| You are inviting guests to an upcoming dinner | | | | trepidation. |
| party and you do the courteous thing by asking | | | | An important point to remember when having a |
| the people if there's any food they don't like or | | | | vegetarian guest to dinner is that you should not |
| can't tolerate. One person gets back to you and | | | | cook the vegetarian food in the same oil that you |
| says they're completely vegetarian. Lucky you | | | | have just cooked a meat dish in first - do the |
| asked don't you think? | | | | reverse. |
| Many meat-eaters I have met find vegetarian | | | | The other option of course is to cook an entirely |
| food bland and boring but this is far from the | | | | vegetarian meal and my suggestion is to combine |
| truth. You can create a wonderful menu and the | | | | a theme with this idea. In this case I will use an |
| meat-eaters won't even realize that they have | | | | Italian theme as an example. |
| eaten entirely vegetarian food. | | | | As your guest arrive you can serve some hors |
| You do have a couple of choices though. Firstly, if | | | | devours - like crackers and eggplant dip or slices |
| you're really keen on a particular dish you could | | | | of tomato with mozzarella and basil layered on |
| create a vegetarian option. For example, if you're | | | | top. |
| cooking a meat lasagna, you could also prepare a | | | | For a starter you could serve an eggplant |
| smaller vegetarian lasagna dish and your guests | | | | parmigiana antipasto dish - followed by a |
| won't even realize they are eating different dishes. | | | | vegetarian lasagna or a pasta with a pesto or |
| In this case, it's a good idea to reassure your | | | | Napolitana sauce. The great thing about eggplants |
| vegetarian guest that you are doing this so they | | | | (the French name is aubergine) is that they are |
| know you have catered to their needs so they | | | | known to be a satisfying substitute for meat with |
| can completely relax and enjoy their meal without | | | | their lovely chunky texture. |