To many people, the word “roast” is typically reserved for meat.  However, there are plenty of ways that vegetarians can delight in the warm comfort of a roast dinner.  Winter vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, and butternut squash are prime candidates for roasting.  And with the temperatures falling fast, there are plenty of reasons to turn on the oven.

At its simplest, roasted vegetables are as easy as salt, pepper, and a liberal dose of olive oil in a roasting pan with your veggies.  But you can really bring out the flavor of those veggies by experimenting with different herbs and spices, such as rosemary and thyme.

One of my favorite ways to roast winter vegetables is to coat them with a Moroccan chermoula paste before roasting.  Chermoula is a blend of onion, garlic, ginger, lemon juice and spices.  It pairs beautifully with sweet root vegetables, as well as cauliflower, eggplant and potatoes.  You can pretty much throw any vegetable at it and the chermoula will do its magic. For extra protein, try adding tofu or chickpeas to the mix.  Served with couscous or crusty bread, this makes a filling meal that will keep you warm this winter.  You won’t even miss the meat.

Moroccan Tagine with Chermoula Paste
Serves 4

For the chermoula paste:

• 1 red onion, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1/2-inch fresh ginger, peeled
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1.5 tsp each: honey, cumin, paprika, turmeric
• 1 tsp chili powder
• handful of cilantro

For the tagine:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 carrots, cut into chunks
• 1/2 butternut squash, cut into chunks
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into chunks
• 2 leeks, cut into chunks
• 1 red onion, cut into chunks
• 1/2 head of cauliflower, divided into big florets
• 10 dried prunes, apricots or other dried fruit
• 2 spring mint, leaves only, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 220 C / 430 F.

2. To make the chermoula, whiz paste ingredients in a blender.

3. Combine the olive oil and vegetables in an ovenproof casserole and cook on the stove until lightly browned, about 7 minutes.

4. Add the chermoula paste to the casserole, along with the prunes. Pour in 200 ml water, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce heat to 180 C/ 350 F and cook for another 45 minutes.

5. Sprinkle with mint. Serve with almond and chickpea couscous.

You can find the recipe for chickpea couscous along with more of Monica’s vegetarian recipes at SmarterFitter.com.

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Warm Winter Veggie Roasts: Moroccan Tagine

In my early days as a vegetarian, I guess you could call me a “pasta vegetarian”.  Give me a packet of spaghetti, a jar of marinara sauce and a shaker of Parmesan cheese and I was a happy kid.  Two months and five pounds later, I quickly realized that this was not a sustainable diet.

These days I try to balance my dinners around protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats and loads of veggies.  On any particular night, dinner might be black bean tacos with avocado and salad, or curried lentils with basmati rice and sautéed greens, or a simple tofu stir-fry with ginger, garlic and whatever veggies I have on hand.

Still, there comes a time in every vegetarian’s life when no other meal will do but pasta. But pasta is no longer the carbo-loaded, out-of-a-jar meal that it used to be. These days, I kick up my pasta sauce with a little TVP to give my pasta a much-needed protein kick. TVP, or “textured vegetable protein”, is a low-fat, high-protein soy mince made from defatted soy flour. When paired with tomato sauce, it does a nice job of mimicking an Italian Bolognese sauce, typically made with beef.

Spaghetti and vegan Bolognese (affectionately called “Spag Bol” in my household) is one of my go-to meals for quick dinners.  Prep time is less than 5 minutes and cooking time is around 20.  Packed with high-quality protein and carbs, it’s the perfect dinner to fuel your morning workout. You could kick up the “health factor” by using whole wheat pasta and cutting down on the olive oil, but I find that the olive oil gives it a fabulous richness and if the Mediterranean diet is anything to go by, olive oil is a health food in itself.  I typically serve this with broccoli, which I lightly blanch by adding it to the pot of simmering pasta water right before the pasta is cooked.  Enjoy!

Spaghetti with Vegan Bolognese Sauce
Serves 2-3

Ingredients

• 50g TVP (i.e. “textured vegetable protein” or “soya mince”)
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp oregano
• pinch each of crushed red pepper and mixed spice
• pinch of sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• Spaghetti, enough to serve three

Directions

1. Put the TVP in a bowl and put in enough water to make it wet.  You want enough water so that the TVP soaks it all up with no excess. (If you do wind up with extra water, don’t panic, just drain it in a sieve.)
2. Heat the olive oil on medium heat and add the onion, garlic and bay leaves.  Cook until the onion is soft, making sure they don’t brown.
3. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for about 15 minutes, covered on a low heat.
4. In the meantime, make some spaghetti (using 10g of salt per liter of water) and grate some Parmesan cheese (if desired, though this will no longer be vegan!).
5. Serve sauce over pasta with a side of broccoli.

You can find more of Monica’s vegetarian recipes at SmarterFitter.com.

Guest Blog Series: Look for the following badge on your favorite health sites to see if they have been a featured guest blogger on DietsInReview.com.

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Guest Blog: Veggie Dinners: Spaghetti Bolognese