Holiday Food at Home

Bring a bit of sunshine back home with these really easy ideas inspired by our most popular holiday destinations.

Breakfast in France

No-Cook French Breakfast (serves 2)

• Small selection of vegetarian French cheeses (We used Brie, Camembert, & Boursin)
• ½ fresh baguette
• 2 croissants
• Jam & butter
• Tea or coffee

Have a lazy start to the day with a no-cook, continental breakfast of cheeses with crusty bread, and warmed croissants with jam or butter. Make a fresh jug of coffee or a big pot of tea. Clear the dining table and serve breakfast on your best crockery. To really make it feel like you're still on your holidays, take your time over breakfast and stick around at the table afterwards with tea or coffee and a read of the paper.

A note about cheese:

If you are buying cheese on holiday to bring back home, check that it is vegetarian. Over 40 French cheeses hold ‘Appellation d’Origine Controlee’ (AOC) status, which means that they must be produced using traditional methods and in many cases this includes the use of rennet made from animal by-products. European regulations which protect the geographical status of certain foods also apply to products from all over Europe, including parmesan, which is always produced using calf rennet, and which therefore is not vegetarian. Vegetarian versions of many cheeses can be found in UK & Irish supermarkets.

Lunch in Greece

Saganaki (serves 2)

• 1 packet of ready-prepared vegetarian saganaki (Greek cheese)
• ½ of a tub of tzatziki (a yoghurt dip)
• Lettuce
• Olives

Fry the whole saganaki in a little olive oil until golden and crispy. Serve with shredded lettuce, olives and tzatziki.

Greek Salad (serves 2)

• ½ red onion
• 2 large tomatoes
• ¼ of a cucumber
• 10 black or green olives
• 50g feta cheese2 wholemeal pitta breads
• 2tbs olive oil

Chop the veg, drizzle with a little olive oil and serve with warm pitta bread.

Baklava (Serves 4)

• ½ packet frozen filo pastry
• 50g walnuts (or mixed nuts)
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Generous knob of butter (melted)
• 2tbs sugar
• Water

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and defrost pastry according to packet instructions.
2. Grind together the chopped walnuts with the cinnamon .
3. Place half of the pastry sheets onto greased baking tray, and layer the nut mixture on top. Place the second half of the sheets on top to make a sandwich. Brush generously with melted butter.
4. Bake in the over for 40 minutes or until the baklava is golden brown and crispy.
5. Cover the bottom of a saucepan with water, and add the sugar. Stir the sugar-water and bring to the boil. Spoon the hot syrup over the baklava and serve.

Dinner in Italy

Gnocchi with Pesto & Mozzarella (serves 2)

• 500g packet of gnocchi
• 2tbs of vegetarian or vegan pesto from a jar
• ½ large ball of vegetarian mozzarella

Cook gnocchi according to packet instructions. Add a generous dollop of pesto. Serve with torn mozzarella and a side-salad if desired. Relax with a glass of vegetarian white wine!

Polenta with Roasted Vegetables (serves 2)

• 1 red onion
• 2 large tomatoes
• 1 large red pepper
• 1 courgette
• Olive oil
• 150g of quick-cook polenta
• Vegetarian parmesan-style cheese (optional)
• Foccacia (optional)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Prepare the polenta according to packet instructions. Cool and set wet polenta in the fridge before cutting into wedges.
3. Chop the vegetables Place all of the veg into a baking tray and toss in a generous splash of olive oil. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
4. Cook the polenta wedges in a little olive oil on a griddle pan.
5. Stack the roasted vegetables and polenta wedges. Serve with a drizzle of oilive oil and parmesan-style cheese shavings on top if desired, along with some warmed focaccia.