(no subject)

[angelikitten]

Apologies for this post being similar to cesy's earlier post, but here goes.

Does anyone here know of any simple savoury dishes that are both suitable for vegetarians and lactose-free? Being lactose-free is actually the more important of the two, as I can nearly always find a way around using actual meat (Quorn is an absolute lifesaver).

Another thing to keep in mind is that I'm using pretty basic equipment - I don't currently have a microwave, and I broke my blender a while ago (long story) - so I'm basically just working with a stove and an oven (as long as I don't break those too).

Comments

[damned_colonial]

I like making a sort of chickpea curry served over rice. I start with an onion, a can of chickpeas, and a can of tomatoes (or a few chopped fresh ones). Saute the onion in a little oil until they're translucent, add the chickpeas and tomatoes, add spices (I just dump in a spoonful of generic curry powder), optionally add a bunch of chopped greens (spinach, kale, etc). Cook until heated through -- it hardly needs more than that.

I have a million and one recipes for legumes of all kinds, most of them beginner-friendly and lactose free. Let me know if you want more.

[princess]

Oh my GOD, that sounds good. Yes please more!

[damned_colonial]

OK, well, there's my generic beans which I use for beans-and-rice, various mexican-ish dishes, etc. Saute an onion in a little oil, add 2-3 cups of dry beans (red beans, black beans, pinto beans), cover with water and cook until cooked (might take a couple of hours but you can leave it on a low burner on a weekend afternoon and it's no bother). When the beans are edibly soft, add stuff to taste: crushed tomatoes, ground cumin, dry oregano, chili flakes or hot sauce or whatever. Don't add the tomatoes earlier or they'll slow down the beans cooking. Cook for another 15 mins or so to blend flavours. You can use the resulting bean mess for all kinds of things, the easiest of which is beans and rice.

Turkish lentil soup: Put a cup or so of red lentils and a few cups of veg stock in a medium saucepan and simmer. Meanwhile, saute an onion and some garlic in a little oil in a big pot. Add 1 can diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup bulgur wheat, 1/2 bunch of chopped parsley and mix it around a bit til the bulgur soaks up the tomato liquid. By this time your lentils should be heading towards done. Upend the whole lentil/stock mess into the big pot. Add water if it seems thicker than you like your soup. Add some fresh or dried rosemary. Cooking until the lentils are thoroughly disintegrated and everything is soupy. Squeeze fresh lemon juice into it and add salt to taste (I usually find it needs a couple of pinches). Great served with pita bread and a green salad.

Cannelini bean and veg pasta: I like this one in summer, when the zucchinis are at their best. You want 1 can white cannelini beans, 1 can tomatoes, and about 3 small to medium sized zucchinis, cut in quarters lengthways then diced. Saute onion and garlic in oil, throw in beans and tomato and zucchini, add herbs (fresh oregano is great, dried is fine), serve over pasta.

Veg minestrone: you need good veg stock with a lot of body and deep flavour, like one of the commercial fake beef stocks, or one you've made yourself with browned/roasted vegies and mushrooms. Saute onion and garlic, add stock, crushed tomatoes, a cup or so of cooked beans (canned is OK but cooked from dry is better), and as many chopped vegies as you like. I use a mix of whatever's good at the farmer's market, and I love putting in kale cut into ribbons. Add the firmer vegies first and save the kale til the end. Also, add italian herbs like oregano or a blend if you have it. Towards the end, throw in a cup of macaroni/elbow noodles and cook til done.

Chickpea tagine: 1 can chickpeas, diced butternut squash, diced waxy potato, whatever else seems good in the root vegetable line. Make sure you've got some onions in there -- I like the little baby sized ones for this use. Put in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with moroccan spice blend. Mix a can of crushed tomatoes and a cup of veg stock together and pour over (this should spread the spices around). Cover and bake at 350F for an hour. Serve with couscous.

[magycmyste]

ooh, that sounds like a nice, simple version of Indian chole!

[angelikitten]

Ooooh, I will totally have to try this (and some of the other things you've mentioned below too). Thanks so much!

[azurelunatic]

Edamame? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edamame

I think it's more commonly an appetizer or side dish than a main dish, though.

[angelikitten]

I'd totally forgotten about that! I had some with some friends at a sushi restaurant once, and we were all much more interested in it than the sushi XD

[exhausted_pigeon]

Toasting some slivered almonds and then putting it together with some salt, pepper and grated zuchhnini in a pan for just a couple of minutes is always good.

[angelikitten]

I do not have words for how nice that sounds.

