Recipes Meat Free

Meat free is a great way to live sustainably, especially when you consider shopping seasonally and at your local farms. Here are three great recipes to try.

Vegetable Pizza

1 large eggplant, sliced

4 medium zucchini, sliced

12 button mushrooms, sliced

1 red capsicum, quartered

480g wholemeal pita breads

1/2 cup tomato pizza sauce

1 cup Bulla Cottage Cheese

Basil leaves, to serve

Step 1

Char-grill eggplant, zucchini, mushroom and capsicum on a non-stick grill or BBQ until tender. Remove skin from blackened red capsicum and cut into strips.

Step 2

Spread the pita breads with tomato sauce and top with vegetables. Dollop evenly with cottage cheese.

Step 3

Bake at 200°C for 10-15 minutes or until base is crisp and the cheese has browned. Serve topped with basil leaves.

Spring Dhal

This hearty braised dhal recipe will become a go-to weeknight recipe for when you're short on time. In just 45 minutes you'll create a high fibre, vegetarian dinner as pumpkin, silverbeet and lentils cook in one pan.

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve

1 brown onion, finely chopped

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

2 tsp garam masala

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2cm piece fresh ginger, finely grated

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 cups Massel vegetable liquid stock

1 1/2 cups dried green lentils, rinsed

300g butternut pumpkin, peeled, cut into 1cm pieces

3 stems silverbeet

2 tbsp fresh coriander sprigs

Step 1

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until softened. Add mustard seeds, garam masala, garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 minute or until just fragrant.

Step 2

Stir in tomato paste. Add stock and 2 cups of water. Bring to a simmer. Stir in lentils. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover. Cook for 20 minutes or until lentils are almost tender.

Step 3

Add pumpkin. Cook, covered, for a further 8 minutes or until lentils and pumpkin are tender.

Step 4

Meanwhile, remove and discard stalk and centre vein from silverbeet. Roughly chop leaves. Add to lentil mixture. Cook for 2 minutes or until just wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Serve dhal topped with coriander and drizzled with extra olive oil.

Vegetable Ribbon Skewers

Whether cooked in your pan or on the barbecue, the combination of zucchini, pumpkin and tomato salsa flavours on these skewers is just right.

2 (450g) zucchini, peeled into ribbons

400g butternut pumpkin, peeled into ribbons

1 red capsicum, cut into 2.5cm pieces

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp dried oregano

50g goat’s cheese, crumbled

Tomato salsa:

3 roma tomatoes, seeded, finely chopped

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tbsp red vinegar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Step 1

Place zucchini, pumpkin and capsicum in a large bowl. Add oil and oregano. Toss well to coat. Thread pieces of capsicum, zucchini and pumpkin onto a skewer in alternating order. Repeat for the remaining skewers.

Step 2

Make Tomato Salsa: Combine tomato, onion, garlic, basil, parsley, vinegar and oil in a glass or ceramic bowl. Season well with salt and pepper.

Step 3

Heat a chargrill pan or barbecue grill on medium heat. Cook skewers, turning occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until vegetables are golden and tender. Transfer to a serving tray. Spoon

Tomato Salsa over skewers and sprinkle with goat’s cheese. Serve.

Source: Taste.com