Hosting a Dinner Party can be quite a difficult task at the best of times, but when one of your guests is a Vegetarian and won’t appreciate your roast lamb or fillet medallion main course, you might be left in a quandary. While most Vegetarians will feel embarrassed if you pour all your efforts into creating an entirely separate meal for them, they also don’t want to be made to feel unimportant by having to make a meal of the side dishes.
The best option when catering for a Vegetarian is to serve a similar meal for both meat and non-meat eaters and then substitute the meat portion with a dish suitable for Vegetarians. In other words, if you happen to be serving a beef medallion main course with roasted vegetable and baby potato side dishes, the only difference in the vegetarian options might be to serve soya patty medallions. Starters are very often Vegetarian friendly – stuffed garlic mushrooms or a butternut soup go down equally well for Vegetarian and meat-eaters alike. Dessert could be a decadent fruit salad with fresh cream or a baked apple crumble.
Always remember to serve a balanced meal – even though a Vegetarian has chosen not to eat meat, they haven’t chosen to give up protein too! Balanced meal options of Soya Cottage Pie, a Fried Corn, Garlic, Herb and Lentil Potato Bake or even a Soya Mince Bolognaise Pasta will satisfy any Vegetarian’s dietary needs.
