Rhapsody in green

OVER lunch the other day a friend mentioned how hard it is to plan a menu for a dinner party anymore with all the food scares and scary diets loose in the land. “You can’t serve salmon, you can’t serve beef, you can’t serve pasta,” she said. “Rabbit is about the only thing that’s acceptable.”

Not being a fan of chicken of the prairie, I immediately thought of at least 50 other things that are still OK to dish out: vegetables.

Except for the odd killer scallions, most items in the produce aisle have not been indicted by anyone more threatening than the protein promoters. And aside from potatoes, vegetables have never seemed more universally alluring as an entree than in this time of mad cows and funky fish.

The trick is how to put them together to produce something that will rival a roast, or a side of salmon, or even a braised bunny. A whole steamed cauliflower, even with the richest hollandaise or cheese sauce, is just not going to cut it.

I’m generally skeptical of emulating name chefs at home, but this is one situation where it makes sense. Some of the best big thinkers, such as Charlie Trotter in this country and Pierre Gagnaire in Paris and London, always offer an all-vegetable tasting menu as an alternative to the usual foie gras-to-veal lineup. And usually it surpasses the carnivores’ special. Anyone can grill a duck breast. It takes talent and imagination to turn peas and herbs into the centerpiece of a $100 dinner.

Chefs make it work by serving their vegetable creations as small plates, in consecutive courses. The best of them understand implicitly that a meatless, fishless meal can’t climax with a garden-variety cousin of a haunch, some tricked-up imitation of flesh like those ‘70s grain-and-walnut “meatloaves.” A series of little vegetable dishes, carefully thought out and artfully presented, has more impact than one grand slam, and no one would ever think to ask where the beef is.

Courses are what set high-end vegetable meals apart from those at every midrange cafe, where unimaginative cooks tend to rely too heavily on eggplant and portabello mushrooms to get them through the entrees. Both those vegetables are seriously good meat substitutes, but there are only so many ways you can combine either of them with goat cheese before a stultifying sameness sets in.

(Unimaginative chefs also reflexively reach for pasta when someone rejects their osso buco. To me that’s cheating. Pasta should be one course among many in a real Italian meal. It’s no substitute for branzino.)

Serving in courses not only has dramatic impact, it also opens up more room to play with seasonal ingredients that would be relegated to side dishes on a mainstream menu. Right now the markets are full of enticements such as leeks and parsnips and squash that can be elevated to entrees, or at least to one course among several. The same broccoli puree that looks like baby food simply spooned alongside lamb is irresistible if it’s converted into a souffle or a timbale to fill in for chicken.

Jerusalem artichokes are an even better example. Too often they get pushed around like so many Brussels sprouts when served next to meat or fish. Grate them, mix them with red peppers and fry them, though, and you get a stand-alone first course. The distinctive, almost nutty flavor comes through in fritters as it never does in competition with protein.

Winter squash is another big source of vegetable inspiration. You can stuff the small ones with rice and olives, or bake and puree the big ones to turn into a creamy soup, or dice chunks of either into a risotto with garlic and thyme.

But gnocchi are more unexpected.

The kind I like are not the little doughy gumballs you get in far too many Italian restaurants. In fact, they’re not even shaped like what we normally think of as gnocchi. Roman gnocchi are biscuit-like rounds about the size of thick slices of French sausage. Made from semolina that’s simmered like polenta with milk, they’re then patted out like dough, cut out and baked, with a scattering of fresh sage and a drizzle of butter. Plain semolina is traditional, but a dark, dry-flesh squash like kabocha or buttercup gives these gnocchi color and depth, almost like meat. You could serve them as an entree all on their own, but as part of a parade of little dishes they stand out even more.

When it’s good to be flaky

Vegetables baked in pastry are probably the most seductive: There’s a reason quiche dominated menus for decades before wraps came along. Empanadas, tarts and calzoni are all great showcases for everything from asparagus to zucchini. But filo dough has a power no other pastry does, both from its flakiness and from the butter it needs to be pliable. I’ve never gone wrong serving a vegetable strudel as one course of a meal where everyone might be expecting a veal roast.

Just about any vegetable can be rolled inside the crisp dough, but mushrooms and leeks have an unparalleled meatiness, especially when supplemented with a lot of Gruyere.

My take on all-vegetable menus always errs on the side of butter, which means a salad is essential as one course. To fit the theme, it has to be composed; to counter the richness, it needs an element of bitterness. And so a favorite is that timeless combination of pears, arugula and blue cheese, freshened up with toasted macadamias and a dressing of lemon, macadamia nut oil and lots of pungent chives. I figure you can get away with a classic when everything else is unexpected. But you can still tweak it, substituting Manchego or shaved pecorino for Maytag blue, say, or mizuna or frisee for arugula.

All these recipes use cheese or eggs for flavor and body, which only goes to prove you can’t please everyone. Or at least I can’t. Vegans will still be left out. And I have no sympathy for carb-phobes. But you can persuade even a pork lover to give up meat, if fleetingly, by swiping another page from the top chefs’ playbook. Their secret for turning vegetables into dinner? Never use the word “vegetarian.”

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Jerusalem artichoke fritters

Time: 15 to 20 minutes

Servings: 4

1/2pound Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed and dried

1 green onion, trimmed and chopped

1/3cup minced red pepper

2 tablespoons flour

1/2teaspoon sea salt

1/2teaspoon herbes de Provence

1/8to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

2 eggs, lightly beaten

5 tablespoons peanut oil

1. Grate the artichokes into a mixing bowl. Add green onion, red pepper, flour, salt and spices and toss to mix. Stir in eggs and mix well.

