Vegetarian main dishes that fill you up

Pizza in teglia is Italian pan pizza: a wet, airy dough pressed into a well-oiled baking tin, topped with tomato, garlic and oregano, and baked until the bottom is crisp and almost fried. One tin…

Pizza marinara is the plainest of the Neapolitan pizzas: tomato, sliced garlic, dried oregano and olive oil on a thin dough, with no cheese at all. It costs almost nothing, it is vegan as it stands…

Chana masala is a chickpea curry in a tangy onion and tomato sauce. It is a good weeknight dish, it costs very little, and it tastes even better the day after, which makes it a natural choice for…

Chili sin carne, "chili without meat", is a thick, spicy stew of beans, tomatoes and peppers. It feeds a crowd for very little money, freezes well, and goes with rice, tortillas, baked potatoes or…

Falafel are crisp fried balls of ground chickpeas and herbs, green inside, eaten in pita bread with salad and tahini sauce, or on their own as a snack. They take some planning, as the chickpeas soak…

Mujaddara is a dish of lentils and rice cooked together and crowned with a big pile of deeply browned onions. It is cheap, filling and surprisingly rich in taste for such simple ingredients. Eat it…

Ratatouille is a slow stew of summer vegetables cooked in olive oil: aubergine, courgette, peppers, onions and tomatoes. Make it at the end of summer when these vegetables are cheap and ripe. Serve…

Dal is a dish of split lentils or peas cooked until soft, then finished with spices fried in hot oil. Made with red lentils, it needs no soaking and is ready in half an hour, which makes it one of…

A stir-fry is the fastest way to turn a few vegetables into dinner: everything is cut small and cooked very hot for a few minutes, so the vegetables stay crisp and bright. Tofu adds protein and soaks…

A calzone is a pizza folded in half before baking: a round of pizza dough filled with ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan and basil, sealed into a half-moon and baked until puffed and brown, with a…

Kartoffelpuffer are German potato pancakes: grated raw potato and onion bound with egg and a little flour, fried flat in oil until crisp and brown. They are a cheap lunch or supper with apple sauce…

Pizza margherita is a thin yeast dough topped with crushed tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil and a thread of olive oil. Make the dough in the morning or at lunchtime and the pizzas take ten minutes…

Pizza quattro formaggi, four-cheese pizza, is a white pizza covered with mozzarella, gorgonzola, fontina and Parmesan, with no tomato. It is rich, so one pizza goes a long way: cut it into slices for…

Shakshuka is eggs poached in a thick, spiced sauce of tomatoes and peppers, brought to the table in the pan and eaten with bread. It works for a late breakfast, a lazy lunch or a fast dinner when the…

The Spanish tortilla, tortilla de patatas, is a thick omelette of potatoes and onions slowly cooked in olive oil. Served warm or at room temperature, it is a lunch, a picnic dish, or tapas cut into…