boiling water for 5–7 minutes
Method
- In a pot over medium heat, melt 40g of butter. Add the flour and cook for about a minute. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.
- Add the lemon juice, cayenne pepper and paprika, and then season. Stirring constantly, cook for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and the taste of flour has cooked away.
- In a large pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and remaining butter and fry the baby marrows, leeks and onion until soft and lightly browned. Add the rosemary and season. Transfer to a bowl and mix with the ricotta.
- Assemble each serving individually: stack white sauce, the filling and a lasagne sheet. Repeat.
Also read: Vegetarian gourmet shakshuka for two
Lentil and brinjal meatballs with pita bread
Serves 4–6 // Preparation time 20 minutes // Cooking time 20 minutes
Ingredients
For the meatballs
½ onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, grated
1 brinjal, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed dried herbs
2 cups tinned brown lentils
½ cup breadcrumbs
Handful coriander
To serve
4 pitas, cut into wedges
1 cup sour cream
Method
For the meatballs
- Heat some oil in a pot over high heat. add the onion, garlic, brinjal and spices. Fry until well browned. allow to cool slightly.
- Add the brinjal mixture and all the remaining ingredients to a food processor. Pulse for 2 minutes, until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Form the veggie mixture into balls. Heat some oil in a pan and fry the veggie balls over high heat until golden brown and cooked through.
- Serve veggie balls with pitas and sour cream.
Recipes & Styling: Amerae Vercueil
Photography: Samantha Pinto
Also read: Vegetarian nachos
Mushroom quiche
Serves 6 // Preparation time 30 minutes// Cooking time 45 minutes
Ingredients
For the crust
1 cup rye flour
½ cup wheat flour
1 tsp salt
8 Tbsp butter, chilled
4 Tbsp chilled water
For the filling
4 Tbsp olive oil
3 leeks, finely chopped
250 g white button mushrooms
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp fresh thyme, plus extra sprigs
2 Tbsp flour
Method
For the crust
- Mix together the flours and salt.
- Chop the butter into small pieces and use your fingers to rub it into the flour mixture, until it resembles fine crumbs.
- Gradually add the water and knead gently until the dough comes together.
- Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease and line 6 ramekins.
- On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 5 mm thick.
- Cut rounds from the dough and press into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared ramekins. Bake for 15 minutes, until crisp.
For the filling
- Lower oven temperature to 180°C.
- Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in a pan over medium and fry the leeks until soft. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Heat the remaining oil and brown the mushrooms for 5 minutes.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, thyme and flour until smooth. Season.
- Divide the leeks between each crust and fill each one with the egg mixture. Top with mushrooms and a few sprigs of extra thyme.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until puffed up and golden.
Recipes & styling: Chiara Turilli
Photography: Andreas Eiselen
