Vegetables don’t have to be a bit on the side. Bring them centre stage, says Nadine Abensur

Roasted root vegetables, winter casseroles with dumplings, lentil soups, vegetable lasagnes, deep-filled pies – all these dishes are synonymous with wintertime. So why is it that, when the cold comes, vegetables are relegated to the edge of the plate, especially when they’re so filling? We should celebrate these gifts of nature by bringing them centre stage and making them into main courses.

Provide protein in the form of oozing cheeses, toasted nuts or seeds, and marinated and roasted tofu. Add wine, marsala, brandy and Pernod to make delicious sauces. Focus on vegetables rather than vegetarian, take your inspiration from world food and think abundance, colour and health.

The following ideas should warm your stomach as well as your spirit during the chilly season.

Layered Lasagne with
Roasted Vegetables
This dish is quick and easy – no time-consuming béchamels or tomato sauces but three rich, intensely flavoured vegetables and plenty of protein.

Start with grilled slices of butternut squash or aubergine, a layer of mushrooms fried with tamari (or soy sauce) and wilted, seasoned spinach bound with crème fraîche and combined with finely chopped, sautéed garlic.

Top off the whole thing with more crème fraîche and finely shredded Gruyère cheese, and cook at 200C/400F/gas mark 6 for about 20 minutes, or until golden.

Thai Green Vegetable Curry
Fry cauliflower florets in a little sunflower or groundnut oil until browned all over. Add some large pieces of onion at a high heat, then throw in some chunks of carrot, courgettes and a generous amount of chestnut or shitake mushrooms. The high heat will fuse the flavours to perfection.

Next, make a green curry paste. Chop up several very small green chillies (wear rubber gloves for this), a bunch coriander, and 3 or 4 stalks lemongrass (use only the tender leaves within).

Then, add the juice 1 lime, 1 tbsp teriyaki sauce, 5cm ginger, peeled and grated with the juice squeezed out, and a couple of finely chopped shallots.

Finally, add 1 tsp each ground cumin, ground coriander and lime zest. Blitz the lot in a food processor or herb chopping attachment.

Mix with 400ml coconut milk and add to the vegetables, at the same time throwing in a large handful topped and tailed green beans.

Finish off with a small bunch of basil and lime leaves if you can find them. Simmer for 15 minutes until green beans are tender and the vegetables suffused with the Thai flavours. Serve with plain boiled basmati or fragrant Thai (jasmine) rice.

Roasted Winter Vegetables 1
For another easy, exuberant and convivial main course, try filling your largest oven tray to the brim with winter veg and roasting them to sweet, caramelised perfection. This wonderful, warming main course hardly needs to be the same twice in a row.

One of the quickest ways to make it is to cut up enough sweet potatoes for 1 person into chunks (skin left on), cut 2 red onions into quarters and toss them in olive oil with a few cloves of unpeeled garlic.

Add plenty of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, a dash of Tabasco and not much else (though a delicious addition is a mango peeled and cut into chunks – it dissolves and caramelises splendidly).

Roast in a very hot oven for about 20-25 minutes till the potatoes are not only tender but starting to crisp. Remove from the oven and spoon some ready-made tamarind paste all over.

Meanwhile blanch some topped and tailed green beans and, when tender, fold them into the roasted potato slices.

For your dose of protein, add a handful of slivered whole almonds. You can toast them first or simply let them brown gently in the oven for the last 5-6 minutes of roasting time. Slices of goat’s cheese, lightly browned on top, offer a sharp contrast, or marinated tofu would also roast perfectly with the sweetness of the potatoes.

Next page: More Roasted Winter Vegetables

Roasted Winter Vegetables 2
This delicious roast of winter vegetables uses no less than 8 different types but you could use as many or as few as you wish and change the proportions according to your taste, your budget or what happens to be in your fridge. The important thing is to leave them a good 40 minutes in a blistering hot oven – remember, this can be your down time. Once they’re in you can pretty much forget about them until they are ready. If you can’t trust the temperature of your oven, take a peek once in a while and turn the tray around if necessary. This dish contains loads of carbs, fibre, vitamins and protein.

Serves 4-6

4-6 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
2-3 tbsp tamarind paste
1 butternut squash, cut into 8 long sections (no need to peel)
2 sweet potatoes, cut into chunks or thick slices, skin left on
12 chestnut mushrooms (they’ll shrivel but their flavour becomes veryintense)
12 new potatoes, left whole, or 2 older ones cut into chunks
3 medium courgettes, cut into chunks
3 medium carrots, cut into chunks
12 shallots or 2 or 3 red onions, cut into quarters
½ small green cabbage, cut into chunks
1 small mango, peeled and cut into 4cm chunks
8 cloves garlic, left whole
dash Tabasco
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For marinating the tofu
1 x 250g block tofu cut into 16 cubes
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
60ml red wine or a little brandy
1 whole garlic clove, peeled and sliced

If you have time, marinate the tofu one day in advance. Place the tofu in a bowl with the 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce, the red wine or brandy, the garlic and enough water to cover. Place in the fridge for a day. If you’re like most of us – too busy – don’t despair. Just marinate the tofu for the length of time it takes you to prepare the vegetables.

Combine the olive oil, the tamari, some of the marinating liquid if you want to (depending on how salty or strong you like it), salt, pepper and half the tamarind paste.

Stir this into the prepared vegetables together with the Tabasco.

Tip all the vegetables, the mango and the garlic into a roasting pan and roast for 40-45 minutes or until tender, browned and crisp. You don’t need to add the tofu until the veg are half done or it may go a little too chewy for your liking – though some people like it this way.

At the end, stir in the rest of the tamarind. A bowl of steaming broccoli with butter or olive oil and some toasted nuts or seeds is a good accompaniment.

Nadine Abensur is the author of Cranks Fast Food (Cassell)