Delicious Vegetarian Recipes For Your Meat-Free Monday

You don't have to be a full-time vegetarian to get in on the #MeatfreeMonday action, but coming up with new and exciting veggie recipes every week can be a bit of a challenge, even for the most dedicated foodie.

With this in mind, The Huffington Post Australia contacted some vegetarian food bloggers to get their recommendations for easy, delicious veggo recipes ideal to whip up after slogging through a Monday at work. (Recommended to enjoy with a glass of wine.)

Here are three of their favourites.

Veggie burritos

Mexican Beans

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 red onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ red capsicum
• ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin seed
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon chopped
• Pickled jalapeño chilli (with the seeds removed)
• 400 g canned diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 400g can of black beans
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup brown or basmati rice cooked as per the packet instruction.

Guacamole

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 fresh lime
• handful of fresh coriander

Chargrilled veggie medley

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 medium zucchinis
• 1 red pepper
• 1 red onion
• 10 button mushrooms
• pinch of salt and ground
• black pepper
• 4 large burrito tortillas
• mixed salad leaves

Instructions

1. Peel and finely dice the red onion and sauté with the olive oil over a medium-low heat, until softened.
2. Crush the garlic, finely dice the red capsicum and add to the pan with the onions.
3. Continue to sauté for a further 5 minutes.
4. Add the sweet paprika, cayenne pepper, ground cumin seed and oregano and stir for a minute.
5. Remove the seeds and finely chop the jalapeño chilli and add to the pan along with the tomatoes, tomato paste and drained black beans.
6. Cover the pan with a lid and allow to simmer over a medium to low heat for 15 minutes.
7. Use a potato masher or the back of a fork to break up the beans and tomatoes.
8. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and season to taste with salt.
9. While this is cooking prepare the Guacamole and chargrill the veggies.
10. Chop the veggies into rustic 3cm cubes and toss in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
11. BBQ or grill for 5 minutes, turning a few times so as they cook evenly.
12. Prepare the Guacamole by combining the ripe avocado with the juice of the lime and the chopped coriander with the back of a fork.
13. Just before serving heat the burrito tortillas on the BBQ or griddle pan for a few seconds on each side.
14. Assemble the burritos by layering the centre of each of the warm burrito tortillas with rice, beans, veggies, guacamole and the salad leaves.
15. Garnish with extra coriander, jalapeño and a wedge of lime.

Veggie burrito recipe courtesy of Megan Young of Veggies & Me.

Lentil and Cauliflower-Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 150g cooked beluga beans
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 1/3 cauliflower
• 6 tbsp chopped fresh coriander or parsley( for dressing)
• 8 medium-large ripe heirloom tomatoes
• ½ clove crushed garlic
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 teaspoon herb salt
• sea salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Turn the oven on to 190 C. Cut the cauliflower into florets and place in a saucepan with water and herb salt and boil for approximately 15 minutes (or until cooked). Meanwhile, cut the tops off the tomatoes (don’t throw the tops away), scoop out the pulp and put the pulp in a separate bowl to add to the stuffing later. Flip the tomatoes over to drain.
2. Take the corn kernels off the cob. Chop up the spring onions and sautee in the frypan with olive oil add cumin seeds and corn kernels and stir for 2-3 minutes.
3. Remove spring onions, cumin seeds and corn from the stove and mix them with the beluga beans.
4. When the cauliflower is cooked, take it off the stove, drain and then put a food processor for 5-10 seconds to create a consistency similar to rice. Add the cauliflower to the beluga bean mix. Chop the chilli and coriander and add to the mix.
5. Blend the tomato pulp and whisk it together with olive oil, lime, salt, pepper and garlic.
6. Stir in some of the dressing to the bean and cauliflower mixture to taste.
7. Put oil on the oven tray and turn the tomatoes over, adding salt to taste on the inside of each tomato cavity. Then scoop the filling into the cavities, packing them gently and firmly, stacking the tomatoes against one another on the cooking tray. Spoon the rest of the dressing around the tomatoes as they are baking
8. Place the tomatoes in the oven for approximately 40 minutes or until cooked.

Recipe developed by the students of The Vegetarian Cooking School Veet’s Cuisine.

Vegan Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

• 250g wholemeal penne
• 1 cup potato, peeled and finely chopped
• ¼ cup carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 cup water
• ⅓ cup raw cashews
• 1 Tbs miso
• 1 Tbs tahini
• 1 Tbs lemon juice or 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• ½ tsp dijon mustard
• ⅓ cup dairy free butter
• ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Topping
• 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• Paprika for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 175ºC.
2. Cook the pasta then drain and set aside.
3. In a small saucepan add the potato, carrot and water. Boil covered for 10-15 minutes until tender.
4. To a blender add cashews, miso, lemon juice, mustard, butter, nutritional yeast and salt and pepper. Add the cooked potato, carrot and the cooking water and blend until smooth. If needed, add soy milk or water 1 Tbs at a time to thin. Taste for seasoning.
5. Add the cooked pasta to a baking dish and mix through the sauce. Top with breadcrumbs and a sprinkle of paprika.
6. Bake for 25 minutes until browned and bubbly. Serve.

Recipe courtesy of Tara Mathews at vegeTARAian.