Rollover Recipes: Provencal Sauce to Greek Casserole

This has been a week of food experimentation. Sure, I have my month of meals, but every so once in a while I find spare energy and it funnels itself into cooking creativity. I become a veritable vegetable-sculpting Picasso.

The Unknown Contributor started the ball rolling (Now, is that potential or kinetic energy? Kinetic, I think, once the ball started. Potential, when her recipe for White Chili was just sitting there all innocent and everything, saying, “Come on, give me a whirl.”)

Anyhow, I made the white chili using TVP instead of turkey. Total hit with the family. This gave me inspiration to throw together a new Provencal sauce the following day, that I served over whole wheat angel hair pasta. Here’s the sauce, and it was so rich I was licking the stirring spoon (don’t tell, okay?)

Day 1: Provencal Red Sauce

Sauté until lightly browned, in oven-proof pot…

• medium red onion, chopped


Add and sauté briefly…

• 2 garlic, minced
• ½ tsp oregano
• 1 TB capers
• 1 TB dark brown sugar
• a few pours red wine
• ½ jar of green olives with pimientos, sliced into rounds
• 2 links sausage substitute


Add and heat through…

• 1 jar Muir Glen Cabernet sauce
• 1 28 oz. can Muir Glen tomato puree

Put pot in oven, uncovered, and roast sauce at 350 degrees for half an hour.

Serve with whole wheat pasta, salad, and green vegetable.


Day Two: Greek Potato and Greens Casserole

Slice 8 small to medium golden potatoes, unpeeled, and arrange half of them on bottom of baking dish, with about ¼ inch of water in bottom.

Add a layer of greens (spinach, chard, or other) that have been chopped and wilted with…

• medium onion, chopped and sautéed in olive oil until golden
• 2 garlic, minced
• 1 leek, cleaned inside layers, and cut into rounds (can substitute green onion but leek is more Greek)
• salt and pepper

Add a layer of yesterday’s Provencal sauce

Arrange remaining potatoes and top with more sauce. Give a few good pours olive oil, shake on some salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour (until tender).

Serve with whole wheat bread. Garnish with sour cream. Recipe for 4.

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Based on my family’s response to all three of these recipes, I’m going to have to add a fifth week to the month of meals (which leads us to a math problem after we already encountered a physics problem here… who knew cooking required not only the artistry of Picasso but also the mind of Einstein?)

Greek Casserole photo, by L.L. Barkat.