Meals Without Meat Cookbook
Meals Without Meat by Simon and Alison Holst
First published in 1990, this cookbook from popular cooking duo Simon and Alison Holst is still in print and is one of their best selling cookbooks.
Alison Holst is usually more noted for more traditional carnivorous fare. I remember thinking when Meals Without Meat was first published that vegetarianism must becoming quite mainstream! Certainly, the authors have chosen very safe traditional vegetarian recipes, with a heavy reliance on eggs and dairy. Perhaps their next challenge will be a vegan cookbook! Until then, Meals Without Meat has a lot to offer the new or inexperienced vegetarian cook with a plethora of easy recipes and very familiar ingredients.
Here are some of my favourite recipes:
Quick Yeast Bread / Pizza Base
1¼ C warm water
3 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. dried yeast granules
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
3 C wholemeal or white flour (or any combination of the two)
½ tsp. baking powder
• Dissolve sugar in warm water and sprinkle in yeast granules. Add oil and stir. Leave to stand for 5 minutes to allow yeast to become active.
• Once yeast mixture looks foamy, add the remaining ingredients. Sprinkle the baking powder in evenly. Stir everything together until the dough begins to come away from the sides of the bowl and form one large ball.
• With oiled hands, shape into rolls or 2 loaves. Top with poppy seeds or sesame seeds if desired. For a pizza, flatten the dough onto a well-oiled baking sheet or sponge roll tin (25 x 35 cm). If you have time, leave to rise for 5-15 minutes while you prepare the pizza toppings.
• Bake loaves at 200ºC for 20-25 minutes. Bake rolls at 200ºC for about 15 minutes. Bake pizzas at 230ºC for 12-15 minutes, until the underside is brown and the toppings look cooked.
Peanut and Sesame Pasta Sauce
1 large onion
1 Tbs. oil
¼ C peanut butter
1 Tbs. tahini (optional)
2 Tbs. sweet chilli sauce
1½ C water
light soya sauce or salt
2 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds
about 300 g of your favourite pasta
• Slice onion into half rings and cook in oil in a covered pan for about 5 minutes, stirring until evenly, lightly browned.
• Add the peanut butter, tahini, sweet chilli sauce and water, and stir over moderate heat until lumps have dissolved. Add extra water or cook for a little longer until sauce is of thin coating consistency, then season with extra chilli sauce and soya sauce to taste.
• Stir sauce into the freshly cooked, drained pasta. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Serve hot with a cucumber salad, marinated green beans or a crisp green salad.
Marinated Tomato Salad
5-6 medium tomatoes
1 tsp. sugar
¼-1/2 tsp. salt
black pepper to taste
few drops of hot pepper sauce
1 Tbs. wine vinegar
1 Tbs. chopped fresh basil, marjoram or parsley
1-2 Tbs. oil (optional)
• Slice, quarter or cube tomatoes into their serving dish.
• About 10-15 minutes before serving, sprinkle the remaining ingredients, in the order given, over the tomatoes. Toss lightly and leave to stand at room temperature.
Vegetarian Gravy
2 medium onions
2-3 cloves garlic
2 Tbs. oil
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbs. flour
2 cups water
2 Tbs. dark soya sauce
black pepper to taste
¼-1/2 tsp. salt
• Finely chop or mince the onions and garlic. Heat the oil in a large frypan or pot, add the onions and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally until they brown. Stir in the sugar and flour and cook for about one minute longer.
• Add half the water, stirring to remove any lumps, bring to boil and allow to thicken before adding the remaining water and soya sauce. Bring to the boil again, season with black pepper and salt, serve.