After a busy day, it’s nice to come home to a quick dinner solution. Here at Absolutely, we’ve rounded up the best quick vegetarian recipes.

Words Clara Van Duivenbode

Stock up on vegetables and try these delicious vegetarian recipes

It’s easy to become focused on protein and meat, but never forget to have a good dose of vegetables for a balanced diet. With spring fast approaching, try these quick vegetarian recipes for dinner one night this week.

Curried cauliflower, potatoes, chickpeas & spinach

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower
• 800 g potatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion
• 1 long green chili
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon curry powder or garam masala
• 1 x 400 g tin of chickpeas
• 250 g baby spinach
• natural yogurt
• 1 lime

Method

1. Separate the cauliflower into florets and cook in salted boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain, reserving roughly 150ml of cooking water.
2. Next, roughly chop the potatoes and cook in salted boiling water for 10 minutes and drain.
3. Peel and thinly slice the garlic and onion before finely slicing the chili. Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan over a low heat and sauté the garlic, onion and chili till soft.
4. Stir in all the spices, season with salt and pepper and cook for an additional few minutes. Add the cooked cauliflower, potatoes and reserved cooking water before allowing to simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes.
5. Lastly, drain and add the chickpeas and spinach and cook until the spinach wilts. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with a dollop of yogurt and a squeeze of lime juice. 

Recipe taken from Jamie Oliver’s website, find more vegetarian recipes like this at jamieoliver.com

Butternut and Sweet Potato Soup

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 350 grams diced butternut squash and sweet potato (total weight)
• 750 millilitres hot vegetable stock
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground mace
• good grinding of pepper
• 4 teaspoons buttermilk

Method

1. In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable stock.
2. Place the diced butternut and sweet potato into the saucepan with the heated vegetable stock and add both spices.
3. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add some pepper to taste.
4. Next, puree the soup in a blender – you will find that by removing the centre nozzle on the lid and placing a hand or tea towel over the top, you will not get a build-up of pressure or an explosion of soup on your walls
5. Pour the blended soup into two bowls, garnishing each bowl with swirls made by 2 teaspoons of buttermilk.

Recipe taken from Nigellas’s website, find more vegetarian recipes like this at nigella.com

Halloumi, Courgette and Herb Cakes

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 courgette, grated
• 500g halloumi cheese, grated
• 2–4 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• 2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
• 2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
• 2–4 tbsp breadcrumbs
• Olive oil, for frying
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For chili dressing

• 1 red chili, finely sliced on the diagonal
• 2 cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely diced
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 2–3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2–3 tbsp olive oil
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. To make the halloumi cakes, place the carrots and courgette into a sieve or colander and sprinkle a decent pinch of salt to draw out any moisture. Next, place them over a bowl to drain for 5 minutes and tip the contents into a clean tea-towel and squeeze out any excess water.  
2. Put the halloumi, spring onions, coriander, mint and carrot mixture into a bowl and season with salt and pepper while mixing together. Add the beaten eggs and mix well before stirring in 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs.
3. The mixture should now be sticky enough to form patties, if its not add some breadcrumbs. Shape the mixture into 8 larger patties, roughly 1 cm thick or 16 smaller ones. To help shape the patties, place a large spoonful of the mix onto a spoon and press against your hand to squeeze out excess liquid. Leave in the fridge uncovered for 20 – 25 minutes to firm up.
4. To make the dressing, place all the ingredients into a bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves. Taste and season as needed.
5. Once you’re ready to cook, heat a large heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Add a dash of oil and fry the halloumi cakes until they’re golden and crisp on either side and hot all the way through.
6. Serve your cakes warm with spoonfuls of chili dressing over the top with a salad.

Recipe taken from Gordon Ramsay’s website, find more vegetarian recipes like this at gordonramsay.com