Well, today makes it one whole year since I decided that I
would become a vegetarian. For those unfamiliar with my story my partner
Charlotte became a vegetarian some 25 years ago at a young age. I was different;
I had eaten meat all my life until our paths crossed in 2010.
We moved in together back in 2011 and almost immediately my
meat consumption dropped overnight. It was nothing to do with her preaching
vegetarianism at me, as far as she was concerned if I was going to eat meat
that was my choice and she accepted me as I was. From my point of view I didn’t
think it was necessary to cook separate meals; I would eat whatever Charlotte ate, and that’s
what we did at home. It was an easy choice for me because the food Charlotte prepared was absolutely
delicious. When we ate out on occasions I would venture into the meat dishes on
the menu but this was becoming rarer as time went on.
Eventually the penny finally dropped. Why was I still bothering to eat meat? The
food I was eating at home was all vegetarian and was by far tastier than meat
dishes. I was also feeling a whole lot better
for my reduced meat intake so, one year ago, I made the decision: “no more meat”.
Has it been hard? No not at all. What is there not to like about vegetarian
eating? It’s tasty, healthy and nutritious food. Charlotte
has inspired me and given me the confidence to experiment more in the kitchen. Now I enjoy discovering new recipes and
sharing them through this blog. I can honestly say that I don’t miss the meat
in the slightest. I only wish I’d
embraced a vegetarian diet sooner in life.
You won’t get in a stew over this stew
Split pea stew with Ethiopian spices
I have found that the Times
newspaper often has some great vegetarian recipes. Last weekend, I made this lovely stew with
Ethiopian spices. It takes a little
time, but please don’t be put off. It tastes
delicious. I halved the recipe and it
made enough for 4.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
250g yellow split peas, rinsed and thoroughly drained
2tbsp olive oil
20g butter
3 onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves
1tbsp grated ginger
1tsp cardamom seeds, crushed
1tsp turmeric
Salt and ground black pepper
250g spinach, cooked, drained and chopped
Handful torn basil leaves
Method
1). Simmer the split peas in a saucepan with 600ml of water
for about 50 minutes, until they are tender and beginning to break up.
2). Meanwhile, heat the oil and butter in a frying pan, and
fry the onion over a gentle heat until translucent and sweet smelling
3). Add the garlic and ginger and continue to cook for
another 5 minutes, taking care they don’t burn.
Stir in the cardamom and turmeric and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
4). Drain peas, reserving any water, stir into onions and
spices. Season and cook for another
20-30 minutes.
5). Stir in spinach and basil and serve.
I served the stew with some onion seed flatbreads from a
recipe I’d also found in the Times. Here it is:
Makes 8 flatbreads
Ingredients
250g plain flour
1tsp salt
2tbsp olive oil
150ml warm water
1tbsp black onion seeds
Method
1). Form ingredients into dough with hands.
2). Knead on floured surface until smooth.
3). Roll into sausage and cut into 8. Roll balls into thin discs.
4). Cook in hot, dry frying pan for 2 minutes each side
until charred.
Unlike the stew, I didn’t halve the quantity here. We ate the left over flatbreads with houmous.
I’d recommend searching for flatbread recipes online. I can’t believe how much ready-made
flatbreads cost – it’s so much cheaper making them yourself. And so simple too. If you haven’t got onion seeds, then you
could experiment with other store-cupboard herbs and spices, for example,
paprika or parsley.
