Think Mediterranean When Cooking This Vegetarian Entree

By mid-February, winter begins to take its toll. People feel as washedout as last week’s snowfall.

And mealtime? Not as inspiring as it was in December. How many hardshell squash can you eat before asparagus is in season again?

It’s time to transform those all-toofamiliar ingredients into a Mediterranean menu. Re-create the sunny flavors of Italy, Spain or Greece in your kitchen. Instead of dwelling on the limitations of the season, emphasize the possibilities, using herbs, olives, pasta, vegetables and fruits in a nourishing meal.

Vegetable and Olive Pasta features broccoli, cauliflower, roasted red pepper, olives and cavatelli. The vegetarian entree is high in vitamins A and C. The yield is generous and will satisfy cold-weather appetites.

Carry out the fresh theme with a fruit dessert, as the Europeans do, by marinating orange slices in Grand Marnier and ginger.

And to enhance the mood, rent the Alfred Hitchcock movie, “To Catch a Thief,” and watch Cary Grant and Grace Kelly flirting on the French Riviera.

Vegetable and Olive Pasta

1 heaping cup broccoli florets

1 heaping cup cauliflower florets

6 ounces cavatelli (see note)

1 roasted, diced sweet red pepper (see note)

1 shallot, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley

1/4 to 1/3 cup dry-cured black olives

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons prepared Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Salt

Bring 3-quart pan of water to boil. Add broccoli and cauliflower and cook 5 minutes or until tender, but with a slight crunch. Remove vegetables with slotted spoon, reserving cooking water. Cook cavatelli in vegetable water until tender, with a little firmness. Drain well.

Place vegetables in serving bowl along with cavatelli, sweet red pepper, shallot, parsley and olives.

Combine oil, mustard, lemon juice, pepper and salt to taste in cup and stir well. Pour over pasta and toss to mix. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 2 servings.

Note: Cavatelli pasta, which looks like little dumplings, is available in some supermarkets and in most Italian food stores; otherwise substitute rotini. Instead of roasting your own red peppers, you can use those that are sold in jars.

Oranges With Grand Marnier Syrup

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon diced candied ginger

3 tablespoons Grand Marnier

2 medium oranges, peeled and sliced

1/2-inch thick

Combine honey, sugar and water in small pan. Stir and bring to boil, then cook until sugar is dissolved. Stir in ginger and Grand Marnier. Cook over medium-high heat until reduced by a third. Remove from heat.

Place orange slices in bowl. Pour syrup over top. Stir to coat. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

Yield: 2 servings.

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