Rose Elliot - Rose Elliot’s Vegetarian Meals In Minutes

4WITH ONION AND MUSTARD

Mix the cheese with beer instead of milk and add 1/ 2–1 teaspoon of made mustard and 1 finely chopped small onion.

5WITH CHILLI

De-seed and finely chop 1 small green chilli and add it to the grated cheese.

Mozzarella in Carrazza means ‘Mazzarella in a carriage’, a poetic and apt description.

Use the best Mozzarclla you can find – certainly one packed in water – for this delicious mixture of hot moiling cheese and crisp fried bread.

125g / 4oz Mozzarella cheese

4 slices of bread, crusts removed

2 eggs

olive oil

Drain and slice the cheese and sandwich it between the slices of bread, pressing them firmly together.

Lightly beat the eggs, then strain them into a shallow dish. Put the sandwiches in the egg and leave them for a few minutes to soak it up, turning them over once.

Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and fry the sandwiches on both sides until they are golden brown and crisp. Drain them quickly on kitchen paper and serve at once.

SERVES 2

2 slices of bread

butter

4 eggs

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Toast the bread, botter it and keep it warm.

Lightly beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper.

Melt a knob of butter in a saucepan. When it sizzles, add the eggs and cook over a low heat for a few minutes, stirring.

Just before the eggs set, move the pan from the heat and, to make the scrambled eggs extra delicious, stir in a few slivers of butter. The eggs will continue to cook in the heat of the pan.

Pile the scrambled eggs on to the toast and serve at once on warmed plates.

SERVES 2

1WITH FRESH HERBS

Add 1–2 tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs at the end of the cooking time, along with the extra butter.

2PIPERADE

Piperade takes longer to cook than plain scrambled eggs but it is nice when you want something a bit more substantial.

Melt 25g/1oz butter in a pan then add 1 large onion, peeled and chopped, and 1 green pepper, de-seeded and chopped. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, until soft but not browned, then add 450g/1lb tomatoes, skinned and chopped, and 1 clove of garlic, crushed. Cook gently, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft but not mushy. Meanwhile, toast and butter 4 slices of granary or wholewheat bread, cut it into lingers and keep it warm. Lightly beat 4 eggs then pour them into the pan with the vegetables and stir gently until they begin to set. Remove from the heat (the eggs will continue to cook in the heat of the pan), season and serve immediately with the toast fingers.

A good way of using up the other half of the avocado is to make the guacamole; mash the avocado with 1 skinned, chopped tomato and some finely chopped chilli; then add plenty of chopped fresh coriander and season to taste.

3 slices of wholewheat bread

butter

2 lettuce leaves

1 small tomato, sliced

mayonnaise or mustard

1/ 2small avocado

salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 cocktail sticks

4 stuffed olives

Toast the bread, butter one piece and arrange the lettuce, tomato and a little mayonnaise or mustard on top.

Cover with another piece of toast, buttered on both sides. Peel, stone and slice the avocado, arrange on top of the toast and season with salt and pepper.

Butter the third piece of toast and place, butter-side down, on top of the avocado. Press down on the sandwich, cut it into quarters then spear each quarter with a cocktail stick and decorate with a stuffed olive.

SERVES 1

I love the combination of Camembert cheese and something sweet. If you find the jam too sweet, however, mango chutney is also very good.

1 slice of wholewheat bread

2 portions of Camembert cheese

2–3 tsp good-quality apricot jam

2–3 tsp chopped hazelnuts

Heat the grill and toast the bread on both sides.

Mash the Camembert roughly on the toast then put some dollops of apricot jam on top of that.

Grill until the cheese has melted then sprinkle with the nuts and grill again until lightly browned.

SERVES 1

75g / 3oz cream cheese or curd cheese

2 slices of dark rye bread

a few radicchio leaves

2 dill-pickled cucumbers, sliced

sprigs of fresh dill (optional)

Spread about half of the cream or curd cheese on the bread, then press the radicchio leaves on top of that.

Spoon the remaining cheese on top, then arrange slices of dill-pickled cucumber on top of that and finish with a sprig of fresh dill, if you like.

SERVES 2

mayonnaise

2 slices of wholewheat bread

2–4 little gem lettuce leaves

50g / 2oz Brie

3–4 slices of red onion

a few walnuts

Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on the bread then arrange the lettuce on top, pressing it down into the mayonnaise to make it stick.

Slice the Brie thinly then arrange it on top of the lettuce with the red onion slices and sprinkle with a few walnuts.

SERVES 2

2 slices of white poppyseed bread

mayonnaise

4 frisée lettuce leaves

1 hard-boiled egg

6 black olives

paprika pepper

Spread the bread with a thin layer of mayonnaise then arrange the lettuce on top.

Chop the hard-boiled egg into chunks and mix with a little mayonnaise to moisten. Divide this mixture between the bread slices and garnish with the olives and a little paprika.

SERVES 2

You can vary the filling for pan bagnat according to your taste and what is available: try adding slices of cheese, hummus with some olives, or any of the fillings for pitta pockets (see here). The main thing is to be generous with the filling.

1 long French slick

450g / 1lb tomatoes

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lettuce

225g / 8oz Mozzarella cheese

1 large avocado

lemon juice

fresh basil leaves

Cut the French stick into quarters. Slice each piece open and scoop out most of the crumb.