Rose Elliot - Rose Elliot’s Vegetarian Meals In Minutes

Slice the tomatoes and sprinkle with salt. Wash the lettuce and spin or pat dry; slice the Mozzarella cheese; stone, peel and slice the avocado and sprinkle the slices with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Fill the bread with layers of the ingredients, adding lorn basil leaves and seasoning to each layer. If you are eating the sandwiches later, wrap them tightly and keep in the fridge until needed.

SERVES 4

(top) Pan Bagnat and (bottom) Open Sandwiches

Pitta breads make very convenient containers for all kinds of delicious ingredients that would be too moist or bulky to put in a sandwich. Salads and stir-fries can be piled into warmed pitta pockets; grilled vegetables, too, freshly cooked and still sizzling; and simple mixtures of beans, vegetables, cheese and hummus. Here is a selection of fillings.

A tomato, sliced into quarters or eighths, is nice added to this for a change.

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 tbls olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 × 425g / 15oz can chick peas, drained

2 pitta breads

4–6 lettuce leaves

4 tbls thick Greek yogurt, or a mixture of yogurt and good-quality mayonnaise

salt and freshly ground black pepper

paprika pepper

Fry the onion in the oil, with a lid on the pan, for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cumin seeds, cover again and cook for a further 2–3 minutes until the onion is tender.

Add the chick peas to the onion and cook for 4–5 minutes, until heated through and perhaps lightly browned in places.

Warm the pitta breads under the grill then cut them lengthwise in half. Gently open up each half and put in the lettuce, tearing it as necessary, then spoon in the chick pea mixture. Season the yogurt or yogurt and mayonnaise, spoon on top of the chick peas and sprinkle with a little paprika pepper. Serve at once.

SERVES 2

You can sprinkle the aubergine with salt, leave it for 30 minutes, then rinse it if you wish; this isn’t usually necessary as a precaution against bitterness, but it can reduce the amount of oil the aubergine absorbs.

1 large aubergine

olive oil

2 pitta breads

1–2 tbls good-quality bought pesto sauce, or home-made (see here)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the grill. Cut the aubergine lengthwise into slices about 3mm/ 1/ 8inch thick and lay these on a grill pan. Brush the slices on both sides with olive oil then grill on high for 5–10 minutes, turning them over as necessary, until golden brown and tender.

Warm the pitta breads under the grill, then cut them lengthwise in half and gently open up each half. Mix the aubergine slices with pesto to taste, season, then spoon them into the pitta breads and serve at once.

SERVES 2

4–6 lettuce leaves

small piece of cucumber

2 small tomatoes

4 spring onions

a few black olives, stoned

2 tbls olive oil

2 tsp wine vinegar

salt and freshly ground black pepper

125g / 4oz feta cheese

chopped fresh mint or oregano

2 pitta breads

Wash the salad ingredients then tear the lettuce, dice the cucumber, slice the tomatoes, chop the spring onions and put them into a bowl. Add the olives, oil, vinegar and a grinding of pepper.

Cut the feta into cubes and mix it with the other ingredients, then add the fresh mint or oregano and a little salt if necessary.

Warm the pitta breads through under the grill, then cut them lengthwise in half, gently open up each half and fill with the feta mixture.

SERVES 2

You could use bulgur wheat instead of couscous for a change: prepare it in the same way.

125g / 4oz couscous

50g / 2oz raisins (optional)

2 spring onions

4 tomatoes

2 pitta breads

juice of 1 lemon

4 tbls chopped fresh mint

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the couscous and the raisins, if you are using them, into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave on one side for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, trim and chop the spring onions, chop the tomatoes and warm the pitta breads under the grill.

Drain the couscous and mix with the spring onions, tomatoes, lemon juice, mint and salt and pepper to taste.

Split the pitta breads lengthwise in half, gently open each half and fill with the couscous mixture.

SERVES 2

2 tbls olive oil

1 small onion, peeled and chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

1 × 200g / 7oz can tomatoes

1 × 200g / 7oz can sweetcorn, drained

1 × 225g / 8oz can red kidney beans, drained

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 pitta breads

Heat the oil in a pan, put in the onion and pepper, cover and cook gently for 10 minutes, or until they are getting tender.

Mash in the tomatoes with their juice, cover and cook for a further 10 minutes, then add the sweetcorn and kidney beans. Cook gently for a few more minutes until hot. Season with salt and pepper.

Warm the pitta breads under the grill, then cut them lengthwise in half, gently open up each half, fill with the red bean mixture and serve at once.

SERVES 2

2 carrots (about 225g / 8oz)

125g / 4oz Cheddar cheese

4 spring onions

2 tbls olive oil

2 tsp wine vinegar

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 pitta breads

Scrape or peel the carrots then coarsely grate the carrots and cheese into a bowl. Trim and slice the spring onions and add them to the bowl, together with the oil, vinegar and a seasoning of salt and pepper. Mix well.

Warm the pitta breads under the grill, then cut them lengthwise in halt, gently open up each half, fill with the carrot mixture and serve at once.

SERVES 2

(top) Poppadums with Avocado and Curried Mayonnaise and (bottom) Pitta Pockets with (left) Cheese and Carrot Vinaigrette and (right) Red Bean and Sweetcorn

The tortillas that you can now buy make a goof fast-food snack, warmed through, filled with through, filled with tasty ingredients and then rolled up. They can be eaten immediately or topped with grated cheese and put under a hot grill to melt the cheese. The remaining tortillas will keep well in a polythene bag in the freezer.