Pesto

dominiquecruz

Does it bother anyone else that pesto is consistently offered as the vegetarian option in restaurants? I mean, it's bad enough that pesto and pasta is about as unimaginative as it can get, but pesto generally isn't veggie friendly! :mad: I'm going for a family meal tomorrow in a restaurant whose only vegetarian main course is 'Linguini with Basil Pesto' - what am I meant to do?! Is there a chance that a lot of these restaurants are actually using veggie pesto i.e made without parmesan/hard cheese?

actua11

I think a broad definition of vegetarianism for a lot of people tends to be 'not eating meat' or 'abstaining from foods produced from animals except milk and cheese' so to them... Parmesan = Cheese = Veggie Friendly. Happens with others too like gelatine and chicken or beef stock/gravy as just being seen as not meat and thus suitable for vegetarians.


As for the restaurant, you can always ask if hard cheese was used in the pesto. If so, they can easily add a different sauce to the linguini or change something else on the menu to make it suitable (carbonara without bacon etc.) Places always seem to be very accommodating about such things.

Mellor

Parmesan creeps on to a lot of veggie options, some people just aren't aware.
I imagine its easily checked, and change if required

nesf

I've come across Paremesan in recipes in veggie cookbooks. Admittedly not by a veggie author but still I was fairly shocked.

Restaurants making the mistake doesn't surprise me really.

blatantrereg

Aldi Specially Selected Pesto Rosso is labelled as suitable for vegetarians. It contains pecorino romano and grana padano. Internet searching indicates that there are vegetarian versions of these cheeses. So I think even pesto with hard cheese in it can be vegetarian.

But yes I agree with you about boring vegetarian options and faux vegetarian options being common. Also vegetarian portion sizes are much smaller in some places. Sometimes that's because they're just the meat options with the meat taken out. Other times I think it's because they see vegetarianism as a kinda borderline anorexia. Also no vegetarian options that contain a decent source of protein in some places - like the pasta again.

nesf

blatantrereg wrote: »

Also no vegetarian options that contain a decent source of protein in some places - like the pasta again.

I had that problem in hospital of all places. I'd get a stuffed pepper, stuffed with more pepper and that'd be it. Or egg based stuff and since I don't in general eat eggs... They tried to accommodate me to be fair to them but it was awkward for everyone because my diet was very restricted at the time (extremely fussy eater).

dominiquecruz

Thanks for the input guys; I think I'm just going to ask them tonight if their pesto is rennet-free, and if not politely inform them that their vegetarian option isn't actually so vegetarian. Maybe it might encourage them to be a bit more adventurous in their menu anyhow. I really don't understand how anyone who has trained professionally as a chef can't prepare a proper dish without meat.. I know it's not their obligation to cater for vegetarianism, but surely a decent chef knows his way around a vegetable?! *rant over*

--LOS--

dominiquecruz wrote: »

Does it bother anyone else that pesto is consistently offered as the vegetarian option in restaurants? I mean, it's bad enough that pesto and pasta is about as unimaginative as it can get, but pesto generally isn't veggie friendly! :mad: I'm going for a family meal tomorrow in a restaurant whose only vegetarian main course is 'Linguini with Basil Pesto' - what am I meant to do?! Is there a chance that a lot of these restaurants are actually using veggie pesto i.e made without parmesan/hard cheese?

ye it really annoys me actually since I realised that most pesto is not veggie friendly. It's offered along with the veggie option everywhere......restaurants/recipes etc.
I'd wonder about those frozen pizzas you buy that have pesto on them yet they have a vegetarian logo on them.
You can check with restaurant staff but chances are they wont have a clue, since they have it as a veggie option in the first place.

At home now I would just make my own pesto, got a load of basil reduced in tesco a while back and I now have the freezer stocked with pesto

TooManyDogs

dominiquecruz wrote: »

I really don't understand how anyone who has trained professionally as a chef can't prepare a proper dish without meat.. I know it's not their obligation to cater for vegetarianism, but surely a decent chef knows his way around a vegetable?! *rant over*

I watched River Cottage Veg program by Hugh what's his name, and found it very intersting to see the various chefs' reaction to cooking vegetarian dishes. They were like a fish out of water, to them meat was the centre of the dish and they simply couldn't fathom a dish where there wasn't necessarily 1 main centre everything else accompanied. I do think it's simply not in there sphere of thought.

dominiquecruz - I used to work in a restaurant and they had no problem with people ringing up a couple of days in advance and explaining about various dietry requirements and making up a special dish. It used to annoy them if people came in on a busy night and expected something complicated that wasn't on the menu. I'd ring the restaurant tonight and have a chat about the veggie options, and mention about veggie cheeses too, you might find them very helpful.

dominiquecruz

TooManyDogs wrote: »

you might find them very helpful.

