I am always on the lookout for the next cabbage recipe, or for that matter any new recipe for Brassicas. It sounds super-glamorous when I put it like that, don’t you think? Sort of like I’m scouting little towns or obscure places for the next movie star or pop music sensation, American Idol style. Move over Randy, I’m here!

Savoy cabbage curry

What can I do? I just love cabbage and all of her bewitching sisters. We’ve tons of stories already. Look here for refreshing cabbage mango salad, one of my all-time faves. Too cold for that right now? Then try this hearty and tasty vegetarian red dal and Savoy cabbage soup. Don’t know what to do with a Brussels sprout? Make this delicious shaved Brussels sprout sauté. Your guests will love you.

Having said all that, and contemplating checking into the Betty Ford Clinic for my Brassica addiction, I think this Savoy cabbage curry has become my newest darling for the Brassica Hall of Fame. I hope that you will like it, and if not, well… there’s always next time. I bet you thought that I was going to write something mean, didn’t you? Go ahead and admit it. But you, my dear readers, are all that matter. If you object, then let me know! Though personally when it comes to this one, I think that you might be a little bit silly. I’m just saying.

Savoy cabbage growing in our community garden

I’ve adapted the dish from this nice blog I have been reading lately, Vegetable Platter.

Savoy cabbage curry

½ head of a medium sized Savoy cabbage
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 branch curry leaves
2 green chile peppers, sliced fine
2 red chile peppers, sliced fine
1 tsp ural dal (hulled & split black mung beans)
1 tsp chana dal (hulled & split chickpeas)
½ tsp turmeric powder
3 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt

Rinse and shred Savoy cabbage, add to a saucepan with half cup of water, sprinkle turmeric over, cover pan. Cook on high temperature until cabbage has wilted and reduced in volume by a third. You want it to be parboiled, al dente but not squishy soft and wimpy. Reserve ¼ cup liquid and drain the rest.

Put oil, mustard seeds and cumin in a skillet on high heat and cook until mustard seeds start to pop. Add chile peppers, urad and chana dals. Continue cooking for another minute just to soften the pepper and toast the dals. Sprinkle with salt. Add curry leaf branch and immediately remove from heat. Toss cabbage in pan, transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with some of the reserved cooking juices.

Serve as a side dish.

I’ve “invented” this recipe, inspired by a condiment of hot peppers, basil and garlic in David Rocco’s colorful, Made in Italy. There’s a gorgeous picture of him using a double-bladed semi-lune knife to chop up the peppers and basil al fresco. I don’t have one of those, so used my food processor. I thought that it turned out just fine that way.

yellow squash and corn in spicy three chile, garlic, basil sauce

I grew the serrano chiles in our community garden plot. These were quite small, so tasted extremely hot. The red jalapeños and the poblano came from the market, along with the rest. To reduce the heat a bit, I removed the seeds and stems at least partially from the larger, store bought peppers. Oh, and I realized after I made the condiment that I forgot to add the suggested 1 cup sun dried tomatoes. That might have made a difference in the heat. I have a lot left over, so will probably sauté some other veggies in this fiery elegant sauce soon.

yellow squash and corn in spicy three chile, garlic, basil sauce

2 medium yellow squash, chopped into large bite sized pieces
2 ears sweet corn, corn cut from cobs
~12 serrano chiles, stems removed
¼ cup red jalapeños, stems and some seeds and ribs removed
1 poblano chile; stem, seeds and ribs removed
4 cloves garlic, peeled
Kosher salt to taste
Olive oil

to make the three chile, garlic, basil condiment:

Add two cloves garlic, basil, salt (about 1 tsp), and all chiles to food processor. Run until chopped to your liking. Move them to a jar (I used a cleaned jam jar). Cover with olive oil to submerge all veggies. That’s it.

to make the dish:

Sauté squash, corn and remaining garlic in some olive oil. Once veggies get a bit tender add about a tablespoon (or more) three chile condiment, cook for another minute or tow and serve warm.

I always think of stuffed veggies as an elegant treat. When I was younger, they mystified me. How in the world did anyone figure out how to fill these delectable creations just right? Now that I’m officially “middle aged” and thus more experienced in the kitchen, the question no longer interests me. Instead, I’m quite comfortable improvising.

yellow bell peppers stuffed with mung bean, feta and fresh herbs

And that is what these mung bean filled peppers are all about. I had the ingredients at home already and sort of made the recipe up as I went along. I liked it so well, that I kept snacking on the filling while I was preparing the dish. Mmmm.

