10 Great Vegetarian Recipes For Meat Free Week!
Food
Annie and Carmen Portelli’s stuffed artichokes (or known as ‘Qaqocc Mimli’ in Malta!) Photo – Eve Wilson. Production – Lucy Feagins. Styling Assistant – Natalie Turnbull.
Lisa Marie Corso’s zucchini fritters. Photo – Eve Wilson. Styling – Lucy Feagins, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull.
The Famous CIBI Soba Salad. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files. Styling – Lucy Feagins, Styling Assistant – Ashley Simonetto.
Stuffed Artichokes
Our art director Annie Portelli doesn’t just make all things TDF look beautiful – she’s also an INCREDIBLE cook! Last year Annie and her gorgeous mum Carmen brought us a month’s worth of Maltese soul food – including this beyond delicious recipe for stuffed artichokes. Known in Malta as ‘Qaqocc Mimli’ (pronounced ‘A-Ouche’), this dish is one of Annie’s favourites because artichokes are only in season for a couple of months of the year (right now!).
Zucchini Fritters
TDF’s former managing director, Lisa Marie Corso, is known far and wide for her epic lunch spreads (usually eaten by 11am!). This recipe for zucchini fritters is a signature LMC dish, and a real winner! Adapted from Lisa’s Nonna and pimped up a little with feta and lemon zest, these lunchtime favourites can be enjoyed hot straight out of the pan, or cold, as sneaky-next-day-leftovers.
The Famous CIBI Soba Salad
CIBI is a multipurpose cafe, store, event and neighbourhood space in Collingwood which opened in 2008, and has been serving its soba salad since day dot. ‘When I created this dish, I wanted to add a touch of western flavour so that it became a cafe-like dish as well as a CIBI dish. Many of our regulars come in just for this salad,’ tells Meg Tanaka of CIBI. ‘This is a simpler version that you can cook at home anytime. All you really need in your cupboard is soba noodles, soy sauce and lemon!’
A winter tabouli recipe passed down on to Lucy from a dear family friend, Margaret. Styling – Lucy Feagins, Photo – Eve Wilson.
Lucy’s orange, fennel and hazelnut salad. Photo Eve Wilson, recipe and styling Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.
Julia Busuttil-Nishimura’s pesto pasta. Photo – Eve Wilson. Styling – Lucy Feagins and Nat Turnbull.
Roasted Cauliflower Tabouli
This was passed down to Lucy by a family friend, and never fails to result in recipe requests every time Lucy makes it! Crunchy and robust, this salad is healthy eating at its best.
Orange, Fennel and Hazlenut Salad
As we’re finally starting to see the cold days fewer and further between the warm, it’s the perfect time of year to begin the ritual of incorporating fruits into salads. With the perfect mix of crunchy raw fennel and the sweetness of sliced orange offset by red onion and salty olives, this juicy side dish is a total party in your mouth!
Trofie pasta with Pesto Alla Genovese
It’s a well known fact that anything made from Julia Busuttil-Nishimura’s formative, Jamie Oliver-endorsed cookbook, Ostro, is going to be a crowd-pleaser! This Ostro-twist on a much loved staple can be made in bulk and portioned for lunches throughout the week.
If it’s good enough for Jamie, it’s good enough for us!
CIBI’s cabbage and corn okonomi-yaki. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files. Styling – Lucy Feagins, Styling Assistant – Ashley Simonetto.
Tamil Feasts’ Eggplant and Chickpea Curry. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files. Styling – Annie Portelli. Styling Assistant – Ashley Simonetto.
Cabbage and Corn Okono-miyaki
Collingwood cafe and concept store, CIBI, is a neighbourhood staple for delicious, lovingly-cooked breakfasts and lunches. This savoury pancake recipe is lighter than most, with grated cabbage and plenty of corn fried up to crunchy perfection.
Tamil Feasts’ Eggplant and Chickpea Curry
After featuring recipes from Tamil Feasts’ kitchen in July this year, the entire TDF team headed out to the social enterprise restaurant to taste the recipes for ourselves. We can confirm that this eggplant and chickpea curry is totally delicious! Bonus points for being vegan!
Green Beans with Feta and Pine Nuts – a ‘somewhat healthy’ salad is a staple in Lucy’s home. Photo – Eve Wilson. Styling – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files. Styling Assistant – Nat Turnbull.
Spiced Lentil and Mixed Beetroot Salad. Styling and recipe – Lucy Feagins. Styling assistant – Nat Turnbull Photo – Eve Wilson.
The Free To Feed felafel by Hamed Allahyari and Julia Ostro for Free To Feed. Photo – Eve Wilson. Styling – Lucy Feagins. Styling assistant – Natalie Turnbull.
Green Beans with Feta and Pine Nuts
This one is a firm favourite at Lucy’s place – blanched green beans with feta, pine nuts and zesty preserved lemon. An intensely savoury side dish that’s ready in just 10 minutes!
Spiced Lentil and Mixed Beetroot Salad
Lentils and beetroots are perfect partners – together they lend this dish a woody autumnal flavour, spiced with cumin and sumac, and finished with goats cheese.
Free To Feed Felafel
Free To Feed is a not-for-profit cooking class and workshop program hosted by asylum seekers and refugees. This recipe comes from a collaboration between Hamed Allahyari, an asylum seeker working with the social enterprise, and Julia Busuttil Nishimura of Ostro fame. Born in Tehran and having owned a cafe in his hometown, Hamed has always dreamed of opening another in his new home, Melbourne. Alongside Julia, Hamed reimagined some of his favourite Persian dishes for us in 2016 – including this super tasty homemade felafel, a street food staple in Tehran!
