Fettuccine Alfredo
I love many vegetable incarnations of Tex-Mex standards – cheese, refried beans, black beans, potatoes, and/or spinach in tacos, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, etc. I make black bean and sweet potato burritos at home.
I love all kinds of vegetable soups. I made potato soup yesterday.
Indian vegetarian dishes are delicious. My favorites are palak paneer, aloo mutter, and chana dal. These I eat out or buy the MRE style pouches.
My default “vegetarian dish” is an Indian or Pakistani buffet. If I have a vegetarian guest, that is always my first choice to take them where they will get excellent food and a good selection.
Linguine tossed with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, a splash of basalmic vinegar, and sprinkled with Parmesan.
Pinto beans (with salt, pepper and cayenne, finished with butter) and cornbread is a complete meal for me. Bonus points because you can do the cornbread with honey as a dessert. (For some meat flavor, ham hock or ham bones in the beans is nice, but not necessary)
Bean and cheese burritos are another go-to.
Vegetarian lasagna works pretty well, especially if you duplicate the flavorings that a normal recipe would pick up from the Italian sausage. I use portobello mushrooms, eggplant and zucchini for the layers that used to have meat, but any veggies you like will work.
A big ol’ salad. Love 'em.
Black bean tacos -
(1) saute a couple of small onions (diced) until soft.
(2) add two regular sized cans of black beans (drained, but not excessively so)
(3) add 2 tblsp chili powder, 2 tblsp cumin, 1 tblsp soy sauce, and 2 tblsp syrup. Yes, regular ol’ maple syrup.
(4) turn the heat down and cook it gently for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Serve with warmed up tortillas and all the fixings - i.e. salsa, cheese (if you allow that), lettuce, tomato, etc.
Yes, the spice amounts seem excessive (those are tablespoons!) but it balances out very nicely. And the syrup gives it a certain je ne sais quoi.
If you’re cooking beans you need a lot more spices than you would for meat or cheese. Beans, and to some extent the grains that often go with them, really soak up flavorings.
I don’t eat fast food any more, with an exception. Bean tacos from Taco Bell. Just order regular tacos and ask for beans instead of meat.
My favorite thing at home is chana masala. I love it so much I learned to make it myself so I don’t have to spend a fortune buying it from restaurants.
I like most vegetables, especially southern style, which is not EXACTLY vegetarian as they often have bacon fat or hamhocks or something like that in the broth for flavor. Mostly I eat them as sides with meat, but a plate of butter beans, collard greens, black eyed peas and a corn muffin leaves me very happy indeed.
Yeah, I think I’d go with falafel, as well. That’s some damned good stuff. Also a big fan of eggplant, especially in baba ganouj, but that’s not really a main dish. All the vegetarian Indian stuff is fine by me. Plus my favorite Italian pasta dishes tend to be vegetarian, so there’s all that. And I love eggs. I eat meat almost every day, but I don’t think it would be difficult for me to go ovo-lacto vegetarian. Vegan would be much more difficult, but not impossible.
While we’re on the subcontinent, Nepali daal bhat is also quite good. Basically, rice, spiced lentil sauce, and assorted green veggies, with hot peppers optional. Unfortunately I don’t have a recipe, though.
Spaghetti with a tomato, garlic, olive oil, basil, and capers sauce.
Worcestershire sauce has anchovies in it, thus not vegetarian.
My favorite vegetarian dish is elbow macaroni with canned tomatoes, fixed up with herbs and garlic.
Don’t they have lard in them?
Nope. They’re vegan. Doesn’t mean they’re good for you, but no animal products in the beans at all.
Soup. SOOOOP!
Soup, soup, a tasty soup, soup,
A spicy carrot and coriander,
Chili chowder,
Crouton, crouton.
Crunchy friends in a liquid broth!
I am gaspatch-eeo, oh!
I am a summer soup, mmm!
Miso, miso, fighting in the dojo,
Miso, miso, Oriental prince in the land of soup!
Couscous with spicy tomato and chickpea sauce.
Mushroom risotto
Chip butties.
I prefer a Chana dal but Tarka dal is great when you want something a little 'otter…
a-bumpt’ish
I’m here all week, tip your waitress, try the veal
shit!..no, not the veal…the hummus, the hummus.
We ourselves probably eat meat once or twice a week at most, but our go-to veg dish to bring to a potluck is a leek/cheese quiche. Easily converted to vegan by dropping the cheese and butter.