The book you need to make meat-free days a breeze.
Eating meat-free for three straight meals can seem like a daunting task if you have a need for large amounts of protein, are always on the go, or feed many, young mouths. Have no fear! There’s a new cookbook in town. The Meat Free Monday Cookbook: A Full Menu for Every Monday of the Year breaks down each meal for every Monday for 52 weeks.
Paul, Stella, and Mary McCartney launched a Meat Free Monday campaign and this book, edited by Annie Rigg, is your guidebook to participate. The book emphasizes the importance of making planet-friendly choices when it comes to how we eat. The contributors acknowledge that it is not easy to do it everyday, but if we do it at least once a week, we will make a huge impact as eaters and influence our other six days of meals.
The cookbook is divided up into four sections: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Each chapter has seasonal recipes broken up further by week. Each weeks gives a breakfast recipe, a packed lunch recipe or a hot lunch recipe, followed by a main dinner option complete with a side and dessert. All dishes are meat-free with vegan options. With over 52 ideas for each of three meals, we are excited to never feel bored again on #MeatlessMonday.
For a taste of the book, try their Thai Vegetable Curry recipe below.
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
FOR THE CURRY PASTE
- 2 shallots (roughly chopped)
- 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 stick lemongrass (finely chopped)
- 2 green chiles (seeded and chopped)
- zest of 1 lime
- small bunch fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
- 1 small eggplant (cut into chunks)
- 1 red pepper (seeded and diced)
- 8 baby bella mushrooms (halved (or quartered if large))
- 14– ounce can coconut milk
- 6 okra (cut on the diagonal into 3 pieces)
- 8 baby corn (cut on the diagonal into 3 pieces)
- 5 –6 ounce can bamboo shoots (drained)
- handful of sugar snap peas (cut in half on the diagonal)
- 2 handfuls of bean sprouts
- soy sauce
- soft light brown sugar to taste
TO SERVE
- fresh cilantro leaves jasmine rice lime wedges
Instructions
- Prepare the curry paste first. Place the shallots, garlic, and ginger in a food processor. Add the lemongrass, chiles, lime zest, and cilantro stalks (reserving the leaves) and pulse the mixture until finely chopped. You can also make this paste using a mortar and pestle if you prefer. Heat the sunflower oil in a large sauté pan. Add the curry paste and cook over medium heat for minute until the mixture smells fragrant.
- Add the eggplant, red pepper, and mushrooms and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently until starting to become tender. Add the coconut milk to the pan with 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil. Add the okra, baby corn, and bamboo shoots and continue to cook for 5 minutes or so until the veggies are tender.
- Finally add the sugar snap peas and bean sprouts and cook for another 30 seconds. Taste and add a dash of soy sauce or teaspoon of sugar if needed. Serve the curry in bowls, garnished with cilantro leaves with jasmine rice and lime wedges.
