Years ago cauliflower only appeared on our plates as an over boiled soft mush, except that is for when it was accompanying roasts, when the much more delicious cauliflower in cheesy white sauce appeared. Thankfully, today it is used a lot more creatively, such as cauliflower rice, roasted, added to curries, soups and casseroles. This is tomato version is yet another way.
This is a very hearty dish. Lots of vegetables covered with a lovely parmesan cheese topped potato mash and it’s enough to feed the whole family.
This recipe bring back memories for me. Some years ago we we rented a house up the coast to spend Christmas with family. Our son’s girlfriend at the time was a vegetarian, so I racked my brains and searched through my cookbooks looking for something I could cook for her for Christmas Day. It had to be something easy and that I could take the ingredients up there with me to cook in an unfamiliar kitchen. This was it. Luckily I prepared most of it the day before, because on Christmas Day bushfires in the area meant we had no power for Christmas lunch. We managed to put a meal together, but it’s a Christmas that lives in the family history.
There was a time when everyone seemed to grow zucchinis in their backyards and happily gave them away, so lots of zucchini recipes were published. This is one of the more unusual ideas published in The Sun newspaper. The mix of vegetables, curry, sultanas and chutney all wrapped in pastry sounds good, although I think you’d want to watch that it wasn’t too moist and soaked through the pastry. It would make a change from meat filled sausage rolls though.
Whether you’re having a BBQ, a roast or just a nice steak, a great potato dish is always appreciated. This is a new one to me, a bit of a twist on French Potatoes au Gratin (Dauphinoise). The difference being the cheese, Swiss Raclette. You can substitute Gruyere, Emmenthal, Romano or Mozzarella mixed with grated parmesan if you can get the Raclette, but the Raclette really is the best.
I think this would be a quite hearty meal. The polenta would be quite filling and the mushroom sauce has half a can of chickpeas in it – so not a lightweight dish. It’s gluten free and if you substitute vegetable stock for the beef stock in the sauce, it could work for vegetarians as well.
There’s nothing very complicated about this salad, but the combination of sundried tomatoes, spinach, pasta and pine nuts works really well. It looks good and tastes even better.
Dietary requirements for friends visiting isn’t as easy as it used to be. Back in the day, we just decided on a menu, cooked it and people ate it. That seems like Good Old Days!!! Now there’s a lot more things to consider, gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, etc. This recipe works for vegetarians and even the gluten free with a slight change to GF flour in the cheese sauce, so maybe it’s a problem solver.
Pumpkin isn’t a favourite vegetable in our house, but I might try this recipe. I think the added crunch of the pumpkin and sunflower seeds might just disguise the mashed pumpkin enough for me to get away with it.
I think by this far into the summer we’re all a bit sick and tired of our usual salads, so here’s a new one to try. This is quite a hearty one and should go well with a barbeque or any other main dish.
Beb's Recipe Drawer 