No Meat? No way!!

I have now had a vegetarian living with me for 3 weeks and I can honestly say that it has changed the way I look at vegetables and food in general.

In the past if I made a vegetarian meal, I would always make a roasted vegetable combination served with a starch. But now I find myself taking family favourites and reinventing them without meat. The best part is, you don't even miss the meat. The die hard carnivores have been asking for seconds and the vegetarian has been blown away by the variety.

I now have a stock of lentils and beans that would make a Buddhist monastery proud, and I am using them daily.

This bobotie is the latest in my vegetarian meals. It is very filling, extremely healthy and will satisfy meat eaters and vegetarians alike.

Sweet Potato, Lentil and Pearl Wheat Bobotie

600g Sweet potato (I used the orange variety)
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
45ml olive oil
15ml sugar
100ml water
10ml Jenny Morris Malay pepper or plain black pepper

Cook the sweet potato, curry, olive oil. cinnamon, sugar, water and pepper on a low heat until soft and then mash.

1 cup black lentils
1 cup pearl wheat (crushed wheat)
5 cups water
grated zest and juice of 1
Salt

Preheat oven to 180C
Place the lentils, pearl wheat and water in a large pot and boil until soft and water just about all absorbed.
Add the mashed sweet potato, zest, juice and salt to taste .

Grease a large baking dish and pour the lentil mix in.

Topping
1 cup milk
3 eggs
bay leaves for decoration

Pour the topping on the lentils and top with bay leaves.
Bake at 180C for 40 minutes.

Serve with a salad and yellow rice.

A vegetarian, a meat-eater, and a cannibal walk into a bar,
the veg' orders a salad, the other orders a burger,
than the bartender asks the cannibal "Anything for you?",
so he replies, "No thanks, I'll wait till they're done."