5 Veggie Dishes our team adore

We all have one or two recipes that we really, really love. You know... the ones we often make weekly. They’re so good, and so second nature to us, that we’ve memorised them, or they’ve been passed from family member to family member, friend-to-friend. Naturally, they’re our go-tos when we want something we know is utterly delicious. These are the recipes we asked our team to share with us and in turn, with you. And as this week is National Vegetarian Week, we asked them specifically to tell us how to make their favourite vegetarian dish. Try bookmarking this page for those, “What to make for dinner?” moments – you might just find another dish to complement your regular repertoire.  

National Vegetarian Week: Our team's favourite recipes

From Emma...

Spinach and Feta Pie

"This is a summer favourite of mine as it looks so great with all the feta and spinach layering and tastes fantastic too – either straight from the oven or cold the next day. I tend to serve mine with this salad." - Emma.

Ingredients

100g pinenuts 5 eggs 300g feta cheese 50g cheddar cheese Dried oregano 1 lemon A knob of butter 400g pre-washed baby spinach 1 x 270g pack of filo pastry Cayenne pepper 1 whole nutmeg, for grating

Method

1. Set oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. 2. Put the pinenuts into a dry frying pan to toast, tossing occasionally and keeping an eye on them. Once the nuts are light golden, take them off the heat and put them to one side. 3. Crack 5 eggs into a mixing bowl and crumble-in 300g of feta. Grate in 50g of Cheddar. Add a pinch of pepper, a couple of pinches of dried oregano, zest of 1 lemon and a lug of olive oil. 4. Add the nuts to your egg and feta mixture and mix well. 5. Put frying pan back on the heat, add a little olive oil and a knob of butter and pile in half of the spinach. Gently move it around and add more as it wilts down. Make sure it doesn't catch on the bottom and when there's room, start adding the rest, stirring frequently. 6. Meanwhile, take the filo pastry out of the fridge. Lay a large sheet of greaseproof paper, approximately 50cm long, on the worktop, rub a little olive oil all over it, then scrunch it up and lay it out flat again. Arrange 4 filo pastry sheets in a large rectangle, overlapping at the edges, so they almost cover the paper. Rub some olive oil over them. Sprinkle over a good pinch of salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Repeat until you have 3 layers. Don't worry about any cracked bits – and don’t forget to keep stirring the spinach! 7. Once the spinach is really nice and dense, take the pan off the heat. Add the wilted spinach to the egg mixture and grate in ½ a nutmeg. Mix well. Carefully move the greaseproof paper into an either a spring form or loose based cake tin – at least 23cm. Push the paper down into the sides of the tin, then pour in the egg mixture and spread it out. Fold the filo sheets over the top and let them fall where they will. 8. Put the pan into the oven on the top shelf and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until golden and crisp.   From Lindsey...

Sweet Potato & Spinach Curry

"This curry is a great recipe to use up leftover vegetables. You can add and adapt the recipe to include whatever you like. If I am cooking for a larger amount of people, I would add butternut squash or chickpeas into the mix too!" - Lindsey. Serves: 4 people

Ingredients

For the curry: 1tsp oconut oil 1 garlic clove 4 shallots 160g spinach 600g sweet potato 400g can of coconut milk Balti curry paste (homemade or shop bought) Rice and/or nann bread For the balti paste: 5 tblsp coriander seeds 3 tblsp powdered cumin 2 cinnamon sticks 1 dried chilli or 2 fresh chilli (or if you must 1 tsp chilli powder) 2 tspn mustard seed 2 tspn fennel seed 3 tspn cardamom seed 1 tspn fenugreek seed 6 bay leaves 3 tblsp curry powder 2 tblsp ground turmeric 1 tblsp ginger powder

Method

For the homemade balti paste: 1. Place all of the ingredients into a frying pan over a high heat, stirring frequently for about 1 minute. 2. Transfer your pan into to a mortar and pestle, adding in 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, and 1 teaspoon of white vinegar. 3. Pound all of the ingredients for around 3-5 minutes, until it forms a paste. For the curry: 1. Heat the coconut oil in a large pan or wok and add the shallots. Cook these on a low heat until soft and golden. Add in the garlic and around half of the curry paste. 2. Add the sweet potato and the coconut milk, plus 100ml of water. Bring to the boil then cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potato is tender. Stir in the remainder of your curry paste. 3. Stir in the baby spinach until it wilts. 4. Serve up the curry with your choice rice and/or nann bread.   From Mark...

