Grønn Gourmet

Tomorrow were hosting a "Green Gourmet" dinner night with a wonderful local environmental group called Framtiden i våre hender. I put out the idea of having the event at our apartment after I went to the last Green Gourmet about a month ago. Simply put, it's a cooking party. The host provides a recipe and some raw ingredients that the guest assemble into a meal that they share together at the end of the night. So far, we have 12 RSVPs confirmed and I don't know how we will all fit in our cosy apartment, and we don't have 12 matching bowls, but that's part of the atmosphere.

Here's a sneak peak at the menu.

White bean, butternut squash, kale and olive stew

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 large onions, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 3 1/4- to 3 1/2-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 red bell peppers, seeded, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups canned vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 large bunches kale, thick stems trimmed, leaves cut crosswise into 2-inch strips
• 1 tablespoon dried rubbed sage
• 5 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained
• 1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted, halved
• 2 cups Freshly grated Romano cheese

Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add squash; sauté Add bell peppers and stir to coat with onion mixture. Add broth. Cover and simmer until squash is just tender, about 10 minutes.

Mix kale and sage into stew. Cover and cook until kale wilts, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add beans and olives and stir until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer stew to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle generously with cheese.

Beets with Yogurt

• 2 pounds small beets2 cloves garlic
• 2 cups strained Greek-style yogurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• handful of chopped mint or parsley

Cut the stems and leaves 2/3 of an inch above the beets. Cut each in half and lay them on tin foil on a baking pan. Lay tin foil over the beets. Roast at 400 degrees F for 1.5 to 2 hours un until tender. Cool and peel. Cut into thin, half moon slices.

Crush the garlic and beat it into the yogurt. Spread the mixture on a serving plate and arrange the slices on top. Beat the lemon juice with the oild and a little salt and stir in the chopped herbs. Spoon generously over the beets and serve.

Optional: add 1.5 teaspoons tahina to the yogurt.