Typically, poblanos are my favorite pepper to stuff, as I prefer their earthy, smoky flavors over the plain sweet bell peppers. Mine were too tiny for that. So instead I chopped one up and sautéed it to bring those tastes to the dish.

bake any remaining filling in ramekins for an attractive presentation

my big jug of dried green mung beans

yellow bell peppers stuffed with mung bean, feta and fresh herbs

4 to 6 medium to large yellow bell peppers
3 tbsp olive oil plus more
1 poblano pepper; stems, ribs and seeds removed; chopped fine
2 pieces green garlic, green and white parts, chopped fine
4 scallions, green and white parts, chopped fine
1 small bunch Italian parsley, chopped fine
1 small bunch mint, chopped fine
3 cups prepared mung beans
½ lb. French feta or similar that will melt easily
2 tbsp pignioli nuts
12 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
Salt and black pepper to taste
Pinch of cayenne

I usually start with dry mung beans. This time, I had some that I’d already prepared, frozen and awaiting this delicious recipe. These lovely beans don’t require soaking. Just boil in water for about 30 to 45 minutes. That’s it. They should be completely drained before using here.

To prepare yellow bell peppers for stuffing, remove tops and interior seeds and ribs with a paring knife.
Steam for ten minutes then rinse to cool.

Pre heat oven to 350F.

In a large skillet, add olive oil then sauté green garlic, scallion, chopped poblano pepper and a pinch of salt for a few minutes until they soften. Add mung bean, cover and warm through. Add feta, mint, parsley, pignoli, olives and mix everything together. Adjust salt and add black pepper. Remember for the filling to taste right with the unsalted peppers, it should be slightly salty on its own.

Gently fill yellow bell peppers with mung bean mix and place on a baking dish. If you have extra filling (like I did) you can bake that in ramekins for an elegant presentation, or in any baking dish. Finish with some more olive oil and dust the filled peppers with cayenne.

Bake about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. We had ours with plain basmati rice.

This dish was my first attempt at Ottolenghi’s “Tamara’s Ratatouille” from his marvelous book, Plenty. He promises that by following all the steps, the veggies will retain their shape and when done the dish will not become excessively mushy or wet, like the typical ratatouille everyone’s used to. I like wet, but Steven struggles with the squishiness of the common one, so I was particularly drawn to the recipe and accompanying picture in the book, which clearly demonstrated all that he claimed.

Fall-inspired kabocha and parsnip ratatouille

Well, men are fickle creatures indeed! Or perhaps my veggies were too water-logged? Whatever the reason, my ratatouille, or perhaps I should say caponata, was beyond moist. It was positively swimming.

Aside from photographing less well than I had hoped and despite the appearance of false advertizing, the dish itself was fantastic. I like that it calls for the use of some Fall vegetables. I had a beautiful kabocha pumpkin ready to be eaten, which was perfect.

Next time, in search of the crispy ratatouille holy-grail, I’m going to use less water and actually cut the veggies into the actual size Ottolenghi recommends (1¼ inch, I think mine were ¾ inch) and bake them slightly differently. The recipe calls for tomatoes but I forgot them.

Fall-inspired kabocha and parsnip ratatouille

½ medium kabocha squash, cubed in ¾ inch size
2 white onions, cut ¾ inch size
8 garlic cloves
1 Anaheim chile pepper, seed and ribs removed minced
2 red bell peppers, cubed ¾ inch size
1 medium sized parsnip, peeled and cubed ¾ inch size
1½ cup green beans
1 medium Italian zucchini, cut into ¾ inch dice
1 medium yellow zucchini, cut into ¾ inch dice
1 medium yellow potato, peeled, cut into ¾ inch cubes
¾ large Italian eggplant, peeled and cubed ¾ inch size
½ tsp sugar
2 tbsp tomato paste
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1½ cup warm water
8 tbsp canola oil

Place 3 tbsp of oil in a large sauce pan. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes until they become translucent, add garlic, Anaheim and bell peppers and cook for another 5 minutes. Next add parsnip and squash and keep on sautéing for additional 5 minutes.

Transfer vegetables to a bowl. Return pan to stovetop. Add remaining oil followed by green beans, eggplant and zucchini. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring intermittently.