Beetroot Burgers

"I often make these burgers for me and my partner (who’s gluten intolerant) using gluten-free flour to make them into the burger shapes. Also I like to make a few extras and keep them in the fridge (unfried), and then have them the next day." - Mark. Total cooking and preparing time: 20 mins Serves: 4

Ingredients

(Recipe adapted from 'River Cottage Light and Easy' by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall) 200g raw beetroot, peeled and chopped 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped ½ medium onion, chopped 1 large garlic clove, grated or crushed 100g (about ½ tin) tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 tsp tamari 75g oats 1 medium egg 1 tsp ground cumin 1tsp ground coriander Rapeseed or sunflower oil for cooking A pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper

Method

1. Blitz the beetroot, carrot, onion, garlic, chickpeas and tamari in a food processor. 2. Add the oats, egg, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and blitz again until well blended. 3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add enough oil to cover the base. 4. Using your hands to roll the mixture into balls or just dollop it into the pan and flatten to make a burger shape. 5. Gently fry for about 10 minutes, turning them over once or twice until they are lightly charred on the outside and warm all the way through. 6. The burgers can be eaten hot or cold.   From Elaine...

Kohlrabi salad

"As you pass the greengrocer’s, do you say to yourself, what is that weird looking thing? What does it taste like and what do I do with it? The answer is kohlrabi (pronounced coal-rarbee), and it is delicious. Raw, it tastes like a cross between celery and apple, with a clean, fresh crunch. Here is a quick salad I make with it - these portions served two of us generously." - Elaine.

Ingredients

½ a large, or 1 whole small kohlrabi, peeled and cut into fat matchsticks 1 apple (I used a Braeburn, but any will work), cut into sticks, approx the same size as the kohlrabi 1 small red onion, finely sliced 1 tbsp chia seeds 2 tbsp light mayonnaise (substitute with egg free if vegan) Juice of ½ a lemon Pinch of sea salt Freshly ground pepper Parsley to garnish

Method

Mix it all up! It’s also delicious with the addition of celery, and/or cheddar cheese. You can also slice everything a little bit finer to make a slaw.   From Becky...

Spinach & Chickpea Falafel

Makes: 12 falafels Total cooking and preparing time: 30 mins

Ingredients

For the spinach falafel: 1 large handful of spinach 1 small handful of flat-leaf/curly parsley 1 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 1 large garlic clove, chopped 1/4 red onion, chopped finely 1/2 red chilli (optional if you don’t like spice) 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander A pinch sea salt and black pepper 2 tbsp gluten free rice flour (or normal plain flour if you don’t want gluten free) 2 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil for cooking Toasted pita bread, houmous, salad of choice to serve For the tahini dressing: 1 1/2 tbsp tahini Juice of half a lemon 2 tbsp plain yoghurt Pinch of cayenne spice

Method

1. Put the chickpeas, spinach, onion, garlic, spinach, parsley and chilli in a food processor (or use a hand held blender if you don’t have a food processor). 2. Blend the cumin, ground coriander, salt, flour in a separate bowl and add into the mix and blend once more. Hopefully mixture shouldn't be sticky, but if it is add a little more flour. 3. Once fully blended, made small flat balls out of the mixture - enough for about 12. 4. Heat a frying pan with the oil of choice. I always use coconut oil because of it’s beneficial properties, but another oil is just as good. Pop the falafels in gently and fry for 5 mins on both sides until golden brown. 5. Whilst the falafels are cooking, mix the yoghurt, lemon and tahini together, sprinkle some cayenne spice over the top for the tahini dressing. 6. Serve hot with salad, humous and toasted pita. I like a mixed leaf salad with baby plum tomatoes and sliced avocado. Drizzle the tahini dressing over and enjoy!   Have your own go-to veggie recipes? Let us know. Or share a few snaps of these ones if you test them out for National Vegetarian Week.  

Before you go…

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