Healthy Vegetarian Recipes

Salmon Fillet with Vegetable Pasta in Tomato Sauce

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Low-fat and delicious, these salmon fillets with vegetable pasta are great for slimmers.

Salmon Fillet with Vegetable Pasta in Tomato Sauce

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Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g pasta shapes such as rigatoni
  • Pinch of salt
  • 150 g broccoli broken into small florets
  • 100 g fine green beans trimmed and halved
  • 1 leek trimmed and sliced
  • 4 x 100g salmon fillets
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
  • 100 g frozen garden peas thawed
  • 500 g jar original tomato pasta sauce

Instructions
 

  • Pre-heat the grill.
  • Cook the pasta shapes in a large saucepan of lightly salted boiling water for 8-10 mins, or according to pack instructions. At the same time, cook the broccoli, green beans and leek in a little boiling water until just tender, for about 5 mins.
  • Meanwhile, arrange the salmon fillets on the grill rack. Sprinkle them with lemon juice, season with black pepper and sprinkle with half the chopped chives.
  • Grill for 6-8 mins, or until the flesh is opaque and flakes easily when tested with a fork.
  • Drain the pasta and vegetables then return them to the saucepan with the peas. Stir in the jar of pasta sauce and heat, stirring gently for 2-3 mins.
  • Share the pasta between 4 warmed serving plates or bowls and top with a fillet of salmon. Sprinkle with the remaining chives and serve immediately.

Notes

Swap the lemon juice in this recipe for orange juice to give the salmon a different flavour.

Grilled Vegetable and Halloumi Salad

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This warm grilled vegetable and halloumi salad can be cooked outside on the barbecue in the summer or indoors on a griddle pan when the weather is not so good. Halloumi is the perfect cheese for grilling because it has a high melting point so retains it’s shape when cooked. It has a slightly rubbery texture and salty flavour and is delicious when grilled or fried as it gets a golden crust on the outside. If you’re on a gluten-free diet this salad can be served as an alternative to a pastry-based quiche and is very good served with new potatoes or potato rosti cakes.

Grilled Vegetable and Halloumi Salad

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Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 2 courgettes halved or quartered lengthways and thickly sliced
  • 250 g asparagus spears trimmed and halved lengthways if thick
  • 8 medium-sized flat mushrooms wiped and trimmed
  • 8 cherry tomatoes
  • 250 g halloumi cheese cut into 8 slices

Marinade

  • 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 9 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed

Instructions
 

  • Place the courgettes, asparagus, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes in a shallow non-metallic dish. Mix together the marinade ingredients in a small bowl, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and pour over the vegetables. Mix to coat in the marinade then cover and leave to marinate for 30 mins.
  • Remove the vegetables from the marinade and reserve the marinade. If cooking on a barbecue, thread the courgette pieces and tomatoes onto skewers before cooking. Cook all the vegetables on a hot barbecue or in a preheated griddle pan, in batches, for 3-4 mins turning occasionally, until lightly charred and just tender. Cook the halloumi slices for 1 min each side until golden.
  • Place the halloumi slices on top of the vegetables and pour the reserved marinade over the top. Serve warm.

Notes

Aurbergines, peppers, fennel, butternut squash and carrots are all delicious cooked in this way and really brings out their sweetness.

Baked Vegetable Polenta

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Polenta is an Italian store-cupboard staple. Typically a peasant ingredient it still remains a cheap but versatile grain. Recognised for its rich, yellow colour, it has a sweet taste to it and be found ranging from coarse to fine. It can be cooked to be creamy and thick, or griddled, baked and fried. It can even replace flour in gluten-free baking and comes in handy as a coating to meat and fish. This recipe makes a great vegetarian main meal or great as a side dish. Swap the feta cheese with any that you fancy. Try, cheddar, swiss, gouda or even stinky gorgonzola!

