I’ve been cooking zucchini with cheese for years. Simple, slice the suckers, layer with cheese, usually Parmesan, and bake until tender. Then I discovered that I had been preparing a  fancy-dan classical dish all the while. Leafing through a book on classical cuisine I came upon Courgette Gratinées à la Milanaise. Guess what, all it is is zucchini baked with cheese. I’ve been cooking from the classical canon all these years and didn’t know. Figure that one out.

This dish goes good with a crusty loaf as a vegetarian meal. It also makes a great accompaniment to grilled or broiled meats or hearty roasts be it pork, beef or poultry.

ZUCCHINI BAKED WITH CHEESE

Ingredients:

8 medium-sized zucchini, trimmed
¼ cup butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Wash the zucchini under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.  Cut into ¼-inch slices.
3.  In a large frying pan or skillet, melt the butter with olive oil over moderate heat. When the foam subsides, add the zucchini slices and stir-fry for 3 minutes, Add salt and pepper. Remove the frying pan from the heat.
4.  Sprinkle the bottom of a greased baking dish with one-quarter of the grated cheese. Cover the cheese with a layer of zucchini slices and on top of them spread a second layer of ¼ cup of grated cheese. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the melted butter over the cheese. Repeat the layers until all the zucchini and cheese have been used, then pour over the remaining melted butter.
5.  Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender. Serve immediately.
   Yield: 4 servings.

In my young manhood, a close friend was Eddie Hor. Let me state that Eddie was bigger than life. He was a recontour, ladies’ man and an exceptional cook. Until I met Eddie, I was never a fan of brussels sprouts. But he made me a convert to the edible bud (which is considered a leaf cabbage). Eddie simply sautéed the vegetable in soy sauce. Something so simple and direct—and it changes the whole flavor of the sprouts. Over the years I’ve tweaked the recipe by adding onion and garlic. It makes for a great vegetarian entrée or side dish to any meal. In the Rivera clan we prefer to serve it over steamed rice, either white or brown rice. It also goes great with couscous, quinoa, or even kasha.

SOY SAUCE BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Ingredients:

1½ pounds brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced into rings
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/3 cup soy sauce

Instructions:

1. Wash and trim the brussels sprouts. Run under cold water, removing any yellow leaves. Then, cut off the stems to help them cook.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add sprouts and onion and sauté, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes until sprouts are golden brown. Add garlic and soy sauce and cook 2 minutes more, making sure the brussels sprouts are coated with the soy sauce. If the soy sauce starts to evaporate, you can add more sauce to taste. Serve immediately over rice.
   Yield: 4 servings.

I love meaty portobello mushrooms. Yet, to my experience, the basic portobello rendering is as in hamburgers, using the mushroom instead of hamburger meat.  Yes, nestled between a bun, or two slices of bread, or even a muffin, it is a satisfying meal.  But there’s got to be more to portobellos than just as a faux hamburger. And that gave me the idea of mixing the mushrooms’ with potatoes. The result: a good homey dish. Along with some good crusty bread to mop up the  garlicky mushroom juices, it makes for a great vegetarian entrée; one that even meat lovers will love.

PORTOBELLOS AND POTATOES

Ingredients:

1 pound portobello mushrooms (about 4-5 large ones)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced crosswise, about 1/8-inch thick
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound small red potatoes (do not peel)
1 cup water
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

Instructions:

1. Rinsed mushrooms under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into 3/4-inch cubes.
2. In an 8 or 9 inch skillet or flameproof casserole with cover, combine mushrooms, garlic and oil. Place over medium heat and when mushrooms begin to cook, stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Cover pan and let cook on low heat for 5 minutes, at which point the mushrooms should be quite dark.
3.  Meanwhile, scrub potatoes and cut into pieces roughly the same size as the mushrooms. Add potatoes to the pan along with the water, salt and pepper. Cover pan and cook at slow simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes, until potatoes are very tender. Gently stir in the parsley and mint. Simmer, uncovered, 1 minute more, and serve.
   Yield: Serves 2 or 3 as a main course, 4 as an appetizer, side dish or omelet filling.

I’ve always like spinach, even when I was a young ‘un. Some people abhor spinach, and I’ve always wondered why? There is one exception: creamed spinach. Even the most recalcitrant youngster will gravitate towards it. Now that summer is in full bloom, and spinach is abundant, I like to experiment with the vegetable. Another thing that is abundant right now is summer, or yellow squash. Which got me thinking, why not combine the two? After all, both veggies have their own flavor profile. The result was delicious. Here it is, Creamed Spinach with Summer Squash. If, for some reason you can’t fund summer squash, zucchini will do just as well. We served this dish as supper over pasta (in our case, bucatini). But you can combine it with rice or any other preferred grain. It also goes beautifully with baked ham, chicken, veal or even, liver. Let me add that the dish may be garnished with sliced hard-boiled eggs.

