Vegetarian and vegan seasonal Easter feasts: Part Two: Main courses
Finally, I’m giving you Part Two of the Vegetarian and vegan Easter feasts menu – sorry for the delay. Part Three (desserts) will follow shortly. See Part One for starters.
As with the starters (and desserts), I’ve used some of the same elements in the vegetarian and vegan dishes, so that those cooking both can save some time. I had big plans for something with courgette and aubergine, but they won’t be ready in the UK for a while and there were only Spanish ones available in the shops. But what I did find was some lovely leeks and asparagus (there was English asparagus for £3 per 250g and Israeli for £1.50 – what a shame, though I’m sure the English asparagus will get cheaper once more of it is available). I was hoping for Jersey Royals as well, but they’re not in yet. Instead I did manage to get some English new potatoes – which are delicious roasted in olive oil. (I can’t bare to do anything other steam Jersey Royals and slaver them with butter.)
Asparagus, leek and gruyere tartlets served with roasted new potatoes and salad
I probably should have picked a local cheese, but we had some gruyere in the fridge and I thought it would go well (feel free to substitute it with a local cheese that you like).
I’m not providing a pastry recipe as my attempt at wheat-free pastry (buckwheat and quinoa) didn’t work out terribly well. Not sure if this was the flour combination or the different fat I was using (Vitatlite so I could use the same pastry for both the vegan and vegetarian dishes, whereas I would normally use Flora Buttery). So, just use your favourite pastry recipe, or bought pastry if you prefer – shortcrust would work well, but a tougher one would also work. In fact, I think these tartlets would work well with no pastry at all, especially if you have a silicone muffin tray, as I used.
Asparagus, leek and gruyere tartlets, served with roasted new potatoes and salad
Ingredients
(Makes 8 tartlets – increase quantities as necessary)
8 pastry bases or cases in (silicone) muffin tray (optional – see above – just place ingredients into muffin tray compartments if not using pastry)
50g gruyere (or other) cheese, grated
3 eggs, beaten and seasoned (e.g. salt, pepper, dried herbs)
Method
Place a thin layer of leek and asparagus mixture on top of base (or inside case).
Place a sprinkle of grated cheese on top.
Pour over some of the egg mixture, to almost fill up each muffin tray (or fill the case if using full cases).
Cook in the oven at about 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4 for around 15 minutes. You can serve them hot or cold.
Serving
Serve with roasted new potatoes – cut potatoes in half (or smaller if they’re quite large). Place in an oven dish and coat liberally with olive oil, then sprinkle with sea salt crystals. Roast in the oven for 45–50 minutes at about 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4, stirring twice. Accompany with a fresh salad – if you have rocket and watercress left over from your starter, you could use that, or just some nice baby leaves, with cucumber and tomato slices (or cherry tomatoes if you have them).
Adaptations
You can adapt the cheese and the vegetables used, according to what’s available. Asparagus and pecorino go very well together, or you could use watercress and rocket (that you might have left over from the starter) with goat’s cheese. If you’re not using the mixture in the vegan dish below, you could cook the vegetables in butter.
Asparagus, leek and haricot bean hummus tartlets served with roasted new potatoes and salad
I’m not providing a pastry recipe (see above), so please use your favourite pastry recipe or bought pastry, if you prefer.
Asparagus, leek and haricot bean hummus tartlets served with roasted new potatoes and salad
Ingredients
(Makes 8 tartlets – increase quantities as necessary)
8 pastry bases or cases in (silicone) muffin tray (optional – see above – just place ingredients into muffin tray compartments if not using pastry)
1 tin of haricot beans, pureed and seasoned (e.g. salt, pepper and dried herbs – I used mixed herbs) and with some olive oil to loosen it up a little (don’t make it too liquid, though)
Method
Place a good dollop of the haricot bean hummus on to your bases (or into the cases).
Place a thin layer of leek and asparagus mixture on top of hummus.
Cook in the oven at about 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4 for around 15 minutes. You can serve them hot or cold.
Serving
Serve with roasted new potatoes – see above – and a fresh salad – again, see above.
Adaptations
You can adapt the beans – use chickpeas for a more traditional hummus, or try a bean and lentil combination instead. You could also alter the vegetable garnish – maybe use some carrot and beetroot from the starter, if you have some left over.
Components for the main dishes:
Pastry bases (or cases)
I made pastry bases, rather than pastry cases, mostly because my pastry didn’t come out very well. The effect worked well for the vegan tartlets, but not as well for the vegetarian eggy ones.
If you’re just making bases, then find a cup or cookie cutter that will cut out circles of the right size (I used one of the girls’ mini cups). If you want to make full cases, you’ll need a bigger circle to fit into your muffin tray, preferably with a little lip overlapping the side.
I made 300g of pastry, and had far too much (ended up using lots of it for the desserts, actually, which worked out well), but it might be close to the right amount if you’re doing full cases.
Once you’ve placed the bases or cases for all your tartlets, bake them blind for around 10 minutes. If you’re using a white wheat flour pastry, you’ll probably need to add greaseproof paper and baking beans, so that you don’t get huge air bubbles. Most other pastry should be fine to bake on its own.
Allow the bases or cases to cool before adding fillings.
Leek and asparagus mixture
Finely chop a 250g bunch of asparagus and 1 large leek and sauté gently for around 10 minutes in olive oil.
Allow to cool before adding to the bases/cases.
Other ideas for vegetarian and vegan Easter main courses
Vegetarian
Pancake cake with different layers – creamed asparagus and pecorino; carrot and orange; tomato and coriander (or whatever else you come up with or find in the grocer’s)
Lasagne made with seasonal vegetables – leeks, asparagus, spinach
Seasonal vegetable pie – puff pastry case with seasonal vegetables (e.g. leeks, carrots, asparagus) in creamy cheesy sauce
Vegan
Sweetcorn fritter (flour and water works very well as a vegan batter – add some seasoning and some baking powder for an extra oomph) tower with carrot and hummus filling
Seasonal vegetable pie – as above, but with a bean and lentil purée instead of creamy sauce
Filo pastry seasonal vegetable parcels – fill with small, diced seasonal vegetables and deep fry
All the above will go well with roasted new potatoes and salad, or with steamed new potatoes and vegetables
Don’t forget to look at the starters and desserts (coming soon).
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