Foodguide - a salad and casserole - Recipe

Sunset, Oct, 1999 by Jerry Anne Di Vecchio

Shades of green

Muted colors, vibrant flavors in a fall salad

* Salad is one of those words that get tossed around. It's applied to such a wide-ranging variety of presentations that one wonders, are there any limits? I'm certainly in no position to draw the line, as I consider even gazpacho a salad - a fluid one. Paul Bertolli of Oliveto Restaurant in Oakland, California, on the other hand, restricts his salad caprice to sounder turf with this lovely dish suited to the seasonal shift to cooler days. Sturdy flavors are cloaked in subtle colors - pale gold and faded greens, the reaction of artichokes, fennel, leeks, and celery to being poached, in this case in a flavorful broth. I use all the broth to make the dressing, a variation on Bertolli's creation. Offer the salad in small portions to start a meal, or in generous measure as a main dish.

Salad Capricciosa

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 2 hours and 20 minutes

NOTES: Up to 1 day ahead, cook vegetables; cover in liquid and chill. Garnish salads with frisee and red or white Belgian endive.

MAKES: 4 main-dish or 8 first-course servings

2 cups fat-skimmed chicken broth

1 cup champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 dried bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 artichokes (each about 4 in. wide)

2 heads fennel (each 3 to 3 1/2 in. wide)

4 leeks (each about 3/4 in. thick)

1 head celery (about 2 1/2 in. wide)

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 can (2 oz.) anchovy fillets, drained

2 hard-cooked large eggs, shelled and mashed

1. In a 5- to 6-quart pan, combine broth, vinegar, wine, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and i cup water.

2. Break off artichoke leaves down to fleshy bottoms (save leaves to cook for other uses, if desired). With a vegetable peeler or knife, trim fibers from artichoke bottoms and trim stem ends; with a spoon, scrape out and discard fuzzy centers. Rinse artichoke bottoms and add to pan. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. As artichokes cook, rinse fennel and trim off stalks 1 to 2 inches above heads. Reserve feathery green leaves; discard stalks. Trim discolored spots, coarse fibers, and root ends from heads. Cut heads in half vertically.

4. Trim root ends and coarse tops from leeks; peel 1 layer off each leek. From green end, cut each leek in half lengthwise just down to white part. Rinse under running water, flipping green ends.

5. Trim tops off celery stalks to make head 8 to 9 inches long. Rinse.

6. Lay fennel, leeks, and celery over artichokes in pan (liquid does not cover). Cover pan and simmer until vegetables are just tender when pierced, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Let cool, covered, at least I hour. Lift out the vegetables.

7. Boil cooking liquid over high heat, uncovered, until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 15 minutes. Pour through a strainer into a glass measure; discard residue. If needed, add water. Return liquid to pan, add cream, and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat.

8. Slice vegetables vertically into 4 or 8 equal portions each (or cut thinner if desired). Arrange vegetables equally on plates, moisten with dressing, drape with anchovies, and sprinkle evenly with eggs. Chop some of the reserved green fennel leaves and use to garnish salads.

Per main-dish serving: 277 cal., 30% (82 cal.) from fat; 17 g protein; 9.1 g fat (4 g sat.); 35 g carbo (8 g fiber); 1,112 mg sodium; 129 mg chol.

A simple sole

* After a day of touting beautiful, state-of-the-art tomato fields and high-tech greenhouses in Sinaloa, Mexico, I needed reassurance that delicious food has a simple side. I found it at Los Arcos Restaurant in Culiacan close to the Sea of Cortez. This lively dish for a fragile fish is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

Green Chili Sole Casserole

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 45 minutes

MAKES: 4 servings

1 pound mushrooms, rinsed

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 can (7 oz.) diced green chilies

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 cup fat-skimmed chicken broth

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 pound sole fillets

Salt

1. Trim and discard discolored stem ends from mushrooms; thinly slice mushrooms. In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over high heat, stir mushrooms in 1 tablespoon butter often until lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Spoon into a shallow 1 1/2-quart casserole or divide equally among 4 shallow ramekins (about 1 1/2 cups each).

2. Add remaining butter and the onion and chilies to pan. Stir often until onion is limp, about 5 minutes. Add flour, mix well, and stir in broth. Puree mixture in a blender or food processor; return to pan. Add sour cream and stir over high heat until boiling. Remove from heat and add lime juice. Rinse fish, arrange in an even layer over mushrooms in casserole (or equally in ramekins), and cover with sauce.

3. Bake in a 400 [degrees] oven until fish flakes when prodded, 12 to 15 minutes. Season with salt.

Per serving: 286 cal., 44% (126 cal.) from fat; 27 g protein; 14 g fat (7.7 g sat.); 14 g carbo (2.4 g fiber); 489 mg sodium; 83 mg chol.