Mushroom, Cauliflower, Black Olive & Cheese Casserole

(Adapted with significant changes from recipe in Easy Vegetarian,

published by LOVE FOOD, imprint of Parragon Books Ltd., 2009)

This can be either a lacto-vegetarian main dish or a side dish.

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 lb. fresh white mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces

5 - 6 oz. canned sliced black olives, drained

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried parsley

3/4 tsp. hot paprika

1 tsp. salt

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tbsp. bread crumbs

3 - 4 tbsp. butter

1. Heat large saucepan of water to boiling; add cauliflower, cover

and bring to boil again; cook cauliflower for 3 minutes; remove

from heat, drain, and set aside.

2. Melt 2 - 3 tbsp. butter in large frying pan on medium heat; sautée

mushrooms lightly; remove from heat.

3. Mix cauliflower, mushrooms, and olives in large bowl; stir in

oregano, parsley, paprika, and salt and mix thoroughly.

4. Place mixture in 9" deep dish pie pan or baking dish; top with

cheese and bread crumbs; dot top with 1 broken up tbsp. of butter.

5. Preheat oven to 450; bake casserole 15 minutes or until cheese

melts and begins to brown. Remove, cool for 10 minutes, and serve.

NOTES:

1. You can use fewer or more olives depending on taste, or omit them

completely; they weren't in the original recipe, but I found they added

an additional layer of taste to the dish.

2. I sometimes add a tablespoon or so of Worchestershire sauce to

mushrooms when I sautée them.

3. Any kind of shredded cheese can be used; I'm planning on trying

Gruyere a little later; cheddar should work quite well, too. Or you can

go with the original recipe and use grated parmesan, instead; you'll

have to play with the amount if you use a grated cheese, though.

4. The paprika was another addition I made, as I found the original

a little on the bland side. You can omit it altogether, or try other hot

spices such as red pepper flakes or ground cayenne, or sweet

paprika is you prefer. The exact amount can also vary with taste

(I used 1.5 tsp. of hot paprika once before and found that was a bit

too hot for my taste).

5. Upon further reflection, I've decided that the bread crumbs add

little or nothing to this dish, so I'll probably be omitting them in the

future. Consider them optional.