[exhausted_pigeon]

It's absolutely delicious.

[marcelle42]

Fajitas works pretty well for this. Tortillas, sauteed onions and peppers, black beans, lettuce, salsa, guacamole... and then if there are omnivores or folks who eat dairy, you can offer various meat fillings or cheese or sour cream. It works well as a "make your own" kind of dish, too.

[angelikitten]

I totally hadn't even thought of this. Thanks so much!

[marymac]

In my house, vegan-visitors and small dairy/gluten intolerant person get fed Goo Wraps.

2 packets firm/extra firm tofu

2 peppers
2 aubergines (eggplant, oh colonials. Or just add more peppers or courgettes, or whatever)
2 onions
1 carton tomato passata (750 ml)
1 tin chopped tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, chopped
similar amount of ginger, chopped
1/2 teaspoon chilli
1 tablespoon cinnamon (or more, to taste)
2 tablespoons brown sugar (or to taste)

tortilla wraps (dairy free, in this case)


Put passata and spices in pan together and simmer until reduced.
Slice onions, peppers, peel aubergines and slice. Fry together in hot oil until aubergine tender.
Slice tofu, sprinkle with soy sauce/other flavour of choice and grill until toasty.

Mix sauce and vegetables. Combine with grilled tofu and wraps for magnificent goo.

(If not feeding vegan/dairy intolerant, sub the tofu for halloumi instead. Nom.)

[angelikitten]

Oh, so that's what eggplant is. I always manage to forget what my US friends mean when they say that.

Thanks so much for the recipe!

[marymac]

I only figured it out after much over-the-phone confusion in the shop one night.

Lesson: Americans should not dispatch assorted Irish, English and Australian friends to the shop unless they have translated their shopping list first.

[dame_grise]

I know aubergines (I remember from the college year I spent in Scotland.), but I'm not sure I remember courgettes. Are they green summer squashes? Wait... squash is a problem too. Marrows?

Gah! I didn't realize how hard this would be.

[marymac]

They're a one of these.
Zucchini is a weird word.

[dame_grise]

OK. That's what I thought.

[flamewarrior]

Courgettes are zucchinis.

[juliet]

Try this website: http://www.earth.li/~kake/cookery/ for lots & lots of vegan recipes (which is going to be your easiest way to cook veggie and lactose-free).

I'm vegan, haven't owned a microwave in years, and rarely use a blender, so can assure you that a stove & oven is plenty :)

Some variety of pasta + sauce? (Veggie pasta sauce: chop onion & some garlic, chuck into olive oil for a bit. Add chopped/diced mushrooms, courgette (zucchini), bell pepper, anything in the veggie line that you have around the place, fry for a bit more. Chuck in a tin of drained chickpeas & a tin of chopped tomatoes (or real chopped tomatoes & some water). Balsamic vinegar if you have it (or white wine vinegar), bit of basil or mixed herbs. Simmer for a while.)

[angelikitten]

Thanks, I'll take a look into that :)

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[insilhouette]

I can't eat too much lactose or else my intestines try to explode on me, so I just replace however much milk they say with soy milk or rice milk. It always works fine for me. For recipes that call for cream cheese, use Tofutti or something similar.

Some suggestions

[flamewarrior]

All of these except for 6. can be made just using the hob:

1. Pasta and any sauce that doesn't require cheese or cream.

2. Risotto, turned creamy by Making It Properly (i.e. using proper Arborio Risotto rice, adding small amounts of veggie stock at regular intervals and stirring continuously), rather than cheating by adding cream at the end.

3. Scrambled eggs or omelette, using soya or rice milk if you absolutely need to have some liquid to beat the eggs with, served with home fries and steamed greens.

4. Stir fried veggies and (wholewheat) noodles. Add nuts (cashew nuts work best) or tofu for protein.

5. Quorn chilli and rice, with avocado and plain tortilla chips / nachos.

6. Roast veggies with red beans and rice. Favourite veggies for this: sweet potatoes, onions, whole garlic cloves, bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, squash.

[aedifica]

If you're still looking for thoughts (I realize it's been nearly six months since you posted this), there's a cookbook available free online that you might like. My family calls it Eve's Dad's Cookbook because my sister's friend Eve's father wrote it, but the actual title is How to Survive As A Low Budget Vegetarian. I love the lentil stew. I also love that the first half of the book talks about how to use all the ingredients, what the differences are between different kinds of rice, between different kinds of beans, etc.

http://www.lbveg.com/ (lbveg as in Low Budget Vegetarian)

[angelikitten]

Oooh, thanks!