Return first batch of veggies back to pan. Add potato, sugar, salt and pepper. Next, dissolve tomato paste in water and pour it over vegetables. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Place pan in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes. (Here’s where my ratatouille got mushy.) I let mine stay piled up all together, but Ottolenghi recommends removing them from the pan to a baking dish in a single layer then covering them with the pan juices. That would probably have worked. Alas. The outcome was delicious, wet, or I’d imagine, dry.

Sometimes I like being told what to do—not too often mind you, so don’t get the wrong idea! But once in a while when I’m lacking the proper kitchen inspiration, it is nice to get helpful instruction. That happened the other day with this eggplant recipe. We were having a group of friends over and needed some sort of appetizer. Hegui whipped out Yotam Ottolenghi and was on a roll. I had nothing. So sad! Fortunately he had enough enthusiasm for the both of us. He “suggested” that I try the “burnt eggplant with tahini” recipe from Plenty. Well, yum!

roasted eggplant with tahini and pomegranate party dip

Sort of like babaganoush on steroids, this has the exciting addition of pomegranate molasses, which I’d not had before. It is so delightfully tart. Mmmm. That plus cherry tomatoes and sliced cucumber with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds for garnish really make this recipe pop. Part salad, part dip, and very festive looking; you’ll be happy that you spouse demanded that you make this one.

roasted eggplant with tahini and pomegranate party dip

1 large Italian eggplant
1/3 cup tahini
2 tsp pomegranate molasses
juice from half a lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
Salt and black pepper to taste
12 cherry tomatoes in halves
half an English cucumber, cut in quarters the long way then sliced thinly
½ cup pomegranate seeds
olive oil to finish

Roast whole eggplant on grill at highest temperature for about thirty minutes, turning occasionally, until it shrinks. Remove from heat, let cool then peel. Discard skin and stem. Tear flesh with a fork. It will have some residual juice (or at least mine did). Use this instead of water to thin the dish.

Add tahini, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, salt and black pepper to eggplant. Mix thoroughly. Fold in cherry tomatoes and cucumber. Place in a serving dish. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of olive oil.

Serve with bread or crackers as an appetizer or as a side.

I didn’t make this recipe in the summertime, which was a mistake. It comes from David Rocco’s Made in Italy cookbook. I was completely attracted to the dish because of its delightful combination of many colorful veggies and the fact that it isn’t cooked. You just mix everything together and let it sit in the refrigerator for several hours. So this is “raw cooking” so far as I can tell. That’s unusual for weirdcombinations.

chilled summer couscous

That said, the amount of couscous was a bit daunting for two people. I’d cut it in half or even in quarters next time. Plus, since it was chilled, it wasn’t quite right for our cooler weather. But this would be perfect to throw together the night before a summertime wine country excursion, so I’m going to file it away for then.

chilled summer couscous

2 cups couscous
½ cup olive oil
24oz can chopped tomatoes with juice
Juice of one lemon
1 red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
About a dozen cherry tomatoes, in halves
12 kalamata olives in halves
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
Salt and black pepper to taste

Mix everything together except half of the basil. Wrap and refrigerate for several hours. Stir at least once. When it is time to serve, add remaining basil. You can have this family style or mold and plate it for a more elegant presentation.

This pickled cucumber salad is ultra easy to make and tastes so good! Some of its appealing qualities include the crunchy texture, the sour and tart flavors and the slight bite of heat from the gochujang chili pepper. I have reproduced it from the blog, I-eat-food (what an excellent name for a blog!) with some minor changes in ingredients and proportions.

Korean pickled cucumber salad

Korean pickled cucumber salad

10 Kirby cucumbers
Sea salt
1 tbsp Ponzu
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp Korean chili pepper powder (Gochugaru)

Slice off the top of each Kirby and rub the slice against cut part until a gooey foam forms on top. Rinse it out. Repeat process with remaining cucumbers. Why do this? Did you ever taste bitterness in cucumbers? Doing this takes the bitterness away. Steven thinks that it is merely an old-wives-tale, or perhaps, blind superstition, but my mother did it (and his does, too, come to think of it) and they can’t both be wrong.

Set mandolin blades for thin slicing. Slice all cucumbers.

Sprinkle with sea salt and let rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Rinse completely with plenty of cold water. Thoroughly drain in colander. Finally give cucumber slices a squeeze to remove more liquid.

Meanwhile mix ponzu, vinegar, soy sauce and chili pepper together. Toss cucumber slices in and viola!

