Celebrate World Vegetarian Day on 1 October with a delicious and nutritious, vegetable-rich meal. Not only are vegetarian dishes packed with nutrients and flavour, but they are a great way to brighten your day with colourful ingredients. Vegetarian dishes also lean on basics, staples, and occasionally something more exotic. These recipes are delicious if you regularly cook vegetable-forward dishes, or if you’re looking at eating a divine plant-based meal.
Sheet-pan Orange Tofu and Broccoli
Try this vegetarian riff on orange chicken that puts tofu in the starring role of a weeknight-friendly sheet-pan dinner. To fully deliver on the recipe’s name, there’s both fresh orange juice and orange zest in the sauce for maximum brightness, but using store-bought juice will work in a pinch.
Oh, and don’t toss the broccoli stem; once chopped into small pieces, it roasts into crisp-tender vegetal sweetness alongside the florets.
See the full recipe here: Sheet-pan Orange Tofu and Broccoli
Fast and Flavourful Asparagus Pasta
Swapping traditional ingredients like guanciale and pancetta for vegetable-based umami bombs (hello, garlic and smoked paprika) isn’t the only thing to consider when making a vegetarian carbonara. Many hard cheeses (including Parmigiano-Reggiano) use animal rennet, so if you want to seek an alternative, ask your cheesemonger or check out this list.
See the full recipe here: Quick and easy asparagus pasta
Jamie Oliver’s Vegetarian Cottage Pie
Cottage Pie is typically filled with cooked beef mince and topped with those delicious smooth and crispy mashed potatoes. But thanks to world-famous chef Jamie Oliver, even vegetarians have a seat at the table when cottage pie is the order of the day. Lentils are the meaty superhero of this cottage pie recipe.
See the full recipe on House & Garden here: Jamie Oliver’s Vegetarian Cottage Pie
Fried Potato Masala Toastie
There isn’t a better toasted cheese sandwich than this one. Chaat masala is pretty crucial here and readily available from Indian superstores or online (you could use garam masala, but it won’t have the same tang). Sour, salty and hot, chaat masala is the transformative pinch to many different Indian dishes, and here, it is insanely good with the cheese and the chutney. Saturday lunch just got a whole lot better.
See the full recipe here on House & Garden: Fried Potato Masala Toastie
Smashed Cucumber Salad
Almost every element of this salad has a swap option. Use any type of cucumber, depending on what’s around. You can add cherry tomatoes instead of a larger one, or reach for black vinegar, instead of an Acid League Meyer lemon and honey vinegar. A dash of nutty chili oil at the end never hurt anyone. And if you’re particularly hungry, throw in fusilli and turn it into a pasta salad.You can use a sesame paste instead of sesame oil to make it richer and creamier.
See the full recipe here: My Family’s Smashed Cucumber Salad Never Gets Old
Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Creamy Mushrooms
This sweet potato gnocchi with creamy mushrooms, brown butter & crispy sage is the most autumnal recipe you can get. This is an impressive vegetarian dish with all the cosy flavours you will love. The sweetness of the potatoes is balanced with the savoury umami flavour of the creamy mushrooms. I have used a mix of porcini and other exotic mushrooms including shitake. If you can’t get hold of these, replace them with Portobello mushrooms.
See the full recipe here: Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Creamy Mushrooms
