Meatless Monday Recipe: Leftover Vegetarian Chilli with Cheesy Toast

Reheated, leftover vegetarian chilli was cheddar cheese toast

As regular readers of this blog will have noticed, I'm not really the type of person who normally takes much notice of the concept that is Meatless Monday. This does not mean, however, that I cannot enjoy a meat free meal from time to time. When, therefore, I was presented with an ideal opportunity in the form of leftovers to enjoy a meatless Monday meal, I decided to give the idea a go.

Last night, I prepared a dish which I called Chicken Wings Chilli Con Carne (pictured below) for my dinner. This involved making a chilli without meat but otherwise in exactly the same way as normal before serving the meat from roast chicken wings on top. As I had enough chilli for two, half of it was leftover and used in the preparation of this simple meal which I really enjoyed for lunch today. It would of course have served equally well as a dinner...

Chicken wing meat was served on top of the chilli on this occasion

Ingredients (Serves One)

Portion of leftover vegetarian chilli (or similar - such as Bolognese sauce)
2 thick slices from speciality wholemeal bread
Cheddar cheese slices as required
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly chopped coriander/cilantro to garnish

Reheating leftover vegetarian chilli

Directions

Put the chilli in to a suitable pot or saucepan and on to a gentle heat to heat through. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon.

Artisan boule fresh bread loaf

Put your grill/broiler on to preheat to maximum and cut two thick slices of bread from your loaf.

Inch thick slices are cut from artisan boule loaf

Toast the bread on one side only before laying the cheese on the untoasted side and placing back under the grill until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Slices of cheddar cheese are arranged on part toasted bread

When the chilli is piping hot, spoon it on to a deep plate.

Vegetarian chilli is plated

Season the cheesy bread with black pepper before cutting each slice in half.

Black pepper is ground over cheesy toast

Lay the cheesy bread around the chilli as shown and finish off with the chopped coriander/cilantro.

Cheesy toast is plated with vegetarian chilli

Spicy Sausage Casserole with Cheesy Bread

This spicy sausage casserole is an incredibly simple dish, perfect for any night where you can't face spending a great deal of time cooking, or where time is short and you simply want to throw something together, stick it in the oven and be eating within the hour.

Ingredients per Person

4 beef link sausages
1/2 red onion
2 small red chilli peppers
2 cloves of garlic
2 pints of fresh beef stock
Salt and black pepper
Torn basil leaves to garnish

Method

Put your oven on to preheat to 375F/190C. Pour the beef stock in to a pot and heat it gently until it reaches a simmer.

Removing the core from the garlic cloves is optional but be aware that where there is significant core in a garlic clove, it can introduce an unpleasant bitterness to the cooked dish. Slice each clove in half as shown above. Simply pick the core out of each half with the point of your knife and discard. Finely chop the flesh of the garlic and the red chillis. Note that this recipe is fairly hot so you may prefer to use only one red chilli. Slice the red onion.

Place the sausages in to a deep casserole dish. Scatter the onion, garlic and chilli over the top. Season and carefully pour over the heated beef stock. Put the lid on to the dish and place it in to the oven for forty-five minutes.

This spicy sausage casserole can very effectively be served with boiled potatoes and other vegetables. Try serving it, however, in a deep bowl, garnished with torn basil leaves and accompanied by either plain crusty bread or cheesy bread, similar to that pictured above.