As May is the month of National Vegetarian Week, you may be looking for some fantastic non-meat dishes to enjoy with friends and family.

While BBC Good Food explains that a vegetarian diet could provide a healthier way to eat and benefit the environment, a great reason to eat more vegetarian food is that it tastes great.

If you’re interested in cooking vegetarian food but don’t know where to start, or regularly eat “veggie” food and you’re looking for something different, discover three delicious recipes you could try.

1. Vegetarian fajitas

Ingredients

• 400g can black beans, drained
• small bunch of coriander, finely chopped
• 4 large or 8-12 small flour tortillas
• 1 avocado, sliced, or 1 small tub guacamole
• 2 tbsp soured cream

For the fajita mix

• 1 red and 1 yellow pepper, cut into strips
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 red onion, cut into thin wedges
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 lime, juiced

Step one

Take two or three strips from each pepper and finely chop them. Then, heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the rest of the pepper with the onion until they’re soft and starting to brown at the edges.

Cool slightly and mix in the chopped raw peppers. Add the garlic and cook for a minute, then add the spices and stir. Cook for a couple more minutes until the spices become aromatic, add half the lime juice and then season. Transfer to a dish, leaving any juices behind, and keep warm.

Step two

Tip the black beans into the pan with the juices in it, then add the remaining lime juice and plenty of seasoning. Stir the beans around to warm them through and absorb the flavours of the fajita mix, then add and stir in the coriander.

Step three

Warm the tortillas in a microwave or in a low oven, then wrap them so they don’t dry out. Serve the tortillas with the fajita mix, beans, avocado and soured cream.

2. Vegetarian pie

Ingredients for the pie filling

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 700g fresh spinach
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 30g vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 240g artichokes from a can, quartered
• 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 lemon, zest only
• 180g vegetarian ricotta cheese

Ingredients for the pie

• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 2 ready-rolled shortcrust pastry sheets (we used Jus-Rol)
• 5 medium free-range eggs, left in their shell
• 1 medium free-range egg, beaten

Step one

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the spinach, leaving it for 5 – 8 minutes with the lid on until it wilts. This may need to be done in batches depending on the size of the pan.

Remove the lid, add the garlic and cook for five minutes before taking the pan off the heat and adding the Italian-style hard cheese and oregano. Then place in a bowl and put to one side.

Using the same frying pan, cook the artichokes over a high heat for five minutes, until lightly browned. Add the parsley and lemon zest, and again set aside in a bowl. When the artichokes have cooled slightly, mix in the ricotta.

Step two

Oil an 18cm-wide fluted tin, then roll one of the sheets of pastry into it. Trim the overhang with a knife.

Put half of the spinach mixture on the bottom of the tin, spreading it evenly. Do the same for the artichoke mixture, but leave five holes evenly spaced out from each other. Make sure each hole is big enough to crack a full egg into.

Add the remaining spinach in a layer on top, leaving space around the holes for the eggs.

Crack one egg into each of the holes then roll the second sheet of pastry over the top of the pie and trim it. Press the edges together to seal the pastry. Put the pie in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Step three

Preheat the oven to 200⁰C/fan 180⁰C/gas mark 6.

Remove the pie from the fridge. Brush it with the egg to glaze and bake in the oven for 45 – 50 minutes, until golden. Once cooked, leave in the tin for 10 minutes to cool before removing.

3. Pea and leek open lasagne

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 2 leeks, washed and sliced into half moons
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 250g frozen peas
• 100g kale
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 2 tbsp low-fat crème fraiche
• 1 lemon, zested
• 4 fresh lasagne sheets

Step one

Place a frying pan over a medium heat and pour in the oil. Add the leeks, garlic and a pinch of salt, then cook until soft, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil.

Step two

Tip the peas and kale into the pan with the leeks, then add a splash of water. Cook until the kale has wilted and peas are defrosted. Turn the heat down to low before stirring in the mustard, crème fraiche and three-quarters of the lemon zest.

Add enough water to make a sauce, mix well and season to taste.

Step three

Drop the lasagne into the water and cook as per instructions, then drain. Put one lasagne sheet on each plate, top with half the leek and pea mix then layer up the second lasagne sheet and the remaining greens. Scatter over the remaining lemon zest and add a good grinding of black pepper.

Get in touch

We hope you enjoy these recipes both now and in the future. If in the meantime you would like to discuss any financial issues, how to be more tax-efficient or investing, please contact us by calling 0800 434 6337.