This is a recipe worthy of being doubled or even tripled. Be forewarned, the measurements below make just enough for two people as a side dish. The curry flavoring and the bite of pecorino cheese adds a unique twist to how one may normally eat spinach. I wish I had made more because it was certainly the star of the show the night we ate this for dinner.

Spinaci Gratinati con Pecorino e Pinoli
Spinach Gratin with Pecorino Toscano and Pine Nuts
from the July/August 2011 issue of La Cucina Italiana

• Fine sea salt
• 3 Tablespoons pine nuts
• 1 1/2 pounds spinach, tough stems removed
• 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces Pecorino Toscano or other mild sheep’s milk cheese, grated on large holes of box grater (1 cup)
• 1/8 teaspoon curry powder

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, spread pine nuts on a baking sheet, bake until fragrant and just lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let nuts cool.

Submerge spinach in the boiling water and cook until just wilted, about 1 minutes. Drain in a colander, squeezing to extract excess water.

Heat broiler. In a large gratin dish, spread half of the spinach. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil, then sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese and pinch salt. Top with remaining spinach. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil, then sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese, pinch salt and curry powder.

Broil until cheese is lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with pine nuts and remaining 1/4 cup cheese; continue to broil, rotating pan once halfway through, until cheese is golden, about 2 minutes more.

And now, we come to the end of the Vegetarian Giro d’Italia and our Last Supper. (Appropriate as Leonardo di Vinci was a vegetarian.)

It’s been a race of ups and down, surprises and nail biting stage wins. So, it’s time to celebrate much like one does at a wedding with some Italian Wedding Soup. Ah, but here’s where it gets tricky. The original name of this Italian soup is “minestra maritata” or “married soup”. This marriage is referring to the marriage of meat and vegetables not a wedding between two people.

Somehow, we Americans mistranslated these words and the misnomer was born.  Also remember that this is the Veggin’ way, so I also eliminate the meat part of the recipe as well. So, in the end, we all make compromises just like we accepted the fact that the winner wasn’t going to be Nibali, Evans, or Sastre.

Don’t you worry, I consulted my bible of vegetarian cooking, Vegetarian Times, for the best recipe and found this easy squeazy one that took no time to make. In fact, I had traveled all week, made the weary trip home from the airport, and had a bowl of hearty soup within 40 minutes of getting home without hardly breaking a sweat.

So, thank you for joining me on this tour of Italy. Be sure to stop by throughout the year as I tackle vegetarian recipes and reviews from all over the world.

Italian Wedding Soup
Vegetarian Times, October 2008

• 4 Tbs. olive oil, divided
• 1 medium white or yellow onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.), plus 1 whole clove, peeled, divided
• ¾ cup diced carrot
• ¾ cup diced celery (Note: I omitted the celery due to personal taste)
• 1 Tbs.  dried oregano
• 1 Tbs. dried basil
• 1 Tbs. dried parsley
• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• ¾ cup ditalini pasta
• 1 pkg. vegan meatballs, defrosted (18 small meatballs)
• 1 5-oz. pkg. fresh spinach (Note: I tried this with kale…I think spinach would be much better)
• 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Heat 2 Tbs. olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and minced garlic; sauté 5 minutes, or until beginning to soften. Stir in carrot and celery, and cook 5 minutes more, or until onion is soft and just beginning to brown. Add oregano, basil, and parsley, and cook 1 minute.

Stir in broth, and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium, add ditalini, and cook at low boil 5 minutes, or half of cooking time stated in ditalini package directions.

Add meatballs, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 Tbs. oil in skillet over medium heat. Add remaining garlic clove, and crush with wooden spoon in oil while heating. Add spinach; cook 3 to 5 minutes, turning constantly so spinach becomes evenly coated and wilted, but still bright green.

After meatballs have simmered, add spinach and lemon juice to soup, and season with salt and pepper.

These little spinach gnocchi, served with a light tomato sauce, were as fun to eat as they were to make. Yes, you get to make your hands all gloppy when making the gnocchi. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can make the mixture ahead of time then dig in when you’re ready to make a mess.

By the way, these come out a little denser than traditional gnocchi. Imagine them more as mini spinach pancakes with a hint of nutmeg as a bonus flavor.

Baked Spinach and Parmesan Gnocchi
from The Greens Book

1 large onion, dice fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 Tablespoons butter
2 pounds spinach, washed and trimmed of large stems
3 eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 to 2 cups fine dry bread crumbs (Note: I used panko)
freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground pepper

In a saute pan, soften the onion and garlic in the butter. Remove the pan from the heat and let it stand, uncovered. While the onion and garlic are cooking, place the washed and trimmed spinach in a colander and drain 10 minutes.

Place the damp spinach in a large noncorrodible pot, cover, and cook over medium-high heat.

When you hear the water sizzling, remove the cover and stir the spinach until it is just wilted. Place the spinach in a colander and cool to room temperature. Preheat the over to 350 degrees and butter two large baking sheets. Thoroughly squeeze the excess water from the spinach leaves and chop them fine.

Place the spinach in a large bowl along with the softened onion and garlic, eggs and egg whites, parmesan, and bread crumbs. Season the mixture well with nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and mix thoroughly.

For easier rolling, you may chill the mixture, thightly covered, for 15 minutes or as long as 24 hours.

Roll the mixture in to 3/4-inch balls and place them on the baking sheets.

Bake the gnocchi about 15 minutes, turning once, until they are lightly browned. Serve hot.

Looking for a little something different to make for dinner tonight that’s easy to make, warm and filling?  Then make this polenta with spinach and chanterelle mushroom dish. This is definitely going to be on normal rotation in my kitchen especially during this seemingly never-ending winter.

I had three pans going at the same time on the stove – mushrooms were simmering, polenta was cooking and the spinach was sauteing. Never fear, though, you won’t get that “spinning plates” feeling. Everything cooks in it’s own time and there is no fear of burning or overcooking.

Cheesy Polenta with Sauteed Spinach and Chanterelles
adapted by Megabeth from What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyway?

1 cup fine cornmeal
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons margarine
1/2 cup Gouda cheese, shredded
freshly ground pepper
1 oz package dried chanterelle mushrooms
1 cup vegetable broth
olive oil
tamari
1 garlic clove, minced
3-4 tightly packed cups fresh baby spinach

Add mushrooms and stock to a small pot, bring stock to a boil.  Turn heat to low and let them simmer for about 20 minutes.

In large pot, bring three cups of water to a boil with 1 Tablespoon of salt. Whisk the cornmeal into the boiling water and turn heat to low. Let cornmeal absorb the water, then add an additional 3 cups of water 1/2 cup at a time. Let each 1/2 cup of water absorb before adding the next. Stir occasionally to ensure that the polenta does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

When the polenta is near the end of cooking, remove mushrooms from cooking broth and then saute in a small pan with 2 teaspoons olive oil. Add a splash of tamari to the mushrooms. Heat through and remove from pan into a small bowl. (If there are large pieces of mushrooms, feel free to cut some smaller.)

Add another 3 teaspoons of olive oil and garlic to the saute pan. Let garlic saute a bit. Add spinach to pan and wilt. Remove from heat.

Once the polenta is cooked, stir in gouda and margarine into the pan. Add freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir to combine. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until cheese and butter is melted.

Add polenta to serving bowl, top with sauteed spinach and mushrooms. Shred some additional gouda on the top to taste.