Delicious Alternative Vegetarian Recipes

If you’re a vegetarian and trying to cut back on your carbohydrates, it can be tough to find alternatives to potatoes, rice and pasta. These carbohydrates often make up a large part of vegetarian dishes, but have a high glycaemic index. Most diets don’t include these types of foods, but even if you are a vegetarian, there are options that are healthier.

Cauliflower salad

**Contains eggs

To make this dish you will need the following ingredients:

• 6 diced hard-boiled eggs
• 1 whole cauliflower
• 3 diced celery stalks
• 1 diced onion, small
• 1 cup of cooked peas
• 1/2 cup of Greek yoghurt
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• Salt and pepper for seasoning

The cauliflower should be cooked for approximately 15 minutes, until it is soft. Combine all the ingredients thoroughly and then chill in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours or until the salad is cool.

Turnips stuffed with mushrooms

This simple but delicious dish needs very few ingredients:

• 12 turnips, medium
• 300g of mushrooms
• 50g of butter
• Salt for seasoning

The turnips should be prepared by first peeling and washing, and then by removing the pulp. They should then be boiled in salt water for 8 minutes then immediately cooled by plunging into cold water.

Add some salt to the inside of the turnip for seasoning then place into a pan over a low heat. Add in the pulp from the turnips and the butter.

The mushrooms should be cleaned then chopped into small cubes with salt and pepper added to taste. Sweat the mushrooms in 20g of butter until the water which you will see released has totally evaporated.

Once the mushrooms are cooked, they should be blended with the turnip pulp. The oven should be warmed up now, set to 210 degrees Celsius while you spoon the mixture into the turnips.

Use the remaining butter to grease a baking pan before placing the stuffed turnips on it and then cooking in the oven until soft.

Creamy cauliflower sauce

This versatile sauce is surprisingly easy to make with the following ingredients:

• 5-6 cups of cauliflower florets
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 8 cloves of minced garlic
• 6-7 cups of water
• 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
• Salt for seasoning

Using a large frying pan, soften the garlic by sautéing it in a pan over a low heat. Saute the garlic for several minutes but take care not to burn. Once it’s ready, turn the heat off and set the garlic to one side.

Place the water in a large pot and boil it. While this is heating up prepare the cauliflower by rinsing it and stripping off any of the green leaves which are still attached.

Place the florets into the boiling water and simmer for 7-10 minutes, making sure the cauliflower is soft and tender. Once the cauliflower is thoroughly cooked remove it from the heat but don’t throw the water away.

Transfer the florets to a blender using a slotted spoon. Add in the garlic you sautéed earlier, the pepper, salt and one cup of milk. Also add a cup of the water that was used to cook the cauliflower. Blend all of the ingredients into a smooth sauce before pouring into a pan and seasoning according to personal preference. This sauce should be served hot.

If you would rather have a creamier, richer sauce, add more milk. This also works if you want a potato sauce substitute. Conversely, for a thinner sauce, simply increase the amount of water you add.

Glazed turnips

Easy to make but absolutely delicious, all you will need to make this dish are the following ingredients:

• Turnips – 1 kg
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons water
• Parsley, fresh and diced – amount as per taste

The turnips should be peeled and then quartered before being placed into a large frying pan. Make sure there’s plenty of room for the turnips to cook and that they are only in a single layer.

Pour in enough of the water to half cover the turnips in the pan, then add the sugar, salt and butter. Cover the pan and then turn up the heat to high and boil.

Stir at regular intervals and keep boiling until all of the water has evaporated.

The turnips should be sautéed until they appear to be a soft gold in colour. Add a further 3 tablespoons of water and keep cooking until they are well-glazed.

Once ready, serve immediately and add the parsley to taste.