Gastronaut shops for... Vegetarian ready meals

Caroline Stacey
Friday 19 September 2003 00:00 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Am I the only one who doesn't want chicken tonight, tomorrow, and every other night of the week? The supermarkets seem to think so. Clock all those chooks: satay, stir-fry, Italian, Thai, Chinese, korma... But what about the three million who are supposed to be vegetarians? Good-quality veggie meals are strangely scarce. Some of the supermarkets are addressing it, but they've still got to catch up with M&S.

Am I the only one who doesn't want chicken tonight, tomorrow, and every other night of the week? The supermarkets seem to think so. Clock all those chooks: satay, stir-fry, Italian, Thai, Chinese, korma... But what about the three million who are supposed to be vegetarians? Good-quality veggie meals are strangely scarce. Some of the supermarkets are addressing it, but they've still got to catch up with M&S.

WHERE TO BUY:

Somerfield So Good... tomato and basil tartlets

How good? Well, as long as you like tomatoes - a lot - with one of these each with a rocket salad, you'd be well away. The pastry is tomato-tinged and a tad floppy, the filling intensely tomato-ey and herby. (240g, £2.99)

Tesco Finest five mushroom stroganoff

Banishes blandness from a meat-free ready meal by being brave with spices: there's a nice kick of cumin in the wild and basmati rice, and an interesting mix of mushrooms. A good meat-free meal for two - but you'd probably still want vegetables with it... (450g, £2.99)

Marks & Spencer Café Culture leek, lentil and spinach frittata

The only dilemma: is one each enough? Two too much? This neat, deep omelette with slightly gooey spinachy insides, and a solid, eggy outer layer, plus a few lentils added for a nubbly novelty, is a big veggie hit. The sour-cream-and-chive dressing's nothing special, but it's optional. (350g, £2.99)

Sainsbury's Taste the Difference roasted potato, butternut squash and gruyère gratin

They call it a gratin, but this is a bake, and a sludgy one at that. Another new veggie dish, cauliflower and camembert crumble, has nicely crunchy vegetables, but the creamy sauce could do with more bite and topping. (Both 400g, £2.99 gratin, £2.49 crumble)

Asda broccoli mornay

Not from Asda's Extra Special selection, and it shows. The broccoli's OK, but the sauce tastes like coffee-whitener. Not fit for guests, but if you can't be bothered to boil broccoli, at least you're getting veg down you. (454g, £1.49)

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in