One of my favourite things about going out with a veggie is
how it has expanded my horizons. When I started seeing Jon when I was just 13 I
hadn’t tried vegetable curries, mousakas, pasta dishes, vegetables such as
Aubergines and Okra or ingredients such as chick peas and lentil! Food in my
house was very much meat and two veg, but as Jon came round for more dinners
both my parents and I had to think a little bit more about what food we ate.
His vegetarianism has made me infinitely more creative in
the kitchen and has opened up a whole new range of foods to choose from in
restaurants. I doubt I will ever become a vegetarian – partly because I love my
fish too much – but because I feel so long as you buy well reared, local meat
you’re not damaging the economy or environment too much! Nonetheless, I will
continue to eat roughly 80% of my meals meat free.
When I offered to cook Jon a romantic meal last weekend I knew I had to go down the Indian route – it’s by far our favourite type of cuisine and we’ve even joked that our wedding breakfast will be contemporary Indian cuisine (don’t panic folks, there’s no ring on my finger yet!) So, I decided to branch out and try a new ingredient I hadn’t cooked with before – paneer. Paneer is an authentic Indian cheese that is often found in vegetarian curries. It’s got a soft sometime spongey texture and is very mild in flavour which makes it the perfect addition to a whole variety of curries.