I’ve wanted to make bi-bim-bap at home forever but have always been put off by the amount of work involved. All that chopping, individually cooking everything then assembling the dish seemed monstrously time-consuming and a bit annoying. The bi-bim-baps I’ve had at Korean restaurants are all served in one of those really hot stone pots (dolsot). Often you just crack a raw egg over the dish, mix all the lovely ingredients together and enjoy. The egg cooks perfectly in the hot pot and the rice at the bottom forms this marvelous toasted crust of which I’m particularly fond. Delicious!

colorful and flavorful vegetarian bi-bim-bap

I remember as a kid every now and then my mother would burn her rice and get super upset about it. What to her was a disaster to me was a treat because I loved eating the slightly burned and smoky crust. Anytime I eat bi-bim-bap I feel that there is somehow a bit of Brazil in the dish.

I regard bi-bim-bap as a version of paella or pilaf. All of them are rice dishes mixed together with other ingredients. Here are some other recipes for it: here, here and here.

fern brake

My dish calls for what to me is a novel ingredient, fern brakes. I found these dried and rehydrated at my local Korean market. I bought both types but since they need to soak overnight, I used the rehydrated ones. They have a lovely tea-like aroma and mild flavor, somewhat like subtle fiddlehead ferns.

To make this vegan, simply leave off the eggs.

vegetarian bi-bim-bap

1½ cups Thai Jasmine rice
3 small zucchinis – julienned with a bit of salt sprinkled over
2 medium carrots – julienned
1 cup broccoli florets
2 bunch spinach
3 eggs
½ red bell pepper – julienned
½ orange bell pepper – julienned
1 container brown beech mushroom
1 cup of soy bean sprouts (nato sprouts)
1 cup fern brakes
1lb firm tofu cubed
8 cloves garlic minced/smashed
2 heaping tbsp Gochujang hot pepper paste
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
olive oil
toasted sesame seed oil
sea salt

To make the rice:

Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a saucepan on temperature high. Add rice and give it a good stir. Add 2½ cups of water, stir again. Bring to a boil, stir again. Reduce heat to simmer for about 15 minutes, until water has been absorbed. Remove from heat let it rest, lid on for another 15 minutes.

To prepare veggies:

slicing all the veggies for vegetarian bi-bim-bap

All veggies must be cooked separately.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop in broccoli florets and cook for a minute or so. Transfer to a bowl.

Drop in spinach and let it blanch for a minute or so, transfer to a colander, allow it to cool down a bit. Squeeze to remove as much water as possible.

Using the same saucepan add soybean sprouts and a dash of salt and cook for 10-12 minutes. Strain and squeeze to remove water.

Add 1 tsp of olive oil to a skillet, 2 cloves of garlic minced and sauté until aromatic. Add bean sprouts and cook for few minutes. Season with one tablespoon of soy sauce and ½ tsp sesame oil. Set aside.

Wipe skillet and return to burner. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 garlic cloves minced and mushrooms. Sauté mushrooms on high heat for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle with some salt, cover the pan and let the mushrooms sweat. Set aside.

Wipe Skillet with a paper towel. Add ½ tsp of olive oil, 1 clove of minced garlic and sauté. Add spinach and cook for another minute, season with 1 tsp of soy sauce. Set aside.

Wipe skillet off again. Add ¼ tsp olive oil. Drain zucchini; add to skillet and sauté for 1 minute. Set aside.

Repeat process, this time with no oil with peppers and carrots.

Return skillet to stove. Add 1 tsp of olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic minced, cook until aromatic. Drop in fern brakes and sauté for a couple of minutes, towards the end add 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tsp of sesame oil. Set aside.

layering some of the veggies over the rice

adding the soy bean sprouts to the bi-bim-bap

To prepare pepper sauce:

Meanwhile, mix rice wine vinegar, 3 cloves of garlic minced and Goshujang pepper paste together. Once all mixed it should have the consistency ketchup. Taste it and adjust flavors if necessary. Look for spice, sweet, umami and sour flavors. The paste will be used as a condiment to the Bibimbap at the table.

To assemble dish:

Add a few drops of sesame oil to a non stick paella pan. Using a paper towel rub oil all over its surface including border. Add cooked rice and press with a spatula, making sure the surface and borders are filled. Cover, bring temperature to high and cook for about 10 minutes. This is where rice develops the smoky, brown, nutty slightly burned crust.

