Inspiring, healthy post-Holiday food from Sweden:

Vegetarian beginnings... After the Christmas ham, meatballs and “prinskorvar” it might be nice with a few green, vegetarian days to kick off 2011.  

• 

  Vegetarian lentil stew.

• Here are two favorites from www.AlltOmMat.se

• 

  Pesto and rice filled peppers.

• Vegetarian lentil stew for 4
  Ingredients:
  2 yellow onions
  2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  3-4 Tablespoons curry paste
  1 cauliflower head
  1 can of crushed tomatoes (400g)
  1.5 cups water
  1 teaspoon salt
  1.2 cups red lentils.
  Serve with boiled rice and pickles, preferably chili pickles.
  Peel and finely chop the onions. Heat oil in a pan and fry the onion for about 1 minute. Add the curry paste and fry for another minute. Divide the cauliflower head into several bouquets and put them in the pan. Add the tomatoes, the water, the salt and the lentils. Cook covered for 10 minutes. Serve with the rice and the chili pickles.

• Pesto and rice filled peppers
  A classic but with a fresh, vegetarian twist. Instead of meat, mix the rice with pesto, chèvre, olives and chickpeas. Serves four.
  Ingredients:
  6 oz basmati rice
  half a teaspoon salt (+ half a teaspoon of salt)
  4 bell peppers, red or yellow
  1 Tablespoon olive oil
  1 can chickpeas (400 g)
  3 scallions
  100 g chèvre cheese
  half a cup of small black olives (pitted)
  half a cup of pesto
  black pepper to taste.
  Preheat the oven to 437 F. Boil the rice with half a teaspoon of salt according to the instructions on the package. Cut the peppers in halves, and remove seeds. Put them in an oven safe dish with the open part down, brush them with the olive oil and pour half a teaspoon of salt over them. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes. Rinse the chickpeas. Chop the scallions. Crumble the chèvre and mix all of these ingredients with the rice and the pesto. Put in the peppers and serve right away.