There is a Meatless October challenge going on in Finland. At this moment almost 28 000 people have taken the challenge and almost 4000 have said maybe. I am in the "maybe" category since I want to learn how to make good vegetarian food but I am not giving up meat. I guess I'll be eating less meat since I will cook more vegetarian dishes. :)
First I had an idea of making minced meat stuffed eggplants. But it easily turned into vegetarian dish since the minced meat was the only ingredient I was missing and I didn't want to go to the store to buy just that. I made a dish I like to call "Sari fainted", inspired by Imam fainted, a traditional Greek or Turkish (depends on the source) eggplant dish. To add proteins I also made Beluga lentil risotto.
Sari fainted (since it was so good ;) )
1 eggplant
1 big red onion
1 red bell pepper
1 red chili
1-2 cloves of garlic
3 big(-ish) mushrooms diced
100g soft feta cheese
2 small tomatoes diced
½ tbls dried oregano
½ tbls dried thyme
a pinch of salt and pepper
olive oil
parmesan cheese
Cut the eggplant in 1 cm thick slices. Brush with olive oil and add some salt. Put on a baking tray and bake 20 minutes in 175 degrees celcius.
Cut onions, pepper and chili into small cubes. Heat 1 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add onions, peppers, chilis, oregano and thyme. After a couple of minutes add chopped garlic, mushrooms and tomatoes. Heat through and add feta cheese and pepper. Check the taste and add salt if needed.
Spoon the mixture on the eggplant slices. Grate some parmesan cheese on top and bake in 225 degrees celsius about 20 minutes.
Beluga lentil risotto (source:
Herkkuruoka-blog, adapted a little)
1 dl Beluga lentils (black lentils)
1,5 dl risotto rice
1 dl white wine
6-8 dl vegetable stock
1 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 dl parmesan cheese grated
1 tsp dried sage
a pinch of pepper
2 tbls olive oil
2 tbls butter
Cook the lentils in water and a pinch of salt for 20 minutes. Drain (I saved the water) and set aside.
Cut the onion and garlic into tiny cubes. Heat oil in a pan and add onion, garlic and sage. When onions are a bit softer add risotto rice and stir until the rice looks slightly translucent. Add white wine and let it reduce.
Add the vegetable stock (I used the water from the lentils for the stock) little by little, let the rice absorb the stock before adding more. Stir after adding stock so the risotto will have creamy consistency in the end. Keep adding the stock until the rice is soft. Add a pinch of pepper, parmesan cheese and butter and taste. Add salt if needed.