Time to assemble the dish! Place cubed tofu in the center over the toasted rice; arrange mounds of each of the ingredients interchangeably along the border, forming a kind of flower pattern. Cover and let it warm through. Serve with fried egg sunny side up and dollops of Goshujang sauce on top of everything. The flavors are out of this world!

rewarming everything before serving

You can serve this dish with banchans, or side dishes, like pickled cucumbers or/and kimchi. I was going to serve both but forgot to bring the kimchi to the table.

In the summertime, I prefer stuffed peppers, but when the cool fall weather comes, stuffed mushrooms are my homey comfort food. It is particularly easy to enjoy stuffed mushrooms these days, since so many kinds are available. I especially like the meatiness of large portobellos here, as it moves the recipe from a side to the main course and into the center-of-attention.

portobello mushrooms stuffed with gen-ji-mai rice, black-eyed peas and sage

I used leftovers from Hegui’s gen-ji-mai rice with black-eyed peas here and sort of added some things. The combination of the multi-grain rice, black-eyed peas and mushrooms, accented with a bit of Parmigiano-Reggiano and sage was incredibly earthy and satisfying.

portobello mushrooms stuffed with gen-ji-mai rice, black-eyed peas and sage

2 large Portobello mushrooms, cleaned, and stems removed but retained
½ onion, coarsely chopped
1 shallot, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 Serrano chile, stem, ribs and seeds removed
3 tbps olive oil plus more
2 cups gen-ji-mai rice with black-eyed peas
¼ pignoli nuts
¼ cup shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
3 to 4 dried sage leaves
Salt and black pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

Coarsely chop Portobello stems.

In a large skillet, add olive oil on high heat. Toss in chopped Portobello stems, onion, shallot, garlic, Serrano chile with a pinch of salt. Cook until onions start to wilt. Pour everything into food processor and run until a smooth thick paste develops.

Return veggie paste to skillet. Add gen-ji-mai rice with black-eyed peas, pignolis, sage and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté a bit longer to heat through and mix flavors. Stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano. Remove from heat.

Place Portobello caps in a baking dish, upside-down. Drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Stuff with prepared gen-ji-mai rice. Cover and bake about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove cover and broil for a few minutes. Serve warm.

David Rocco claims this is the best cauliflower dish ever. Hmm, I’ve heard that before. He goes on to say that lots of people find cauliflower unexciting, yet asserts that when well prepared, particularly this way, it will please any crowd.

cauliflower cooked in pomodoro

Well, I never had problems with cauliflower. In fact I am a big fan of the whole famiglia Brassica. Give me collard greens, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower anytime and I will be a happy camper. Here’re a few of my other favorites: shabby chic roasted cauliflower, sautéed shaved Brussels sprouts and cabbage mango salad.

What drew my attention to this dish was the fact that it calls for using grated cheese as well as cheese rind and the dry leftover cheeses that you might have neglected. Who doesn’t have those forgotten little bits of cheese hidden somewhere in the refrigerator? Mine usually get lost in there or if he’s lucky, fed to Clarence, my bulldog. Them’s expensive puppy treats, so it feels good to put these “leftovers” to better use.

Oh, yeah, and after having this dish, I can say right here, if not the best ever, this is in the top three or four cauliflower recipes that I’ve ever eaten.

Do you like cauliflower? What’s your favorite ways of preparing it?

cauliflower cooked in pomodoro

1 large head cauliflower cut into small pieces, including the core
1 medium sized Vidalia onion, cubed
½ cup (or more) of old dry cheese from your refrigerator cut into small cubes. I had smoked gouda, crusty brie, Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, and some tired cheddar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ bunch chopped Italian parsley
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups jarred tomato purée
1 cup water
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Place a large saucepan on stove top, add ½ of the olive oil and onion, bring temperature to medium high and sauté onion until translucent. Avoid burning it. Toss in cauliflower, parsley, salt, pepper, jarred tomato purée (pomodoro) and water. Bring to a boil then reduce temperature to medium low and simmer for 35-45 minutes. Stir every now and then to prevent sticking. In the end cauliflower will be broken apart and sauce will be concentrated. Remove from heat, mix in rest of olive oil, dry cheeses and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Let sit uncovered in a warm area for about 10-15 minutes before serving.

sorry, Sweetie, no cheese for you today. We're eating it all.