Caribbean Vegie Dishes

Stuffed Peppers with Calamari: Papriche Stufate 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 cup 2 pounds calamari, cleaned and sliced into rings 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced, plus 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1 teaspoon hot chile flakes 6 red bell peppers, tops cut off, pith, and seeds removed 2 pounds fresh or canned tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped Salt and pepper, recipe follows 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley In a large saute pan, heat 1/4-cup olive oil over high heat until smoking. Add the calamari, sliced garlic, and chile flakes, and cook for 1 hour, until the calamari is tender. Remove and set aside. In a large skillet, heat the remaining oil until smoking. Add the peppers and cook until they are soft and browned, turning occasionally to cook evenly. Once they are soft, remove and drain on paper towels. Remove most of the oil from the pan and add the tomatoes, chopped garlic, reserved calamari, and salt and pepper, to taste. Cook over high heat for 5 minutes, then remove from heat, and stuff the mixture into the peppers. Top with parsley and serve. Yield: 6 servings Prep Time: 45 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes Difficulty: Medium

Vegie Dishes # 2

Pumpkin or Squash Lasagna
2 ½ lbs pumpkin or winter squash
¼ cup whole-wheat bread crumbs
2 Tbsp whole-wheat bread crumbs for topping
2 Tablespoons fresh sage or (1 tsp dried)
¾ cup red wine
2 teaspoons honey
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
salt & pepper
½ cup freshly grated parmesan
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan (topping)
3 ½ cups béchamel sauce (below)
¾ pound no boil lasagna noodles
Béchamel Sauce
6 cups skim milk
1 Tablespoon Leblanc Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Leblanc Hazelnut or Walnut Oil
4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
salt & pepper
pinch of nutmeg

1. Remove seeds and membranes from pumpkin or squash and cut into chunks. Steam pumpkin/squash for 40 minutes, until tender. Remove, let cool, cut away rinds and puree.

2. In a large saucepan, combine ¼ cup of bread crumbs, the sage, wine and honey and simmer, stirring, until the wine is nearly absorbed. Stir in the pureed pumpkin, the nutmeg, and cinnamon, add salt and pepper to taste and heat thru. Remove from the heat and stir in ½ cup of Parmesan and set aside.

3. Béchamel Sauce In a saucepan, bring milk to a simmer. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and hazelnut oil or walnut oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat. Add a pinch of flour, if it sizzles, add the rest. If not, heat oil a bit longer and repeat. Whisk the oil and flour together and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for a couple of minutes, do not let it brown. Remove from the heat and whisk in the milk all at once. Return to the heat and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. When it begins to thicken, lower heat and simmer, stirring often, for 20 minutes or more, until smooth and creamy. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg, and remove from heat.

4. Preheat oven to 375°F. and assemble the lasagna: lightly oil a three quart baking dish and spread a small amount of bechamel sauce on the bottom. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread a thin layer of pumpkin mixture over the noodles, then spread a layer of béchamel over the pumpkin. Set aside a cup of béchamel and two Tablespoons of Parmesan, then repeat layers, noodles, pumpkin, béchamel-until all is used up. End with the reserved béchamel and Parmesan, and top with the remaining bread crumbs. Cover tightly with foil. Bake 30 minutes; uncover and bake another 10 minutes, until the top begins to brown.

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