Marion's column: Saucy Piedmont dish goes with spoonbread

Originally published April 15, 1999.

If it is true that more and more Americans are eating less and less meat and more vegetables than ever, these two recipes will suit a lot of readers.

The first is a classic sauce from Piedmont, Italy, called bagna cauda, and made of olive oil, butter, garlic and anchovies.

Usually it is served in a pot with a flame under it that keeps the sauce hot, but it can also be served communally around the table or in small individual bowls. Raw vegetables are cut into bite-sized pieces and speared on a long, pronglike fork. The vegetables usually used in Italy are fennel, cauliflower, cabbage and sweet peppers, but any vegetable that is good eaten raw will work fine.

If crunchy vegetables don't appeal to you, you can easily blanch the vegetable pieces in boiling salted water for a few seconds or a minute so they are more tender.

Like all good sauces, bagna cauda would work in many other applications. Try using it judiciously over potato salad, pasta or on steamed red potatoes. It keeps well when refrigerated.

The second recipe is Spoonbread Custard with Mushrooms. This simple dish has lots of flexibility. You can add any vegetable to the custard, if you saute or cook the vegetable in a little olive oil so it is slightly cooked before adding it to the cornmeal custard to bake. This recipe has mushrooms and onions, and is a filling supper dish. Serve the vegetables and bagna cauda with it.

Bagna Cauda

Makes 2 cups.

Serve with sauce with raw or blanched vegetables, such as celery, zucchini, carrots, fennel, Belgian endive (the individual leaves) or sweet peppers, seeded and cut into strips.

- 1 1/2 c. olive oil, divided

- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

- 10 anchovies, drained and finely chopped

- Fresh raw or blanched vegetables

Put 1/4 cup olive oil in a 1-quart saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Add the chopped garlic and stir, cooking about 2 minutes, until garlic is slightly softened, but not browned.

Remove pan from stove and add remaining olive oil, butter and anchovies. Put pan back on the stove, turn the heat to medium and stir to mix the ingredients thoroughly.

Taste the sauce and add salt, if desired.

Serve the sauce with a platter of raw (or blanched) vegetables.

.

Nutrition information per 1 tablespoon serving:

Calories 120

Carbohydrates 0 g

Fat 13 g

including sat. fat 3 g

Cholesterol 9 mg

Sodium 65 mg

Calcium 5 mg

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Diabetic exchanges per serving: 2 1/2 fat exch.

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Spoonbread Custard with Mushrooms

Serves 4.

- 1/2 lb. mushrooms (about 8 large ones) wiped clean and cut into bite-size pieces

- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped into small pieces

- 2 1/2 c. cold water, divided

- 1/2 tsp. salt

- 1 c. cornmeal

- 4 eggs, well-beaten

- Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 2-quart casserole. Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Stir in the mushrooms and onions and cook, stirring, until they soften and the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Put mixture into casserole.

Bring 2 cups of the water to a boil in a saucepan and add the salt. Put the cup of cornmeal into a small bowl, add the remaining

1/2 cup of cold water and stir to dampen the cornmeal. This helps to prevent lumping when you add it to boiling water.

Add the buttermilk and stir to blend well. Add the beaten eggs and stir to mix. Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed.

Stir into the mushrooms and onions in the casserole to mix well. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly golden on top. Serve hot.

Nutrition information per serving:

Calories 325

Carbohydrates 34 g

Fat 16 g

including sat. fat 8 g

Cholesterol 240 mg

Sodium 470 mg

Calcium 110 mg