Meat Free Mondays

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Comment by Ruth Carpenter on February 4, 2011 at 8:49

Here's a great quick and easy recipe my whole family love:

Haloumi with Spiced Chickpeas, Spinach and Tomato

2T vegetable oil
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
1t ground turmeric
1t ground cumin
2 x 400g cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 large tomatoes, chopped
100g baby spinach
2 x 180g packets haloumi
Crusty bread to serve


1. Heat 1T oil in a pan on medium. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring until softened. Add spices and stir for 2 minutes, until aromatic and slightly toasted.
2. Stir through the chickpeas, tomatoes and ¼ cup water. Cook for 3 minutes until the water is absorbed. Stir through spinach and cook for another minute, just until spinach wilts. Season to taste.
3. Meanwhile heat remaining oil in a non-stick fry pay on high. Cook haloumi for 30 seconds on each side, until golden and starting to melt.

Serves 4

Comment by Julian Fisher on December 6, 2010 at 17:33

Very simple Indian type recipe...

Fresh spinach and fenugreek seeds - in a saucepan, heat oil until hot, add fenugreek seeds (don't over do them, less than a dozen will do), swish around until the aroma is released (don't burn the seeds), turn heat down and add chopped fresh spinach, mix together. Put lid on and cook until the spinach is the way you like it. Eat with rice (Basmati compliments the spinach well).

I like this quite dry so I remove the lid near the end of cooking.

If you like you can add turmeric to the cooking spinach or add a fresh red sliced chilli to the infused oil or onions (in this recipe I like them chunky and just softened, not fried too much). Add salt if you like.

Enjoy!

Comment by alison Zutshi on October 29, 2010 at 16:57

Ok so here is the recipe for my aubergine and mozerlla thingy - it has some Italian name but I can't spell it!!

No ingredients list as its so simple .

Make yourself a really nice tomato sauce with lots of fresh basil, garlic and some chilli if you like some heat - or if you are really pushed for time then buy a good quality one - oops wash my mouth out!!.
Meanwhile take an Aubergine and cut it into about 5 cm thick slices. Brush each with oil, season and rub with some garlic and then place each on a hot griddle pan to mark well on both sides. You need lots of colour as this adds lots of flavour.

Take a ball of mozarella cheese - the best you can afford - and slice that into 3 mm slices.

Once all your components are ready, take an oven proof dish and layer up with tomato sauce at the bottom, then aubergine slices then mozarella and repeat until all used up. Put tomato sauce on the top and then shave on some parmesan cheese or just use more mozalrella on top.. At this point you can put in the fridge and leave it or even freeze it for another day. Otherwise stick it in an oven at 180 for about 10 - 15 mintues until piping hot through out and going brown on top.

Serve with a lovely chianti or Valpolicella (using the money you saved from not having meat) and thank god that its a meat free monday!!

Comment by Anicca O'Nions on October 28, 2010 at 13:35

Okay, so what are we all going to cook next Meat-Free Monday?

Comment by Joe Bartlett on October 11, 2010 at 21:11

meat free mondays? bring on tuna tuesdays and thirsty thursdays....mmmmmmm

Comment by alison Zutshi on October 11, 2010 at 13:54

sounds great but i have already bought a couple of chickens to make a curry tonight so will have to start next week!! hopefully there may be some of peoples yummy recipes up here by then - i need some inspiration please!! I also live in a house of feel a meals not a meal without some carniverous activity so if anyone can help me convert them that would be great!

Comment by Dom O on October 11, 2010 at 13:31

Partly inspired by Hugh FW's veggies show, partly by the campaign meatfreemondays.co.uk, I like the idea of setting a day in the week where you need to think outside the box.

All are welcome to join this group and share some ideas, recipes, inspiration, politics, jokes, whatever you like.

It's my turn to cook this Monday so I better raid the recipes box and get down the greengrocers.