Few ingredients can add as much flavor to your recipes-and in so many ways-as garlic. The longer you cook it, the less pungent it becomes. When garlic cloves are slowly roasted whole, their flavor is unexpectedly mellow, but if you press just one raw clove into a dish right before serving, it provides a fiery jolt. In these easy recipes, you can enjoy garlic baked in stuffed portobellos, raw in quinoa tabbouleh, roasted in vinaigrette and simmered in soup. Any way you cook it, there's no mistaking the culinary power of garlic.

GARLICKY STUFFED PORTOBELLOS

Serves 4

Savory and satisfying, these stuffed
mushrooms make a great light meal
when served with a green salad.

4 5-inch portobello mushroom caps

2 3/4 cups whole grain breadcrumbs

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
cheese

2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh
rosemary, plus sprigs for garnish

6 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbs.)

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Scrape out
and discard gills from undersides of
mushroom caps with spoon. Remove
and discard stems. Arrange mushrooms,
stem-side up, in shallow baking dish.

2. Combine remaining ingredients
in medium bowl. Stir in 3 Tbs. water,
and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Stuff mushroom caps with garlic
mixture, pressing down firmly. Fill
baking dish with 1/4 inch water. Cover
dish with foil, and bake 30 minutes,
or until mushrooms are tender.

4. Uncover, and broil 1 to 2 minutes,
or until tops are lightly browned, being
careful not to burn. Garnish with
rosemary sprigs, and serve immediately.

Note: If you want to make fresh
breadcrumbs, tear up 4 to 5 slices of
bread, place in food processor or
blender, and process until finely ground.
PER SERVING: 225 CAL; 12G PROT; 10.5G TOTAL
FAT (5G SAT. FAT); 22G CARB; 25MG CHOL;
556MG SOD; 6G FIBER; 5G SUGARS

ENDIVE WITH ROASTED GARLIC
VINAIGRETTE

Serves 4 * Vegan * 30 minutes or fewer

Belgian endive are delicious cooked.
This makes a lovely starter or side dish.

4 medium-sized Belgian endive

1/3 cup olive oil or flaxseed oil

2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar or
red wine vinegar

1 Tbs. roasted garlic*

1 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce

1. Preheat oven to 450F Cut endive
in half lengthwise, and place halves,
cut side up, in baking dish; season with
salt and pepper. Fill dish with 74 inch
water. Cover with foil; bake 12 minutes,
or until tender. Remove foil, and broil
3 to 4 minutes, until lightly browned.

2. Meanwhile, puree all remaining
ingredients in food processor. Season
vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper.

3. To serve, divide endive among plates;
drizzle vinaigrette on each endive half.

* To roast garlic:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Remove several
layers of white papery skin from garlic
head (do not peel or separate cloves).

2. Wrap garlic head in foil. Bake 45
minutes to 1 hour; let cool 10 minutes.

3. Remove foil, separate cloves and
squeeze to extract pulp.
PER SERVING: 183 CAL; 1G PROT; 11.5G TOTAL
FAT (2.5G SAT. FAT); 6G CARB; 0MG CHOL;
233MG SOD; 2G FIBER; 2G SUGARS

GARLIC AND POTATO SOUP

Serves 4 * Vegan

The secret to this simple soup is
simmering the garlic, which tames its
bite. The liquid for the soup is equal
parts vegetable broth and water; for
a stronger flavor, replace some of the
water with broth. A green salad and
crusty bread round out the meal.

1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil

1 cup chopped onion (about
1 medium)

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and
cut into 1/2-inch pieces

7 large cloves garlic, peeled

1. Heat oil in large, heavy saucepan
over medium heat. Add onion, and
cook, stirring often, 10 minutes, or
until golden. Add broth, 4 cups water,
potatoes and garlic, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover
and simmer 20 minutes, or until
potatoes are very tender. Cool slightly.

2. Coarsely puree soup in blender or
food processor 1 cup at a time, about
20 seconds per batch, or puree in
pot with immersion blender. Do not
overprocess. Return soup to pan.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Simmer until heated through. Ladle
soup into bowls, and serve immediately.

PER SERVING: 260 CAL; 4G PROT; 5.5G TOTAL
FAT (0.5G SAT. FAT); 50G CARB; 0MG CHOL;
633MG SOD; 4G FIBER; 4G SUGARS

QUINOA TABBOULEH

Serves 4 * Vegan * 30 minutes or fewer

You may discover that you like this
nutritious, wheat-free variation of this
traditional Middle Eastern grain salad
even better than the original. Serve
it as part of a meze (a Mediterranean
appetizer) platter with hummus,
baba ghanoush (roasted eggplant dip)
and pita bread, or mound it on a bed of
lettuce with sliced tomatoes on the side.

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about
1 lemon)

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Combine quinoa and 2 cups water
in medium saucepan. Cover, and bring
to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer
15 to 20 minutes, or until quinoa is
tender and liquid is absorbed.

2. Place cooked quinoa in large bowl,
fluff with fork and let cool. Add
remaining ingredients and salt to taste,
and mix well. Serve tabbouleh chilled
or at room temperature.

PER SERVING: 231 CAL; 6G PROT; 9.5G TOTAL
FAT (1G SAT. FAT); 32G CARB; OMG CHOL;
304MG SOD; 3G FIBER; <1G SUGARS

Food writer and cooking instructor
Vicki Chelf loves cooking with garlic so
much that her latest cookbook is
For the Love of Garlic.

COPYRIGHT 2006 Vegetarian Times, Inc. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale Group