Does anyone know of a good replacement for meat that is vegetable based?!
Does anyone know of a good replacement for meat that is vegetable based?
I have a nice dinner planned with friends some of whom are vegetarians and vegans and I would like to offer something great tasting that can be cooked easily and won't look out of place next to the other meat dishes I'm preparing. :-)
Answers:
pasta with beans(and tomato sauce, of course): it's a complete meal and vegetarians knows it's a good substitute of meat!
make some stewed tomato spaghetti with vegimeat, actually tastes good!
Quorn is a great meat substitute and cooks in only about 5 minutes.
You can buy it frozen or fresh, in pieces that look like chicken, steak, mince or any other meat product.
It doesnt taste to bad but you really need to have a dish with lots of flavour.
If meat is so abhorrent to veggie folk then why do they want something that looks like meat?
There are lots of them out there these days. They're called mock meat or vegetarian beef/mutton/chicken, etc. These are mostly soya-bean based products without eggs.
Soy beans, ceasar's salad, basically any sort of salad you know.
tofu
Get some big flat or portabello mushrooms, cut the stalks off, put upside down in a baking dish. Drizzle olive oil into the cup, knob of butter, pepper, dash of soy sauce.
Roast in an oven at about 180 for 15-20 minutes, longer if necessary, they should be cooked but not overcooked or they shrivel and shrink. All the juice from the mushroom is contained in the cup and the whole thing is really intense and "meaty".
A nice variation is to grate some strong cheddar on the top as well so it melts.
Alternatively, why don't you make a lovely 3-4 bean chilli? Then you can all eat the same.
Remember that Quorn is no good for Vegans, its got egg in it.
Try popping along to the nearest wholefood shop, they often have meat-substitutes and can offer advice, they are often veggies or vegans themselves.
Remember cross-contamination is an issue for most V&V so you'll need to cook it seperately.
How about asking them what they'd LIKE to eat rather than expecting them to have a vegetarian version of what you'll be eating, just because you're worried of what it'll look like on the dinner table.
What if they don't like meat substitute products? I think they're revolting personally. I'd be horrified if someone served me a soya pile of rubbish which tries to look like and in some cases even replicate the taste of meat. When I go for a meal, I want good honest veggie food - not something masquerading as dead animal. To me, using quorn products shows that you lack imagination.
As mentioned above, you'll need to cook everything completely separately to avoid cross contamination, so what's the point in doing them something nigh on identical, when you may not have enough pans and utensils to do it properly?
Try asking your friends for some ideas.
Butter bean & mushroom stroganoff!!
Yes, I have tasted a completely new "veggi meat" that's made from lentils flour and wheat flour. It's called "Muscolo di grano", it's produced in Italy by Yagga. It tastes delicious, and it has a good texture too. Given that it doesn't contain any dairy products, is suitable for vegans too. You find it in different shapes, it can resemble a meat loaf, or a steak, or steak strips. "Muscolo di grano" is easily cooked, you can fry it, or stew it along with vegetables, or grill it.
It's a brand new product, you can find it in some specialized health food shops o on the internet.
if you want to learn more about it, check this out:
www.yagga.co.uk
a mild biryani would go down well here, as long as you make one without the meat content.
Simply cook some lentils up in a little water. You get different color lentils, and if you mix them up, they look lovely.
In a separate pot, fry onions and diced potatoes.
When the lentils are soft add them to the onion/potato mix and add some mild masala, dill and star aniseed.
Stir fry the lot and if you wish add some "French style" frozen vegetables that contains sweet peppers and mushrooms.
The dish is ready when the veg are still chewy and crisp.
Cause your question gets answered again and again rather than me typing the answer just go see my 360 page see the either Recipes or Vegetarianism. You'll get all you need for Vegetarianism there!
I'm a young vegetarian and i LIVE off of morningstar farms food. it looks and tastes like real meat! Its made out of soy and some eggs. you can get veggie and vegan food. You can get there products at almost any supermarket. If you have a Wal*Mart Supercenter or a Sams Club, you can get some there in the frozen food section. Visit www.seeveggiesdifferently.com for tons of recipes and product info!
I agree with Tia; Morning Star makes great alternatives. I used their crumbles to make spaghetti the other night. For those who are vegan, some MS products do contain eggs, so you may want to look into that. As a lacto-ovo vegetarian, it doesn't bother me.