Grilled Haloumi and Asparagus

From Vegetarian Bible, Margaret Barca, Penguin Books, 2008.

Before I began the main part of this meal I made a salsa verde. I took half a cup of chopped parsley and the same amount of chopped basil. I put these in a blender and gave them a churn with a peeled garlic clove. I placed the contents in a bowl and added some capers, zest and juice of half a lime and salt and pepper. I now beat in olive oil until I had a consistency that felt right. It now was put aside until the rest of the meal was made.

I took a bunch of asparagus (they seem to be getting smaller and smaller bunches now at the shops) and brushed them with olive oil. They then went onto the grill for a few minutes, turning them often, until cooked.

When the asparagus was close to ready I placed the haloumi slices in an oiled pan and cooked them on each side until just browned, any longer and they would have become a little too firm.

The asparagus was served with the haloumi and the salsa verde. This made a very enjoyable light meal, especially when served with a bowl of soup as we had it. Another successful dish from Vegetarian Bible.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Honey and Mustard Pumpkin Soup

From Vegetarian Bible, Margaret Barca, Penguin Books, 2008.

To make this soup I fried a chopped onion in a large saucepan until it had softened. I then added a teaspoon ground cumin and stirred it around for a minute or two. I now added a half butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into pieces. I poured in 4 cups of vegetable stock and brought it all to the boil, then reduced it to a simmer for half an hour. I now used a stick blender to puree the soup. I brought the soup back to a simmer and let it continue until it had reached the consistency that I wanted.

The soup now waited until serving time when a tablespoon honey and a tablespoon Dijon mustard were added and stirred in. It was tasted and seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

The soup was served with a dollop of yoghurt with cumin sprinkled over the top.

Pumpkin soup is always acceptable. The sweetness of the butternut pumpkin was increased slightly with the addition of the honey but then modified by the sharpness of the mustard. A pleasant soup from a recipe book that I always enjoy using.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Baked Eggplant and Ricotta Rolls

From Vegetarian Bible, Margaret Barca, Penguin Books, 2008.

I have often seen recipes for rolls made of eggplant but have never attempted them as I was dubious about whether they would really work. Finally I took action and tried them. They do work.

Firstly the eggplant had to be cut into thin slices lengthwise. These were fried in a little olive oil until lightly browned and softened.

A mixture was now made of three cheeses: ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella. Into this went some currants, chopped parsley and seasonings.

The eggplant slices were now laid out and on one end was placed about a tablespoon of the mixture and they were rolled up. They actually rolled very easily and held together quite well. Some passata was spread on the bottom of a casserole. Each roll was placed on the passata in the casserole, seam side down.

To complete the dish passata was spread over the rolls and a mixture of parmesan, parsley and breadcrumbs was sprinkled over the top. They were placed in the oven, aluminium foil covered, for about half an hour. Towards the end of this time, the foil was removed to let the cheese brown up a little.

The recipe says that the dish is good cold as well as hot. It didn’t last long enough to try what it was like cold.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

Almost Niçoise Salad

From Vegetarian Bible, Margaret Barca, Penguin Books, 2008.

The traditional Niçoise salad has a fish ingredient, tuna or anchovies, hence this is an almost Niçoise because this has been excluded.

I brought a pot of salted water to the boil and dropped in some topped and tailed green beans. After long enough for them still to retain a little crunch, about three minutes, they were removed and placed under a cold tap to cool off.

Some chat potatoes were then placed into the boiling water and left to cook. They were then removed from the pot and left to cool.

A couple of eggs were next placed in the pot to cook until hard boiled.

Some mixed salad leaves were placed in a serving bowl. The beans, potatoes, some halved cherry tomatoes and black olives were added and vinaigrette dressing poured over and the salad tossed. The hard-boiled eggs were arranged on top and it was ready.

This is a pleasing mix of vegetables, satisfying and nicely highlighted by the dressing.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

Rice with Peas

From Vegetarian Bible, Margaret Barca, Penguin Books, 2008.

Rice is a perfect accompaniment for many dishes but sometimes it is good to vary the accompaniment from that of plain boiled rice to one with a touch of spice. This boiled rice variation comes from a favourite little vegetarian cookery book.

Cloves, cardamom pods, peppercorns and a cinnamon stick are cooked for a few minutes in hot oil in a saucepan. When the spices start to smell strongly some chopped garlic is added and cooked just a little longer.

The rice—basmati in this case—is added to the pan with water. Once it is boiling the lid is placed on and it is left to cook for about 10 minutes. A cup of frozen peas is then added and stirred in. The lid is placed on again and the rice cooked for a further 5 minutes. By now the rice should be cooked and the water absorbed. The rice is taken off the heat and left with the lid on for a further few minutes.

When ready, taste it for seasoning and fluff it up with a fork.

The rice has a subtle flavour of Indian spices and the peas add colour and sweetness to the dish. I had it with Spicy Quick-Fried Beans.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

Farfalle with Garlic, Potatoes and Spinach

From Vegetarian Bible, Margaret Barca, Penguin Books, 2008.

For a quick and satisfying pasta meal you can’t go further than this one.

Potatoes are sliced and put into water, brought to the boil and cooked until just soft.

While this was cooking I fried some chilli and garlic in a pan until the garlic was just done.

Into a pan of boiling water I threw the pasta and let it cook. When it was ready it was drained but a little of the cooking water was saved. The pasta went back into the saucepan, together with the potatoes, the garlic and chilli, and the saved water. To this was added the spinach which was cooked until the spinach was wilted. It was then served with the usual grated parmesan on top.

I am usually surprised at how well potato goes with pasta. I always feel that they are too close and would not work, but they do, and work well. With the chillies and garlic as an added flavour boost this is a meal that is fast to prepare and flavoursome.

The Vegetarian Bible is such a handy book for finding simply explained vegetarian meals. Explanations are clear, precise and short—and they work.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Baked Tofu and Green Bean Salad

From Vegetarian Bible, Margaret Barca, Penquin Books, 2008.

This small unpretentious book has proved to be a useful one for vegetarian dishes. I have found it to be reliable with its instructions and the meals that result are generally very successful and flavoursome.

I don’t know what tempted me to make this dish as it had the uninspiring title of Baked Tofu and Green Bean Salad yet, despite this, I thought I’d give it a go.

The tofu was prepared first. It was marinated in a mix of ginger, garlic, lemon juice and soy sauce. After an hour of soaking in the flavour mix it was baked in the oven for about half an hour. It was then left to cool.

The beans were steamed for a few minutes and cooled quickly in cold water.

The dressing was an unusual one as it had a tahini base mixed with sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice and some warm water.

A batch of mixed salad greens was placed on the plate, then the green beans, some cherry tomatoes and spring onions. These were tossed with half the dressing. The tofu was put on top and the remainder of the dressing poured over and some toasted sesame seeds.

This was a very satisfying salad. The tofu had a pleasant chewiness to it and it was well flavoured from the marinade. (There was some left over and I found it great to nibble on the following day.) The beans still had a good crunch to them and the tahini dressing made the whole concoction come together satisfactorily with its Asian flavours.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