We are a meat loving family. It’s a struggle for me to get a meal on the table without it containing a good amount of animal protein. Despite that, I have always considered the Thermomix vegetarian cookbook one of my favourites. Because, even though we enjoy our meat, we also love vegetables, good nutrition and wholefood cooking.
I was pretty pleased then when I heard that Thermomix had released a new vegetarian cookbook – Vegetarian Kitchen – featuring over 90 recipes and most of them new. It still includes a few of the classic recipes from their previous A Taste of Vegetarian, such as; Almond Milk, Vegetable Lasagne and Cashew Sour Cream, but most of the 90+ recipes are newly released.
Like all of the latest Thermomix cookbooks, Vegetarian Kitchen comes in the larger format with prettier pictures and the option of the Recipe Chip for TM5 owners. All of the recipes are suitable for both TM5 and TM31. You can view the index here.
There is a focus on nutritionally balanced meals to ensure that if you do follow a vegetarian diet, you are still getting all the vitamins and minerals as well as the fibre you need. The book is considered lacto-ovo vegetarian, and whilst it does contain some vegan/dairy free recipes or alternatives, there are a lot of recipes that contain dairy and gluten. So for those who avoid these foods you wouldn’t be able to cook everything from the book.
Special thanks to Thermomix who have allowed me to share this delicious dish; Cauliflower and Fennel Nuggets. Both cauliflower and fennel are in season and these tasty nuggets are great in lunchboxes, as an appetizer or in a middle eastern style salad for lunch or dinner. The Avjar is a relish style sauce with a smokey flavour. It is a delicious sauce to serve at BBQ.
Recipe from Vegetarian Kitchen – Thermomix
- · 2 red capsicums (approx. 420 g), cut into halves and deseeded
- · 1 eggplant (approx. 350 g), cut into halves lengthways
- · 40 g olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- · 1 garlic clove
- · 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded if preferred
- · 6 pitted Kalamata olives
- · 4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves only
- · 2 pinches salt
- · 2 pinches ground smoked paprika
- · 20 g lemon juice
- . 500 g water
- · 150 g cauliflower florets
- · 150 g fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into slices
- · 100 g cheddar cheese, cut into cubes (3-4 cm)
- · 3 spring onions/shallots (60g), trimmed and cut into quarters
- · 2 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, plus extra (optional) to serve
- · 1 garlic clove
- · 20 g olive oil
- · 100 g breadcrumbs
- · 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- · 1 egg
- · 1 tsp salt
- · 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- · 2 tsp savoury yeast flakes
- · 40 g pine nuts
- · lemon, cut into wedges, to serve (optional)
- . 1 tsp salt
- Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray (30 x 40 cm) with baking paper.
- Place capsicum and eggplant, skin side up, onto baking tray. Drizzle with a
- little oil and bake for 30 minutes (200°C).
- Transfer eggplant and capsicum into a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap
- to steam for 10 minutes. Peel off skins and discard.
- Place garlic, chilli, olives and parsley into mixing bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 5. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula.
- Add oil, salt, paprika, lemon juice and reserved capsicum and eggplant, then chop 5 sec/speed 4.
- Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula and cook
- -6 min/Varoma/ /speed , placing simmering basket instead of measuring cup onto mixing bowl lid, until mixture thickens.
- Transfer into a sealable container, allow to cool to room temperature, then place into refrigerator until ready to serve. Clean and dry mixing bowl.
- Line a baking tray (30 x 40 cm) with baking paper and set aside.
- Place water into mixing bowl, place Varoma into position and weigh cauliflower and fennel into it. Secure Varoma lid and steam 10 min/Varoma/speed 2.
- Set Varoma aside and discard water. Dry mixing bowl.
- Place cooked cauliflower and fennel into mixing bowl and chop 5 sec/ /speed 5. Transfer into a bowl and set aside.
- Place cheese into mixing bowl and grate 8 sec/speed 7. Transfer into bowl
- with cauliflower and set aside.
- Place spring onions/shallots, parsley, garlic and oil into mixing bowl and chop 5 sec/speed 7.
- Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula, then sauté 3 min/100°C/speed 1.
- Add remaining ingredients, excluding lemon wedges, including reserved cauliflower and cheese, and mix 10 sec/ /speed 4.
- Shape 1 tablespoon of the cauliflower mixture into a cylinder shape, then
- place onto prepared baking tray. Repeat with remaining mixture to make approx. 35 nuggets, washing your hands occasionally to prevent mixture from sticking to your hands.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes (200°C), or until golden. Serve nuggets warm with ajvar, lemon wedges (optional) and parsley (optional).