Is it cold where you are? Is it snowing? Is it raining? Is it grey? Do you really need potatoes?

For today’s Meat Free Monday, try taking a traditional beef stew and making it vegetarian! Here are some suggestions:

• Replace beef with seitan chunks for the easiest “fake beef” taste - just saute in olive oil in a pan first, then add to the pot near the end of cooking.
• Similarly, try using dried porcini mushrooms. Soak in water for 30 minutes prior to cooking soup, then add to the pan with the rest of the veg.
• For a different texture and taste with a still-hearty feel, add in any kind of beans to the veg mix.

We couldn’t pass up this opportunity to share with you one of our favourite Easter recipes, Leg of Lamb Pot Roast. Combining all the elements of a Sunday roast, the great thing about this dish is just that - the lamb and vegetables are cooked in one pot, meaning you spend less time in the kitchen and more time hunting for those eggs! Happy Easter everyone!

Serves 4, from ‘Grandma’s Best Recipes’.

Ingredients:

1 leg of lamb, weighing 1.6kg/3lb 8oz

3-4 fresh rosemary sprigs

115g/4 oz streaky bacon rashers

4 tbsp olive oil

2-3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 onions, sliced

2 carrots, sliced

2 celery sticks, sliced

300ml/10 fl oz dry white wine

1 tbsp tomato pureé

300ml/10 fl oz lamb, or chicken, stock

3 tomatoes peeled, quartered and deseeded

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or majoram

salt and pepper

fresh rosemary sprigs

1. Wipe the lamb all over with kitchen paper, trim off any excess fat and season to taste with salt and pepper, rubbing in well. Lay the sprigs of rosemary over the lamb, cover evenly with the bacon and tie in place securely with some kitchen string.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the lamb and fry for 10 minutes, turning several times. Remove from the pan. 

3. Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Transfer the oil from the pan to a large, flameproof casserole, add the garlic and onions and cook for 3-4 minutes, until the onions are beginning to soften. Add the carrots and celery and cook for a further few minutes.

4. Lay the lamb on top of the vegetables and press down to partly submerge. Pour the wine over the lamb, add the tomato pureé and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add the stock, tomatoes and herbs and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring back to the boil and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.

5. Lightly cover the casserole and cook in the preheated oven for 2-2½ hours until very tender.

6. Remove the lamb from the casserole and, if you like, remove the bacon and herbs together with the string. Keep the lamb warm. Strain the juices, skimming off any excess fat, and serve in a jug. The vegetables may be served around the joint or put in a warmed dish. Garnish with sprigs of rosemary.

There couldn’t be an easier way to start your week! This delicious recipe can also be adapted to include more or different vegetables to suit your taste - it goes without saying though that you’ll want more than one helping! (From ‘America’s Family Recipes’, for the iPad and iPhone)

Layered Vegetable Casserole, serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil, for brushing

5 large white potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

2 leeks, trimmed, thoroughly washed, and thinly sliced

2 large beef tomatoes, sliced

8 fresh basil leaves

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground pepper

300ml/10 fl oz vegetable stock

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

2. Brush an ovenproof casserole dish with a little of the olive oil. Prepare all the vegetables. 

3. Place a layer of potato slices in the bottom of the dish, sprinkle with half of the basil leaves and cover with a layer of leeks. Top with a layer of tomato slices. Repeat these layers until all the vegetables are used up, ending with a layer of potatoes.

4. Stir the chopped garlic into the vegetable broth and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the broth over the vegetables and brush the top with the remaining olive oil.

5. Bake in the preheated over for 1½ hours, or until the vegetables are gender and the topping is golden brown. Serve immediately. 

Not only the ideal winter warmer but the ideal way to start the week. This one pot dish is packed full of vegetables and goodness and will satisfy the hungriest around your kitchen table! (From ‘Grandma’s Best Recipes’).

Vegetable Cobbler, serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

8 small onions, halved

2 celery sticks, sliced

225g/8oz swede, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

½ small head of cauliflower, broken into florets

225g/8oz button mushrooms, sliced

400g/14oz canned chopped tomatoes

55g/2oz red lentils, rinsed

2 tbsp cornflour

3-4 tbsp water

300ml/10 fl oz vegetable stock

2 tsp Tabasco sauce

2 tsp chopped fresh oregano

fresh oregano sprigs to garnish

TOPPING

225g/8oz self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting

pinch of salt

4 tbsp butter

115g/4oz grated mature Cheddar cheese

2 tsp chopped fresh oregano

1 egg, lightly beaten

150ml/5 fl oz milk

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the garlic and onions and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes. Add the celery, swede, carrots and cauliflower and cook for 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes and lentils. Place the cornflour and water in a bowl and mix to make a smooth paste. Stir into the frying pan with the stock, Tabasco sauce and oregano. Transfer to an ovenproof dish, cover and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

3. To make the topping, sift the flour and salt together into a bowl. Add the butter and rub it in, then stir in most of the cheese and oregano. Beat the egg with the milk in a small bowl and add enough to the dry ingredients to make a soft dough. Knead, then roll out on a lightly floured work surface to 1cm/½ inch thick. Cut into 5-cm/2-inch rounds. 

4. Remove the dish from the oven and increase the temperature to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. Arrange the dough rounds around the edge of the dish, brush with the remaining egg and milk mixture and sprinkle with the reserved cheese. Return to the oven and cook for a further 10-12 minutes. Garnish with oregano sprigs and serve. 

This yummy, versatile winter fruit will make your Monday taste a whole lot better! (Recipe from ‘Grandma’s Best Recipes’.)

Roast Butternut Squash - serves 4

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, about 450g/1lb

1 onion, chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, crushed

4 small tomatoes, chopped

85g/3oz chestnut mushrooms, chopped

85g/3 oz canned butter beans, drained, rinsed and roughly chopped

1 courgette, about 115g/4 oz, trimmed and grated

1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano, plus extra to garnish

2 tbsp tomato purée

300ml/10 fl oz water

4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, or to taste

pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5. Prick the squash all over with a metal skewer then roast for 40 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the oven and leave to rest until cool enough to handle. 

2. Cut the squash in half, scoop out and discard the seeds, then scoop out some of the flesh, making hollows in both halves. Chop the scooped-out flesh and put in a bowl. Place the two squash halves side by side in a large roasting tin. 

3. Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes and mushrooms to the squash flesh in the bowl. Add the butter beans, courgette, oregano, and pepper to taste and mix well. Spoon the filling into the two halves of the squash, packing it down as firmly as possible. 

4. Mix the tomato purée with the water, spring onions and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl and pour around the squash. 

5. Cover loosely with a large sheet of foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until piping hot. Serve in warmed bowls, garnished with some chopped oregano.

Why not try this for a Monday night feast? Lentils are a delicious way to get protein on a Meat-Free Monday.

Vegetable & lentil casserole, serves 4

Ingredients:

10 cloves
1 onion, peeled but kept whole
225g/8oz Puy or green lentils
1 bay leaf
1.5 litres/2 1/4 pints vegetable stock
2 leeks, sliced
2 potatoes, diced
2 carrots, chopped
3 courgettes, sliced
1 celery stick, chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Press the cloves into the onion. 
2. Put the lentils into a large casserole, add the onion and bay leaf and pour in the stock. Cover and cook in the preheated over for 1 hour. 
3. Remove the onion and discard the cloves. Slice the onion and return it to the casserole with the vegetables. Stir thoroughly and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and return to the oven for 1 hour. 
4. Discard the bay leaf. Stir in the lemon juice and serve straight from the casserole.