What’s French for Greek Marinade?

Marinated vegetables make excellent first courses or accompaniments to summer suppers of grilled chicken or fish.

When I lived in France, I was introduced to champignons a la grecque, marinated mushrooms in the Greek style. Occasionally I would buy them at the charcuteries, shops that specialize in sausages and cold cuts and vegetable dishes to accompany them, and I first made this dish in a class at La Varenne Cooking School in Paris.

Our chefs prepared the mushrooms in a cooked marinade of dry white wine, olive oil, lemon juice and a bouquet garni of fresh thyme, parsley stems and bay leaf tied together. They also added whole coriander seeds, which have a pleasantly spicy taste and crunchy texture. Generally, they put in a small amount of tomato paste or a few peeled chopped fresh tomatoes.

The same marinade can be used to prepare many other vegetables, including zucchini, cauliflower, baby onions, celery, artichokes, fennel bulbs, carrots, leeks and even cucumbers.

French recipe names often include a la (in the style of) followed by the name of a country. Sometimes this simply means that the French chef who created the dish was inspired by that land’s cuisine. But in the case of vegetables a la grecque, the Greeks do cook vegetables in a similar marinade with just a few subtle differences.

Although the French always use white wine, the Greeks frequently opt for a combination of lemon juice and water instead. Cooks in Greece rarely add tomatoes and prefer to flavor their marinade with garlic rather than coriander seeds.

Vegetables in the French-Greek style are convenient because they cook directly in their marinades, which act as a dressing. Pull them out of the refrigerator and they’re ready to eat straight from the bowl or spooned over a bed of salad greens. They’re great with cold meats, barbecued chicken or vegetarian entrees of beans and rice.

Levy is the author of “30 Low-Fat Vegetarian Meals in 30 Minutes” (Warner Books, 1997).

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MUSHROOMS A LA GRECQUE

1 large sprig thyme or 1 teaspoon dried

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1/3 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons tomato sauce or 1 tablespoon tomato paste

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 pound small mushrooms, rinsed

These marinated mushrooms make a lovely appetizer when spooned over mixed baby lettuces, with a little of the marinade used as a dressing. If you like, sprinkle the mushrooms with chopped flat-leaf parsley just before serving. The dish is most attractive when made with small mushrooms, but if only larger ones are available, quarter them before adding them to the pan. In this light version, I use much less oil than in classic recipes.

Combine thyme, bay leaf, coriander seeds, wine, oil, water, tomato sauce, salt and pepper to taste and lemon juice in saute pan. Bring to boil and add mushrooms. Cook, uncovered, over high heat, gently stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are just tender, about 7 minutes.

Transfer to shallow dish. Discard thyme sprig and bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve cool or cold.

4 servings. Each serving:

79 calories; 83 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 1.19 grams fiber.