Baked Vegetable Polenta

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Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 50 mins
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 300 g quick-cook polenta
  • 1 garlic clove peeled and crushed
  • Small handful of fresh parsley chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 leeks
  • 200 g mushrooms
  • 300 g cherry tomatoes
  • Feta cheese cubed
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6. Mix the dry polenta grains with the garlic and parsley. Into a saucepan, pour the polenta mix into the required amount of boiling water as stated on the cooking packet. Cook polenta until a smooth consistency is achieved. Then pour into a baking tray. Set aside to cool.
  • In a frying pan, heat the oil and fry the leeks and mushrooms until tender.
  • Top the polenta with the fried vegetables and add the feta and tomatoes. Bake in the oven for 20mins until the polenta has risen and the cheese has started to melt. Serve immediately.

Notes

For extra flavour, use stock to cook the polenta in instead of water.

Quinoa, Feta & Broccoli Salad

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Celeb chef Jo adds quinoa, a super-healthy South American protein, to this tasty salad with feta cheese, broccoli and pomegranate.

Quinoa, Feta & Broccoli Salad

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Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 300 g quinoa
  • 200 g pack broccoli
  • 200 g feta cheese crumbled
  • 1 large handful of pumpkin seeds
  • Seeds from 1 pomegranate
  • 1 large handful of mint leaves roughly chopped
  • 1 large handful of flatleaf parsley roughly chopped
  • 3-4 ripe tomatoes deseeded and chopped
  • 1 bunch spring onions finely sliced
  • 3 tbsp extravirgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions
 

  • Cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions. Leave to cool in a large mixing bowl.
  • Meanwhile, the broccoli can be cut into small bite-size pieces and either lightly steamed or boiled, until just tender (4-5 mins will be about right) and also left to cool.
  • Heat a small frying pan and lightly toast the pumpkin seeds until they are slightly crunchy. Remove from the pan and leave to cool.
  • Once the quinoa and broccoli are cool, stir together along with the feta, pomegranate seeds, herbs, tomato, spring onions, olive oil and lemon juice. Season with a little salt, (the feta cheese will add a salty flavour) and a good twist of black pepper. Toss together until everything is combined and either serve straight away or keep in the fridge.

Notes

Jo says: 'I've used quinoa as a super healthy substitute to couscous or bulgur wheat. Not only is this a lovely midweek masterpiece, it's also fantastic to eat al fresco as part of a picnic or 'al desko' as part of your working lunch.'

Cheese and Spinach Baked Mushrooms

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Make delicious cheesy mushrooms as a vegetarian starter or turn them into a filling main served with brown rice and a side salad

Cheese and Spinach Baked Mushrooms

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Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 35 mins
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 30 ml/2 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ medium onion finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove finely chopped
  • 75 g basmati rice cooked
  • 150 g fresh baby spinach blanched, drained & chopped
  • Pinch nutmeg
  • 25 g Dolcelatte or any vegetarian blue cheese, crumbled
  • 4 flat mushrooms or portabello mushrooms stalks trimmed

To serve

  • Tomato and lettuce for the salad

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 190º C/375º F/Gas Mark 5.
  • Heat half the oil in a pan and gently sauté the onion and garlic until golden, then place in a medium sized mixing bowl.
  • Add the next four ingredients and mix well together to create the stuffing. Divide into four and fill the mushroom caps.
  • Use the remaining oil to grease the base of a roasting tin. Place the mushrooms in the tin and bake in a pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes until cooked.

Notes

Serve with a tomato and lettuce salad - we've got a great three tomato salad you could do and just add lettuce to it

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Balti

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At just £1.09 per serving, this vegetarian curry makes a lovely mid week meal. Quick and easy, it’s a great way of getting more veg into your family’s diet

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Balti

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Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 35 mins
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 onion peeled and cut into thin wedges
  • 3 tbsp balti paste or more if you like it spicy
  • 500 g 1lb sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 400 g can chopped tomatoes
  • 400 g can chickpeas drained and rinsed
  • 125 g 4 oz frozen spinach chunks
  • Naan breads or rice to serve

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and fry 3-4 mins. Stir in the balti paste and sweet potato chunks and cook for a couple of mins.
  • Add the tomatoes, 300ml (½ pint) hot water and the chickpeas. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 10-15 mins. Check the seasoning.
  • Microwave the frozen spinach for a few mins and spoon on top of the balti (or add to the balti for the last 5 mins of cooking). Spoon curry into bowls. Serve with hot naan bread or rice.

