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Seasonally celebrating vegetarianism
Feature
This May celebrates the fifteenth National Vegetarian Week. As well as promoting vegetarianism as a healthy lifestyle choice, this year has the added aim of promoting the consumption of seasonal produce for the benefit of both people and the environment. With more and more people taking an interest in the impact that food has on health, the environment and animal welfare, vegetarianism today is no longer a student or hippy choice but a mainstream dietary lifestyle.
The good news is that becoming a vegetarian has never been easier, tastier or more nutritious. As well as an increasingly extended range of exotic fruit and vegetables on display, almost all supermarkets now have a wide choice of vegetarian sausages, bacon, burgers, mince, stir-fry pieces, fillets, pies and other meat alternatives.
From 21-27 May, National Vegetarian Week is asking everyone to give the healthy vegetarian lifestyle a try: it isn’t all quiches and flans.
With a national focus on climate change, The Vegetarian Society is also urging vegetarians to go even greener by eating seasonal, UK-grown produce during National Vegetarian Week and beyond.
New for this year is Season to Taste, The Vegetarian Society’s new recipe collection designed to minimise the impact our food has on the planet. Packed with seasonal dishes that cut down on ‘food miles’, the 12 monthly recipes prove that you can look after your taste buds as well as the environment.
May’s offering is a recipe for a warm new potato and asparagus salad, which features in-season English Asparagus, both grown and eaten exclusively in the UK, walnuts and goat’s cheese.
Warm New Potato and Asparagus Salad (serves 4; can be vegan*)
Ingredients: 700g baby new potatoes (cut in half if more than 4cms) 25g walnuts, roughly chopped 16-24 asparagus spears (at least 6 spears per person if thin or 4 for thicker spears) 80g baby spinach leaves 100g soft goats cheese log, thinly sliced* (or 75g vegan soft cheese) 6 large radishes, sliced Dressing: 50ml olive oil 2 tbsp lemon juice 2 good tsp runny honey* (or 2 scant tsp apple concentrate) 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
Method: Preheat oven to Gas 6/200C/400F. Parboil the potatoes for 15 minutes until slightly tender. Drain and cool for 5 minutes before placing in a roasting pan.
Mix the dressing ingredients, seasoning with salt and pepper if desired, and pour half over the potatoes, mixing well. Roast for approx 25 minutes until soft on the inside and crisp on the outside. Sprinkle the walnuts on a separate baking tray and dry roast for 3-4 minutes to intensify their flavour.
Trim the woody ends off the asparagus spears and discard. Steam the asparagus for 5 to 7 minutes, depending on size, until tender. Place in a dish and pour over the remaining dressing.
To assemble the salad, cover the base of a large, wide salad bowl with spinach leaves, place the potatoes on top followed by the sliced goat’s cheese and top with the asparagus. Finally sprinkle with the roasted walnuts and garnish with the radish slices.
Free copies of the Season to Taste booklet, along with a wide range of other information and resources about vegetarianism, are available by calling 0161 925 2000 or by visiting The Vegetarian Society’s website (www.vegsoc.org).
Picture caption: National Vegetarian Week could hardly pass by without a spear or two of asparagus.