2. Heat the oil until the surface ripples in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Scoop the batter by tablespoons into the skillet and flatten with a spatula. Fry until the batter is crisp and brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels while repeating with the remaining batter. Serve hot.

Each serving: 176 calories; 5 grams protein; 14 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 11 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 106 mg. cholesterol; 322 mg. sodium.

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Wild mushroom strudel

Time: 1 1/2 hours

Servings: 6

1 ounce dried morels or other wild mushrooms

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

2 leeks, finely chopped, white and pale green parts only

Sea salt to taste

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound shiitakes, stemmed and diced small

1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2cup sour cream

2 cups grated Gruyere

1 tablespoon panko or fine dry bread crumbs

1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans

Pinch cayenne

8 sheets filo dough

1. Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour boiling water over. Let stand until softened, about 10 minutes. Lift the mushrooms out of the water into a sieve and rinse well. Squeeze dry. Chop and set aside.

2. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a very large saute pan over medium heat. Add the leeks and a sprinkling of sea salt and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chopped wild mushrooms and shiitakes and cook, stirring often, until very soft, about 15 minutes. Stir in the tamari and cook until all the liquid is evaporated. Add the thyme and mix well. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

3. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the remaining butter and set aside. Stir the sour cream and cheese into the mushroom mixture, mixing well. Taste and adjust seasoning.

4. Combine the bread crumbs, pecans and cayenne and set aside. Brush a 10- by 15-inch baking sheet with butter.

5. Lay wax paper on a work surface and brush with melted butter. Spread out 1 sheet of filo dough and brush lightly with butter. (Cover the remaining filo sheets with a damp towel to keep them from drying out.) Repeat with 3 more filo sheets. Sprinkle evenly with the bread crumb mixture. Repeat with the remaining filo sheets.

6. Mound the mushroom mixture along the bottom third of the long end of the filo. Fold the short edges in and carefully fold over to enclose the filling completely.

7. Carefully transfer the strudel to the prepared pan. Brush with the remaining butter. Bake until browned and crisp, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before slicing with a serrated knife to serve.

Each serving: 514 calories; 17 grams protein; 26 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber; 38 grams fat; 22 grams saturated fat; 100 mg. cholesterol; 335 mg. sodium.

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Squash gnocchi with sage butter

Time: 2 hours plus at least 2 to 3 hours chilling time

Servings: 4 to 6

1 kabocha or buttercup squash, about 2 pounds

2 cups whole milk

1/2cup semolina

1/2teaspoon ground allspice

1/8teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

1/2teaspoon freshly ground white pepper or to taste

7 tablespoons butter, divided

6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped sage

3 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs

1. Cut the squash in half and scrape out the seeds. Place the halves, cut side down, on a baking sheet. Bake in a 350-degree oven until very soft, 45 to 60 minutes. Cool, then scrape out the flesh and mash until smooth. Turn off the oven.

2. Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy saucepan. On low heat, slowly whisk in the semolina a little at a time until incorporated. Using a rubber or silicone spatula, continue stirring until smooth, 5 minutes. Blend in the squash and continue cooking and stirring for 15 minutes. Add the allspice, cayenne, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

3. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons cheese, mixing well. Cool slightly; stir in the egg yolks.

4. Use 1 tablespoon butter to grease a 10- by 15-inch rimmed baking sheet. Scrape the batter onto the pan and smooth it out with a wet spatula to a thickness of about one-half inch. Refrigerate until firm, 2 to 3 hours or overnight.

5. Use one-half tablespoon butter to grease an oval (8- by 10-inch) baking dish. Melt the remaining butter with the chopped sage in a small skillet.

6. Using a drinking glass or a cookie cutter, cut the batter into 2 1/2-inch rounds. Using a metal spatula, carefully remove the rounds from the baking sheet and lay them into the prepared baking dish, overlapping slightly if necessary.

7. Drizzle the sage butter over, evenly distributing the chopped sage. Combine the remaining cheese with the bread crumbs and sprinkle evenly over the gnocchi. Bake 20 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Serve hot.

Each of 6 servings: 344 calories; 10 grams protein; 35 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams fiber; 20 grams fat; 12 saturated fat; 122 mg. cholesterol; 35 mg. Sodium

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Arugula and pear salad

Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 4

Note: Other cheeses can substitute for the Maytag blue, including shaved pecorino and slivered Manchego.

1/4cup macadamias

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4cup macadamia nut oil

1 tablespoon chopped chives

2 small bunches small-leaf

arugula, trimmed, washed

and dried well

2 large, firm pears, peeled

and cored

1/2cup crumbled Maytag blue cheese

1. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Spread the macadamias in a metal cake pan and toast 10 minutes. Cool, then chop into coarse chunks.

2. Combine the mustard, one-half teaspoon sea salt and several grinds of pepper in a small bowl. Whisk in the lemon juice, then the macadamia oil. Add the chives and whisk until emulsified. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

3. Toss the arugula with just enough dressing to coat lightly. (Reserve any remaining dressing for another use.) Arrange on 4 salad plates. Cut the pears into thin slices and divide among the plates. Sprinkle with the cheese and then with the macadamias and serve at once.

Each serving: 283 calories; 4 grams protein; 19 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 23 grams fat;

4 grams saturated fat; 6 mg. cholesterol; 157 mg. sodium.