Veggie Week Latest: Check out our rundown of the top 10 best vegetarian restaurants in the UK!
Today marks the start of National Vegetarian Week, which is a great opportunity to vary and enrich your diet - whether you're already a vegetarian, an omnivore wanting to cut down on meat or even a committed carnivore. To me as a veggie, the great thing about this week is that it helps educate us all on how a vegetarian diet can be so much more interesting and varied than many people (including veggies!) believe, and I almost always find I learn something new about meat-free living - whether it's a restaurant that does amazing veggie fare or a fact I didn't know about vegetarianism.
Over the next week, we'll be running a number of features, articles and debates on vegetarian life, including reader submissions from vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, each putting their view across on their personal dietary choices. Even in 2012, what we choose to eat (or not eat) remains a contentious issue, with some surprising misapprehensions about what it means to be a vegetarian still alive and well out there. But we hope to be able to generate some better understanding between the various groups this week, and blow some myths about vegetarianism out of the water along the way!
We'll also be sharing some delicious recipes, including this one which comes courtesy of the Vegetarian Society and is really making me wish I had time for a more substantial breakfast today! Pictured above, the truly mouth-watering Triple BLT (that's Baked Bean Banger, Lettuce and Tomato) is a vegetarian treat that I really think anyone with taste buds will enjoy...why not rustle one up this evening or get cracking on it now for a tasty lunchtime treat?
Recipe: Triple BLT (Baked Bean Banger, Lettuce and Tomato)
Serves 4
Preparation time 15 minutes (plus 30 minutes chilling time)
Cooking time 20 minutes
Can be vegan*
Ingredients
½
onion, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
100g mushrooms, chopped
1 standard can baked beans
½ tsp paprika
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ tsp chopped fresh thyme
40g grated vegetarian cheese (or vegan 'cheese'*)
1 free range egg (omit for vegan option*)
20g sundried tomatoes in oil, drained
1 tsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp vegetable stock powder
90g breadcrumbs
25g pine nuts
2 tsp wholemeal flour
Salt and pepper to taste
To coat:
1 free range egg, beaten (omit for vegan option*)
50g
wholemeal flour seasoned with black pepper and paprika
Relish:
200g
tomatoes, chopped
25g red onion, finely chopped
40g sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 lime, juice only
Black pepper and a little salt
To serve:
A few
salad leaves
4 bread rolls
60g vegetarian
cheese (or vegan 'cheese'*) cut into four slices
Method
1. Gently fry the onion in oil for five minutes until soft, then add the mushrooms. Continue to cook until most of the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated. While this is cooking divide the tin of beans into two. Set half the can of beans aside and drain off the sauce on the remaining half.
2. Place the cooked onion, mushroom and drained baked beans in a food processor with the paprika, garlic, thyme, cheese, free range egg (*omit if vegan), sundried tomatoes, vegetarian Worcestershire sauce, stock, breadcrumbs, pine nuts and wholemeal flour. Season with salt and pepper and whizz for 10 seconds. Allow the mixture to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
3. Shape the mixture into eight small sausages. Dip in the remaining egg (*omit if vegan), then roll in wholemeal flour.
4. Gently fry in olive oil for ten minutes, carefully turning from time to time.
5. To make the relish mix the tomatoes, red onion, sundried tomatoes, lime juice, black pepper and a little salt in a bowl, then set aside.
6. For each serving, place salad
leaves onto a bread roll, top with two sausages and relish. Finally, add a
slice of vegetarian cheese (or vegan 'cheese'*) to the frying pan and heat for
30 seconds. Top your sandwich with the cooked cheese. Heat the remaining beans
and serve alongside your sandwich.
© The Vegetarian Society 2012. Visit www.vegsoc.org for more recipes and
information.
