Long (long, long) before Meatless Monday was a thing (in its current iteration as an initiative to reduce meat consumption for personal health and the health of the planet), there was Meatless Friday (dating back to the first century as a Christian religious observance). Despite some confusion regarding whether or not the centuries-old weekly practice was done away with in the 1960s (it wasn’t), most people have a sense that Catholics still don’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent (the six-week time of penance leading up to Easter), which is true.
It’s easier than ever to find family-friendly meatless meals (and I’d love to hear your favorites!), but I thought you might like to know some of the ones I make for my family, which all of my boys do pretty well with and my husband and I really like:
LENTIL SLOPPY JOES
The key, for me, is to disguise the lentils as much as possible! (I try very hard to like beans and legumes, but so far I haven’t been too successful. This dish, however, is a good one.) I start this recipe, like so many other delicious ones, by sauteeing onions and peppers in butter in the pot I want the whole dish to finish in. You certainly don’t have to use butter, but I find that it really adds an important something to this meal. While the onions and peppers are sauteeing on a low to medium flame, I prepare the lentils by rinsing them, then boiling them in a separate pot according to the instructions on the 16oz. package, then draining them and dumping them in the pot with the onions and peppers. I stir it all around and let it hang out for a minute, then I add a jar of barbecue sauce, a quarter to a third cup of ketchup, and a few squirts of yellow mustard. I mix it around and let it simmer for a few minutes, and it’s done! It’s wonderful over rice, or with tortilla chips, or on a hamburger bun, and I even had leftovers on toast with eggs on top last week. My husband likes to have sour cream with his, and I often like shredded cheddar on top and pickles on the side as well.
EGGPLANT PARMESAN
Funny enough, making this is so time consuming that I really only do it for Fridays during Lent (I consider the making of it to be a penance), which is hilarious, because it’s one of my family’s very favorite meals—we definitely don’t miss meat while eating this! I peel two eggplants and slice them thin, then dredge each slice first in cornstarch, then in beaten egg, then in panko or regular bread crumbs, then fry them in vegetable oil, then put them on a paper towel-lined plate or a wire rack over a cookie sheet while I continue frying the rest. This is the time-consuming part! Once all the slices are fried, you have some options: you can serve it with pasta and sauce, or put it in a sub roll and melt cheese on it, or layer it with sauce and cheese in a casserole pan and bake it like lasagna.
FISH TACOS
Fish is the traditional food people think of when they think of Catholics not eating meat—it’s not for nothing that fish fries do their best business on Lenten Fridays, and McDonald’s filet-o-fish sandwiches were actually invented to boost sales on Fridays in the heavily Catholic Cincinnati area. While we love a good fish fry (the Knights of Columbus is one of our favorites), our budget doesn’t allow us to do that very often. My boys love frozen fish sticks and fish filets, and fish tacos are one of my favorite ways to serve them. Earlier in the day I’ll mix a cup or so of sour cream with the juice of a lime (more or less) and put it in the fridge so the flavors can meld. Later, while the fish is cooking in the oven, I warm tortillas either on a dry pan or over the burner flame, or I’ll fry them in vegetable oil and bend them into taco shapes while they cool. And that’s really it! I serve the tortillas and fish with shredded lettuce and lime sour cream, which is exactly the way I like it best; you can certainly add salsa and cheese, and sometimes I have sliced or mashed avocado to offer as well.
Of course, pizza, pasta, and cereal are all easier than these dishes and just as delicious (depending on who’s eating them; some of my boys go crazy over cereal dinners!), so it’s plenty easy to find options for the Fridays in Lent that won’t make you crazy and might even pleasantly surprise you. (Although, no matter how delicious the meatless meal is, you might find yourself being like myself and many other Catholics I know, as represented in a meme I’ve seen online: “I don’t always crave meat, but when I do, it’s on Fridays during Lent.”)
Kate and her husband have seven sons ages 15, 13, 11, 10, 8, 5, and 1. Follow her at www.facebook.com/kmtowne23, or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
