Vegetarian or fish recipes needed please

My son made an excellent cottage pie with quorn mince - it takes on the flavour of whatever you put in it, so plenty of herbs and a pinch of some spices make it very tasty. I can envisage making pasties with it too.

May I suggest a seafood lasagna? Here is the recipe a friend gave me with my notes/alterations at the end. It can be made in advance.

1 tablespoon oil, half a red pepper and half a green pepper finely
chopped. 8oz prawns, 1 large can pink salmon, grated rind and juice
of half a lemon
half a teaspoon dried tarragon (optional), 2 tablespoons chopped fresh
parsley, salt and pepper.

sauce - 2 oz margarine or butter, 3 oz plain flour, 2 pints milk

also 2 oz grated Cheshire or other cheese, sheets of lasagne

Lightly fry pepper in oil till slightly softened, stir in prawns,
salmon, lemon juice and rind, tarragon and parsley and seasoning.
Make white sauce, stir until thickened, stir fish mixture into sauce.
Layer sheets of lasagne and sauce mix finishing with sauce on top,
add grated cheese.
Bake 35 minutes 160C fan oven. Cover for the first 25 minutes and
remove for last 10 minutes of cooking time.

Chocolate pudding's notes:-

I have made this using a pack of fresh "fish pie mix" about 300 grams
from Tesco which I quickly microwave for a couple of minutes with some
lemon juice and then add a pack of fresh prawns. My main problem is I
use a large stoneware dish which takes a lot longer to cook through so
I allow 1 hour at 180C fan oven.

Hope you enjoy this recipe, my friend has made it well in advance on
the day and just popped the dish in the oven to cook. I have just
made and cooked it immediately.

What a grand lot you are. Some tasty sounding recipes here, thanks.
Keep them coming though as the boys are going to be around for a long time.

Wherever a recipe calls for mince I substitute tinned lentils. My DD & family now much prefer their spag bol and cottage pie made this way.

spicy soup made from squash or parsnips. Very filling.

And a really easy one, especially if you have a food processor which slices quickly (but not necessary) is a variant of Anna Potatoes.

Finely slice a heap of potatoes - no need to peel - celeriac, carrot, turnip, parsnip or whatever root vegetables are available. Season well, add any herbs you have, finely chopped rosemary is lovely, and after you have layered the lot up into a big ovenproof dish, pour milk over the vegetables to just below the top. Dot with butter and, if you like, put a little Parmesan or other hard grated cheese on the top.

Bake slowly in a low oven until all the liquid is absorbed and the top is brown and crispy.

And when the weather improves a spiced chickpea salad with finely shredded scallions, red and yellow peppers, celery and mooli.

One of m y favourites -I'm vegetarian - is stuffed pancakes, in a cheese or mushroom sauce. I use: spinach and mushrooms with bits of halloumi mixed in for the "bite"; chopped artichoke hearts and peas; almost anything you can think of. You can either roll the pancakes or stack them.

oh goodness. Do you have a Halal butcher anywhere close by? They do have halal meat in some supermarkets. My DS used to go to the halal butcher when he was a student in cardiff.
Vegetable curry, dahl and some type of flat bread?

Another favourite is what we call 'Follops' (young neighbour's pronunciation)

1 large packet of filo pastry
Pack of feta cheese
Tub of curd or ricotta cheese (the cheeses can be varied, but cheddar types or hard cheses are not suitable)
Spinach (fresh or frozen)
Large onion and garlic
Cumin and pepper

Gently cook the chopped onion and garlic in a little oil and then crumble into the pan the two cheeses and the chopped spinach. Season with black pepper and a little cumin to taste. Cool.

In an oiled ovenproof dish, line the bottom and sides with half the filo, brushing each sheet with a little oil as you go.

Then put the cheese mixture into the dish. Fold any filo sheets over the mixture and cover, as neatly as you can, the top of the dish with the rest of the filo sheets. Lightly brush each sheet with oil.

With a sharp knife cut all the way through the pastry to divide it into squares and bake at Mark 6 or 200C for about 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. This is good hot or cold. Garnish with roasted tomatoes.

Vegetable Barley Stew with Herb Dumplings.

Chop an onion, a small parsnip, 200g swede and 2 carrots. Heat 1tbsn oil, throw in the root veg, 75g pearl barley and cover with 1pt veggie stock, 1tspn marmite and 1tspn mixed herbs. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20mins.
Make the dumplings with 125g self raising flour, 50g vegetable suet, pinch salt and 1tspn dried parsley with 4-5 tbsns cold water.
Add the dumplings to the stew, cover and simmer for a further 10mins until they are light and fluffy.

Doubling up also applies.

That sounds good, Mice - I might try that myself. I've got something similar, but given a Middle Eastern flavour with spices like cumin and coriander.

Spicy Bean Goulash (very non faffy)

Chop an onion, half a red pepper, half a deseeded chilli, 2 garlic cloves, 100g mushrooms and a medium potato. Heat a tbsp oil, throw it all in, add a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes and a veggie stock cube, a small tin of kidney beans (rinsed) and 1 tbsp tomato puree, 2 tspns paprika and a pinch of mixed herbs. Add enough water to make sure everything can simmer (after bringing to the boil) until the potatoes are cooked and the sauce has thickened.

Serve with rice.

You might want to double up the ingredients for house full of hungry lads.

You probably have to base most meals on rice, potatoes, bread of any description, with beans - of any variety.

One favourite of ours is a stove top meal. Quantities to taste, but gently cook, in a large casserole dish, onions and garlic in a little butter or olive oil. Then add diced aubergine, two tins of chopped tomatoes, or fresh in season, diced potatoes and cook gently until tender. Season to taste with lots of black pepper, some fennel seeds or fronds or dill.

Then add tuna. Fresh is best, but expensive. So tinned will do. You don't need much to add the protein you need and the flavour required to lift the stew.

The proportions are flexible, but this is very filling and full,of flavour.