Creamy Broccoli and Zucchini

It’s now the end of broccoli season and the zucchini is very prolific this year. I made this recipe almost as written. I used plain egg noodles, since I didn’t have any spinach noodles on hand. I have a large jar of chopped garlic in the refrigerator, so I used that along with snipping some parsley and oregano from my kitchen herb garden. I’ve written before about my lack of patience in making roux for white sauce. Here I substituted cream of celery with some added flour for thickening the juices from the zucchini. For the cheese, I used some low-fat cottage cheese. It really did melt in the sauce!

My husband liked this dish. It is basically creamed vegetables over noodles. Thanks again to Cyndi! I must really like her recipes, since they are continually selected out of the thousands I have.

8 oz. egg noodles
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 cups (1 good sized head) broccoli
2 cups (1 medium) zucchini
1 med. onion, diced ½”
1 tsp. butter or margarine
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
1 can (10.5 oz.) condensed cream of celery soup
3 tbsp. flour
½ cup milk
1 Tbsp. sherry
1 1/2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Boil noodles as package directs. Drain. Return to pan and toss with olive oil. Cover and keep warm.

While noodles cook, prepare broccoli. Wash it and cut off the stalk where it branches. Trim the head into spears, cutting off leaves if you prefer. Now, dice the stems crosswise in ½” pieces until you reach the flowers. Set the flowers stem down and cut into 2 to 4 sections depending on size.

Hold the stalk upright and use your trimming knife to slice thinly down the side of the stalk, just cutting off the peel. Turn it one quarter and slice again. Keep turning and slicing until peeled. Trim the corners of any remaining peel as needed. Trim the harvested end and slice the stalk lengthwise in similar size to the spears. Then slice the stalk crosswise. Put in top of vegetable steamer. (See recipe for Steamed Broccoli.)

Prepare zucchini: Wash zucchini and trim the ends. Cut it lengthwise into quarters. Slice crosswise into 1/2” pieces. Put pieces in steamer. Add diced onion to steamer. Steam until crisp tender, 5 to 7 minutes.

Drain steamer bottom. Set vegetables aside. Return pan to medium heat and melt the butter. Sauté garlic, parsley and oregano for a minute or so. Stir in the cream of celery soup.

Put flour in a cup and gradually blend in milk with a fork, whisking out any lumps. Stir into soup. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.

Add cottage cheese. Cook and stir until cheese is almost melted.

Stir in sherry and cooked vegetables and heat through.

Serve over hot noodles and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, accompanied by a crispy hot roll or garlic toast.

Serves 4 to 6.

From: merrillandcyndibowan@XXXXX
To: FamilyFare@yahoogroups.com
Date: 10/8/2004 7:20 PM

Creamy Broccoli and Zucchini

2 c. chopped fresh broccoli
2 c. unpared zucchini
1 med. onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 c. milk
1 1/2 c. Ricotta (or creamed cottage cheese)
8 oz. spinach noodles, cooked
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
3 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. parsley, chopped
1 tbsp. sherry
Pinch oregano
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

Cook broccoli and zucchini together until tender (steam 8-10 minutes). Drain well. In saucepan sauté onion and garlic until tender (not brown). Blend in flour, parsley and oregano. Add milk. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Add Ricotta cheese. Cook and stir until cheese is almost melted. Stir in cooked vegetables and heat through. Serve over hot noodles. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.