Notes

You can add chicken to this dinner to make it a little meatier

Tomato Tarte Tatin

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This savoury twist on the classic French tarte tatin makes a delicious vegetarian dish. Easy to prepare, this tasty treat will make an impressive dinner party centerpiece, served with a crisp green salad or seasonal veg

Tomato Tarte Tatin

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Prep Time 35 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 1 hr 5 mins
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 25 g butter
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 40 cherry tomatoes
  • 2 tsp dried thyme
  • 300 g puff pastry
  • 100 g Cheddar cheese grated

Instructions
 

  • Pre-heat the oven to 200 °C/Fan 180 °C/Gas mark 6.
  • Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan, add the tomatoes and cook over a medium heat for half an hour.
  • Season, add the thyme and pile into a shallow pie dish.
  • Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface. Cut the pastry in two. Layer the first piece of pastry over the tomatoes and sprinkle with the Cheddar cheese, then cover with the second layer of pastry.
  • Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown and gentle flip the tart onto a plate and remove from the dish.

Notes

If you’ve got some shallots to use up, they work well too. Make sure you add a splash of balsamic vinegar when cooking them

Quorn Sausages with Lentils

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Sausage casserole is a great recipe for a grey day and you don’t have to use meat. Lentils and veggie sausages taste just as good with plenty of vegetables

Quorn Sausages with Lentils

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Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 250 g pack/6 Quorn Sausages
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 4 sticks of celery chopped
  • 1 large red onion finely chopped How to chop an onion video
  • 1 clove garlic finely chopped
  • 400 g can brown lentils rinsed and drained
  • 75 g sundried tomatoes roughly sliced
  • 200 mls Vegetable Stock such as Marigold Swiss Bouillon
  • 4 tbsp half fat crème fraîche
  • 200 g cherry tomatoes halved
  • Chopped fresh coriander to garnish

Instructions
 

  • Slice each sausage diagonally into 3 pieces. Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, celery and sausages and cook, stirring, for 5-6 minutes.
  • Add lentils, stock, sun-dried tomatoes and seasoning to taste and cook over a low-medium heat for a further 10 mins.
  • Stir in the crème fraîche and cherry tomatoes and serve garnished with coriander.

Notes

Not a vegetarian? Meat sausages work just as well - just change the stock accordingly

Pepper and Mozzarella Strudel

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This mouthwatering vegetable and cheese strudel makes a hearty, flavour-filled vegetarian main meal

Pepper and Mozzarella Strudel

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Cook Time 45 mins
Total Time 45 mins
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 2 red peppers deseeded and thickly sliced
  • 2 yellow peppers deseeded and thickly sliced
  • 1 aubergine thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 200 g 7oz filo pastry
  • 100 g 3½ oz butter, melted
  • 2 x 125g packets mozzarella torn
  • Small bunch basil torn
  • Crisp salad and new potatoes to serve

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas mark 6). Combine the peppers and aubergine with the oil and season well. Cook under a preheated grill for 10 mins or until softened and lightly charred.
  • Place a sheet of filo pastry on greaseproof paper and brush with butter. Arrange three sheets of pastry on top, overlapping, creating a rectangle 40 x 30cm (16 x 12in).
  • Brush with butter and top with another layer of filo. Place the aubergine slices down the centre of the filo and layer up with the peppers and mozzarella, finishing with the basil.
  • Fold the ends of the filo over the vegetables. Using greaseproof paper, roll the filo up. Put on a baking sheet, brush with more butter and season well. Bake for 25 mins or until golden brown. Serve with a crisp salad and new potatoes.

Notes

Orange peppers work just as well in this recipe - so you can ring the changes if you prefer.