Famous last words TMD! I actually did email this morning to enquire about the rennet/pesto thing, and the reply was quite surprising; not only had they no idea about hard cheeses (which I can forgive I guess), but I was told that they were a grill restaurant that specialises in meat dishes and that if I wanted to eat vegetarian I should check out the indian restaurants in the area instead which have excellent choice?! This is after me telling them I'd already made a reservation with them. No recession in there anyhow.

That said, in the end they accommodated by making up a risotto which - although again not groundbreaking - was absolutely delicious.

Mellor

dominiquecruz wrote: »

I was told that they were a grill restaurant that specialises in meat dishes

I understand what you are sayign regarding lack of vegetarian choices, but if you are choosing to go to a grill restuarant or steakhosue then you are kinda asking for it.

dominiquecruz

Fair point. I didn't choose it, just to clarify, booked by the folks for a party of people. Also, this place doesnt really advertise itself as a grill or a steakhouse - didn't know it was one til I got that email. It's OK though, I've moved on.

TooManyDogs

dominiquecruz wrote: »

if I wanted to eat vegetarian I should check out the indian restaurants in the area instead which have excellent choice?! This is after me telling them I'd already made a reservation with them.

:eek: That's a bit rude!!!! Astonished that in this day and age a restaurant would have this kind of attitude, especially when you phone in advance to explain things. Could have understood if you sprung it on them in the middle of a hectic weekend service. God help you if you were celiac!

Mellor wrote: »

I understand what you are sayign regarding lack of vegetarian choices, but if you are choosing to go to a grill restuarant or steakhosue then you are kinda asking for it.

Still though, my experience is restaurants will accommadate as best they can if given notice. If only to combat the adage of a happy customer tells 1 person but an unhappy customer tells 10

henryporter

nesf wrote: »

I had that problem in hospital of all places. I'd get a stuffed pepper, stuffed with more pepper and that'd be it. Or egg based stuff and since I don't in general eat eggs... They tried to accommodate me to be fair to them but it was awkward for everyone because my diet was very restricted at the time (extremely fussy eater).

I've often wondered about the hell that would be having to have vegetarian meals in places such as hospitals or prisons - now that I know I'll try to stay healthy and not break the law:D

sweet-rasmus

dominiquecruz wrote: »

I actually did email this morning to enquire about the rennet/pesto thing, and the reply was quite surprising; not only had they no idea about hard cheeses (which I can forgive I guess), but I was told that they were a grill restaurant that specialises in meat dishes and that if I wanted to eat vegetarian I should check out the indian restaurants in the area instead which have excellent choice?! This is after me telling them I'd already made a reservation with them. No recession in there anyhow.

That's really bad form! Glad to hear the meal you got tasted good in the end

Slaphead07

dominiquecruz wrote: »

...t I was told that they were a grill restaurant that specialises in meat dishes and that if I wanted to eat vegetarian I should check out the indian restaurants in the area ...

a successful restaurant owner once remarked to me that if there's one vegetarian in a party of 5/6 friends that can decide where they'll all eat on any particular night. That "grill restaurant" seems a bit ignorant/arrogant/thick.
That said if friends were going to FXBs or some 'steakhouse' I'd politely decline. I don't give my money to such operations and I really don't feel comfortable in them.

--LOS--

Fair play for ringing! Least you got something vegetarian to eat in the end. What is it with meat eaters and their risottos for veggies though. Same when I went to family thing at my cousins house who is a chef, he was very good to make me up a risotto and it was delicious but I was starving shortly afterwards while everyone else was stuffed

Mellor

TooManyDogs wrote: »

Still though, my experience is restaurants will accommadate as best they can if given notice. If only to combat the adage of a happy customer tells 1 person but an unhappy customer tells 10

Yeah of course. It's not like there is nothung they can do.
I just meant that it was prob a poor choice from the others in the group. And they have limited ingredients out the back to work with etc

Washout

does anyone notice that pesto jars say suitable for vegetarian on them sometimes even though they contain parmesian.

I wonder if that is grounds to sue.

Mellor

Washout wrote: »

does anyone notice that pesto jars say suitable for vegetarian on them sometimes even though they contain parmesian.

I wonder if that is grounds to sue.

Example?

