The phrase "I made a vegetarian version" is usually a warning sign. It tends to mean a meat dish with the meat taken out and nothing put in its place. Real vegetarian cooking treats vegetables, pulses, eggs and dairy as ingredients with their own character, not as substitutes for absent meat.
Build flavour the same way you would with meat
Sear, caramelise, slow-cook, char, smoke. Browned mushrooms have more umami than under-cooked steak. Treated with the same intention, vegetables are not the lesser option — just a different one.
Use the umami pantry
Soy sauce, miso, parmesan, mushrooms, tomatoes, nutritional yeast, anchovies (if not strict), olives, fermented things. Layer two or three and the dish has depth.
Get pulses right
Cooked properly with aromatics, lentils and beans are some of the most satisfying things you can eat. The mistake is treating them as filler. Brown them. Stew them. Mash them. Season them generously.
Use fat with confidence
Olive oil, butter, ghee, cream, cheese, nuts. Vegetables shine alongside fat. A salad without good oil is a disappointment.
Make eggs the star sometimes
Shakshuka, frittata, soft-boiled eggs on lentils, miso-soaked eggs on rice. A great egg dish is a great dinner.
Don\'t apologise
If you serve vegetarian food with an apology, your guests eat it with one. Serve it with the same confidence you would a steak. They\'ll feel the difference.
