VEGETABLES

GYPSY PEPPERS STUFFED WITH CHEESE

4 or 5 gypsy peppers - these are small and sweet - you could substitute small red peppers or pimientos
olive oil
kosher salt
ground pepper
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup goat cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
1 tablespoon chopped scallions
1 tablespoon dried currents
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 400 - rub the peppers with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and place on a baking sheet lined in foil. Roast for about 20 minutes until the skin is blistered. Remove and let cool. Carefully peel the peppers, leaving the stems in place - slit open to scoop out the seeds. (My peppers opened up in more than one place but it was ok) Sprinkle peppers with salt and pepper.

Decrease oven temperature to 375. Combine all the rest of the ingredients and carefully spoon the filling into each pepper and put back on the baking sheet. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes until the filling is browned on top. Remove and garnish with a bit of parsley. You can put aside and reheat a little before serving and any extra filling can be spread on a slice of bread and baked.

Serve as a first course alone - or add a salad to the plate for an easy small meal.









BRUSSELS SPROUTS FOR MATHEW

This recipe could change negative thoughts about Brussels Sprouts! - try to buy smallish ones with no discoloration - estimate 4 -6 per serving. Strip away loose outer leaves and trim the stems - wash and chop roughly.

In a sauce pan, saute in a mixture of butter and olive oil - about 1/4 cup chopped onion and one big garlic clove minced, add the chopped sprouts and stir them around in the butter mixture. They will get a nice bright green color - now season with salt and pepper and pour in enough chicken broth to barely cover and let them simmer for about 5 minutes until cooked through - cooking time seems to depend on age of the sprouts.

Note - you can make this a little more complex by starting out with a little diced bacon or pancetta, add a couple of tablespoons of pine nuts and then proceed with the garlic and sprouts. Check for salty taste before adding any additional salt.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH GRATIN

3 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes (you can buy it already peeled which is easy but more expensive than buying the whole squash which is abit hard to cut up)
2 cloves garlic minced
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 Tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup half and half

FOR THE TOPPING

1 1/2 Tablespoons of butter or olive oil
1 cup of fresh bread crumbs (whirl up cubes of stale bread in the blender)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan or other hard cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter a 9 x 13 inch shallow baking dish. In a large mixing bowl, combine the squash with everything but the half and half. Spoon the mixture into the dish and pour the half and half over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the topping by sauting the bread crumbs in butter or oil over medium heat until they get brown (about 5 minutes) - remove from heat. When cool, combine with the grated cheese.

When the 30 minutes are up - check the squash chunks with a fork or cake tester - you should be able to pierce them with only a little resistance. Return to oven for another 5 minutes if they still feel hard. When the squash is starting to feel soft, remove the aluminum foil, sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top and return to over for about 15 minutes with no foil cover.

Note - This is from the new "Organic Marin" cookbook (Greens Restaurant in San Francisco) and could be a main course serving for 4 or side dish for 6


COLLARD GREENS AND YAMS

Serve this with sauteed chunks of sausage and french bread. Very tasty, pretty and (seriously good for you) About 4 servings

1 pound collard greens
1 pound yams or sweet potatoes
3 cloves of garlic minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Lots of ground pepper

Peel the yams and cut into 3/4 inch chunks, put in a saucepan with about 2 inches of water, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes until the chunks can be pieced with a fork. Drain and set aside.

Strip the stems away from the greens and discard. Wash the leaves and chop roughly into 1 inch pieces - you will have a big pile.

Heat the oil in a wok or large saute pan, add the garlic, saute for a minute then add the greens and the salt, stirring to get them coated with the oil. They will get wilted and take on a wonderful bright shade of green. Lower the heat and cover, cook for a few more minutes, add the cooked jam cubes and toss together. Serve with sausage or a grilled hamburger.

This recipe is adapted from "HomeBaking" a wonderful cookbook by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. They suggested this as a pastry filling but it's good all by itself.


SWISS CHARD CASSEROLE

This is from Simone Beck - one of Julia Child's co-authors. This is a substantial dish that could serve as a vegetarian main course for 6 people.

3 pounds Swiss Chard
6 Tablespoons butter
2 big cloves of garlic minced
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup cream
3 Tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Choose a large flat baking dish - butter well. Cut off the leafy part of the chard, wash and drain. Slice the stems into strips about 1" long and 1/4" wide - cut off any stringy bits.

Boil a large pot of salted water and cook the leafy greens for 4 minutes - remove them with a slotted spoon, refresh in cold water and drain - set aside. Now add the chard stems to the boiling water and cook about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Put the greens in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out the extra moisture. Chop roughly. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter, add garlic and cook for 1 minute - add the chopped greens and cook for about 2 minutes to evaporate the rest of the moisture. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt, pepper and the cream.

In a small saucepan melt 2 tablespoons butter, stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk all at once, bring to a simmer, stirring until smooth and thickened. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper and nutmeg. Combine the sauce and the chard stems.

Spread half the stems in the bottom of the buttered dish, add the greens evenly over the top and cover with the remaining stems. Sprinkle with cheese and dot with the remaining butter. This can now wait 2 hours before baking if you like.

Preheat oven to 400 and bake for 15 - 20 minutes until the cheese is beginning to brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

SPINACH ITALIAN STYLE

Choose very fresh spinach, remove stems and wash carefully to remove grit, spin dry and set aside. Buy nearly twice the amount you would use if you were making it into salad because it loses so much volume in cooking.

Olive oil
Handful of pine nuts
Handful of currants
Salt and Pepper
Balsamic vinegar

In a small skillet, toast the pine nuts carefully - shaking the pan and making sure they don't burn. Set aside.

Film the bottom of a large saute pan with the olive oil on medium high heat - add the spinach and stir until it wilts. Add the pine nuts and currants, season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat - splash a tablespoon or two of the Balsamic and remove to a serving dish. This can be served hot or at room temperature and tastes and looks quite nice with the polenta with mushroom/sausage sauce recipe.

I adapted this from a recipe in Alice Water's "Vegetable" cookbook which is a wonderful resource to have in your kitchen.