I'd say you are mistaken tbh. Its most likely a parmesan style cheese or one made without animal rennet.
Anyway, I doubt you'd be able to sue them, most likely they'd be in trouble with who ever over looks the standards

Slaphead07

BTW it's worth checking pesto for pork fat too. Perhaps more likely in "traditional" Italian sourced pesto but keep an eye out for it.

dubsontour

--LOS-- wrote: »

Fair play for ringing! Least you got something vegetarian to eat in the end. What is it with meat eaters and their risottos for veggies though. Same when I went to family thing at my cousins house who is a chef, he was very good to make me up a risotto and it was delicious but I was starving shortly afterwards while everyone else was stuffed

Oh I HATE risotto.. Got it twice in a restaurant. First one was so salty I had to drink pints of water and could still taste the salt the next morning:eek:.. I did complain they apologised but still charged for it on the bill.. Needless to say never went again. My second risotto( which was the only veggie option on the menu) was full of cream and resembled ambrosia creamed rice..
So not a fan either

Gauge

Haha, I'm not picky when it comes to food and I'll usually eat anything veggie even if I mildly dislike it, but risotto and mushrooms are the two things I absolutely hate.

Sometimes the only vegetarian option is mushroom risotto

The parmesan thing is interesting though, it's SO prevalent throughout dishes that are explicitly marked as vegetarian. At the same time, I've encountered many vegetarians (including one who was a lifelong vegetarian) who have absolutely NO idea what animal rennet is. Some are shocked when they realise, and some don't care. That's their prerogative but it kind of explains why it shows up so much, I doubt very many people bring it up.

And while it doesn't really concern me what other people eat, I'll admit the knock on effect it has on other vegetarian's meal choices can be irritating. It's almost in the same league as fish sometimes being considered a vegetarian option in restaurants because so many self described vegetarians eat it.

Mark Hamill

Washout wrote: »

does anyone notice that pesto jars say suitable for vegetarian on them sometimes even though they contain parmesian.

I wonder if that is grounds to sue.

That would depend on whether its parmesan, or Parmigiano-Reggiano. The latter is never veggie (one of those legally protected names that have to be made to the traditional recipe). The former can be veggie (as far a I'm aware the protection only applies to the italian name)

embraer170

Not wanting to be (too) anal but how are you sure the risottos aren't made with animal stock? It's one of the reasons I tend to steer clear of risottos in restaurants.

Dawn Rider

embraer170 wrote: »

Not wanting to be (too) anal but how are you sure the risottos aren't made with animal stock? It's one of the reasons I tend to steer clear of risottos in restaurants.

You can't be sure of anything in a restaurant really! Risotto usually is made with animal fat.

As far as I'm aware, Pesto comes from the Latin 'to crush', so you can have any variation of the paste. Parmesan cheese is traditionally used.

I found this rec on a vegan blog today.

For the pesto:

• 2 good handfuls of fresh coriander
• 50g cashews
• a clove of garlic
• a few mint leaves (I often forget these!)
• salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
• olive oil (around 4 tbsp – 60ml)

schemingbohemia

Dawn Rider wrote: »

You can't be sure of anything in a restaurant really! Risotto usually is made with animal fat.

As far as I'm aware, Pesto comes from the Latin 'to crush', so you can have any variation of the paste. Parmesan cheese is traditionally used.

I found this rec on a vegan blog today.

For the pesto:

• 2 good handfuls of fresh coriander
• 50g cashews
• a clove of garlic
• a few mint leaves (I often forget these!)
• salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
• olive oil (around 4 tbsp – 60ml)

Where did you get the risotto including animal fat? Olive Oil is usually the fat used in sauteeing the onions etc.

The stock used is where I would think there would be more likelihood of animal stocks being used.

Slaphead07

Dawn Rider wrote: »

For the pesto:

• 2 good handfuls of fresh coriander
• 50g cashews
• a clove of garlic
• a few mint leaves (I often forget these!)
• salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
• olive oil (around 4 tbsp – 60ml)

I'm sure that's lovely but it's not pesto. You'll be needing basil, pine nuts and absolutely no mint thank you.

kraggy

I've never heard of Risotto containing animal fat. What's it used for? Is it common?

Tar.Aldarion

Slaphead07 wrote: »

I'm sure that's lovely but it's not pesto. You'll be needing basil, pine nuts and absolutely no mint thank you.

Pine nuts are ridiculously expensive. Some cheaper nut or sunflower seed is good. Mmm love me so basil pesto.

Slaphead07

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Pine nuts are ridiculously expensive.

Still... kind of essential I'd say. I use them a lot anyway, on pizzas (be times) and with pasta - fantastic with sauteed cougette balsamic vinegar & tagliatelle. The taste of summer!