because I'm tired of spending all my time cooking

[tim]

Dear interwebs:

I'd like to know your favorite vegetarian recipe that takes less than 30 minutes (even better if it's less than 20 minutes) to prepare. Go!

edited to clarify: Must be 30 minutes from zero to ready to eat (that is, I'm not distinguishing between active prep time and passive waiting time).

Comments

[kake]

Are substantial salads OK? I really like chickpea salad, which involves opening a can of chickpeas, chopping/slicing/otherwise suitably treating various veg, herbs, cheese if you want, adding tasty things from jars, and then dressing with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I can be more explicit about the veg I think work well in this if you're interested.

Otherwise, I quite like stirfry, done the proper way in a very hot wok (the hottest ring on my electric stove is just about hot enough for this, though gas would be much better) — yes, stirfry is obvious, but the important thing here is a decent sauce to put on it. Fermented tofu has been featuring in my stirfry sauces quite a lot recently; it really does seem to add something special. Again, I can go on about this a bit more if you like.

Also, bean stews. For optimum speed, as soon as you get in, chop onion and get it in a pan ASAP, then let it carry on sauteeing slowly while you put bike/shoes/bag/etc away and start hunting for the other veg. (Sometimes when I can't work out what to cook, I just get myself into the kitchen and start sauteeing an onion, since it's usually the slowest part of the process.)

Spicy chickpeas and spinach is very quick if you buy the tamarind ready-extracted inna jar.

For more snacky things, scallion pancakes are surprisingly quick to make (though if you don't have much experience handling bread dough, they may be more faff).

[tim]

Are substantial salads OK? I really like chickpea salad, which involves opening a can of chickpeas, chopping/slicing/otherwise suitably treating various veg, herbs, cheese if you want, adding tasty things from jars, and then dressing with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I can be more explicit about the veg I think work well in this if you're interested.

That sounds good -- I'm not imaginative, so what veggies do you think are good?

I don't think my electric stove gets hot enough to heat a wok as hot as it should be :-(

The other ideas sound good, am filing away! (I found some frozen scallion pancakes at the local "Oriental Market" (no, really, that's what it's called) that are surprisingly good, but homemade would be cheapter.)

[kake]

A few quick thoughts... maybe other people would like to suggest some too.

Good veggies to put in raw:
cucumber, fennel bulb, red/orange/yellow bell peppers, zucchini (chopped to 1cm pieces, or sliced)
carrots, kohlrabi (grated)
cherry tomatoes (halved or whole)
ordinary tomatoes (chopped)
salad leaves/baby spinach/arugula/etc
radishes (grated, chopped, sliced, or whole)

Good fruits to put in raw:
apples (chopped or grated)

Good things to saute briefly first (takes more time, obviously):
sliced mushrooms, thinly-sliced leeks

Good flavourings:
thinly-sliced scallions/red onions/normal onions
finely-chopped fresh herbs, e.g. mint, fennel, parsley, cilantro, etc

Good things-in-jars:
caramelised onions, capers, olives (halved or whole), roasted peppers, pickled chillies (sliced)