Cheeses are good at providing a variety of flavours and textures, either as a main ingredient or as a seasoning. It’s worth mentioning that some cheeses are not strictly vegetarian as they contain animal rennet. Parmesan is the best known one, and is used a fair amount in this book, but there are many vegetarian parmesans available that work just as well, or simply substitute for another hard cheese. You’ll see I also use quite a lot of paneer, feta and halloumi – these are all very adaptable vegetarian cheeses.