CREAMED SPINACH WITH SUMMER SQUSH

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced into thin rings
1 medium yellow squash, washed and sliced into bite-sized pieces
2 pounds fresh spinach, washed and chopped
1¼ cups light cream
1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill or 1 teaspoon dried
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 hard-boiled egg, for garnish

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan or skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and, with a wooden spoon, stir in the floor. This will  give you a light roux as a base for the sauce.
2.  Return pan to heat, add the olive oil and stir in the onion and yellow squash. Sauté for about 3 minutes until onion and squash are soft. Gradually add the cream, stirring constantly over moderate heat until thickened.  Add spinach and dill. Cook, stirring constantly for 4 minutes. Add salt and pepper, and serve.
   Yield: 4 servings.

On 09/08/20 I posted a recipe on grilled portobello mushroom burgers. In that dish, the mushrooms were marinated in a mix of Dijon mustard, sherry vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper; and they were topped with mayonnaise. I’m always experimenting with portobello’s since they are the closest vegetable to beef burgers in terms of taste and texture. The new recipe featured below I call Portobello Burgers Redux. In this outing, the marinade is a combination of soy sauce, olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper, plus the option of adding hot sauce. It’s a very simple recipe and you can add whatever topping you want to the mushroom burger, be it tomato, lettuce, scallions or avocado.

What’s convenient about this dish is that you can grill it, broil it or, as we did it, in a skillet atop the stove, cooked in a some olive oil (about 3 tablespoons). Either method will render a terrific tasting veggie burger.

PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM BURGERS REDUX

Ingredients:

Marinade:
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 clove garlic, peeled and minced
¼ teaspoon black pepper
hot sauce to taste (optional)

4 large portabello mushrooms caps
4 large hamburger buns
4 slices cheese (Swiss or  Muenster)

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients together. Place each mushroom in another bowl, gill side up. Pour ½ of the marinade over each mushroom, pouring a little in the bottom of the bowl first, to wet the upside down cap, and the remainder into the upturned cap. Marinate for  five-10 minutes. Do not marinate longer as the mushrooms will absorb too much marinade.
2. Grill mushrooms on a gas or charcoal grill, a wood fire, under the broiler or, as we did it, in a hot skillet on the stovetop. Two-three minutes per side will usually do, or until mushrooms are brown and tender. If desired, add a slice of cheese on top during the last minute of cooking. Serve on burger buns with toppings.
   Yield: 4 servings.

I’m old enough to remember when George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States, loudly proclaimed on TV, “I hate broccoli.” I must say, that was an ill-conceived comment. Somewhere in some prep school, someone must have forced the vegetable on him and this was the result. And I know that a lot of kids (and adults) most likely share his view. Which is shame. Broccoli is not only healthy but, when prepared well, it can be quite tasty. Unlike the late President, I am a proponent of broccoli. Always have been, even as a boy back during the Punic Wars.

The recipe given today emphasizes this ethos. It’s simple but delicious. Broccoli does not have to be smothered in a sauce to make it palatable. This unusual way of serving broccoli turns it into a savory dish. The broccoli is combined with black olives, onion, garlic and Parmesan cheese. Green olives may be used instead of black, but black olives give it a more contrasting color which makes the dish more interesting. Served over rice (or your favorite grain), this dish makes a great vegetarian dinner, which even non-veggies will like. It can also be served as an accompaniment to grilled/broiled steaks or pork chops.

BROCCOLI WITH BLACK OLIVES

Ingredients:

1½ pound broccoli
1¼ cups water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small-to-medium onion, peeled and sliced into thin rings
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Salt and black ground pepper taste
¾ cup pitted black olives, halved
4-5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Wash the broccoli, remove the leaves and break the florets into fairly large bunches.
2.  In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil, and add the broccoli. Cover the pan and cook the broccoli for 10 minutes over moderate-high heat. Drain the broccoli.  Reserve the water in which the broccoli was cooked.
3.  In a large frying pan or skillet, heat the oil over low heat. Add the broccoli and season with salt and pepper. Cook the broccoli for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add some of the water in which the broccoli was cooked if the pan gets too dry.
4.  Add the olives to the pan and  cook for another 2 minutes. Place the broccoli and olives in a warm serving dish. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and serve.
   Yield: 4 servings.