Florida Catholic | Lenten Recipes

Modest ingredients make for memorable Lenten meals

DENISE O’TOOLE KELLY | FLORIDA CATHOLIC MANAGING EDITOR

Published: 02.08.08

John D. Benson prepares what is known in his family as <em>The German Dish</em>, a recipe handed down from his mother.

John D. Benson prepares what is known in his family as The German Dish, a recipe handed down from his mother. The original recipe calls for preparation in an electric skillet, but a deep frying pan works, too, as Benson demonstrates. “If you put it together it all works. And it’s very cheap,” Benson said.
MARLENE QUARONI | FC

When many Florida Catholic readers remember Friday dinners during Lent, they think about their mothers’ faith — and the magic they could work with a can of salmon, a tin of tuna, a box of pasta or a bag of egg noodles.

“I was one of six children who grew up in a very faithful Catholic household. It did not matter where you were, what part of the world, if it was Sunday, you found a church for Mass. If it was Lent, you did not eat meat on Friday,” said John D. Benson of Plantation, who in response to the newspaper’s call for Lenten recipes sent a dish his mother often made for him and his brothers with noodles, breadcrumbs, cheese — and sweetened prune juice.

Benson now occasionally prepares the recipe — known in his family as The German Dish because of the nationality of the family friend who gave it to his mother — for his wife, Denise, and their three children, ages 10 to 17. He urges those skeptical of the final ingredient to give it a try.

“If you put it together it all works. And it’s very cheap,” Benson said.

JASON COLLINS | FC
Cathy Jordan and her husband, Jean, display Peruvian Cauliflower Patties, a meal she learned to prepare from her husband and his family who are natives of Peru. “It’s easy and delicious, and look! You’re eating cauliflower.”

The Florida Catholic received dozens of recipes from all over the state through the mail, e-mail and its Web site. The assortment published was chosen to highlight the variety of main ingredients that can keep the family from missing meat — canned and fresh seafood, legumes, pasta, cheese, vegetables and more. Additional recipes are listed on the right side of this page with links to the individual recipes.

This was not a contest, and the recipes have not been tested by the Florida Catholic staff. So you’ll have to go on Benson’s word about the prune juice (though he says stewed tomatoes may substitute).

And you’ll also have to trust Cathy Jordan of West Palm Beach that her Peruvian Cauliflower Patties turn the antioxidant-rich vegetable into a main course.

“My husband is Peruvian, and he and his family taught me to make this delicious and unusual dish. Everyone who tries them likes them, even if they don’t eat cauliflower,” wrote Jordan. She and Jean, who moved to the U.S. from Peru when he was 9, have been married about three years, she said. “It’s easy and delicious, and look! You’re eating cauliflower.”

The youngest person to respond to the newspaper’s request didn’t have a recipe to share, but his e-mail reflected the spirit of the season.

“Although considered to be legal to eat (crabmeat and lobster) on Lenten Fridays, we were always told it isn’t much of a sacrifice … when we should be more mindful of fasting and observance,” wrote Nicholas Bryant, 16, of Davie, a Nativity parishioner and junior at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School in Hollywood. “So, basically our Friday night dinners consisted of either linguine with clam sauce, linguine Florentine, cheese pizza, or fish, a la Mrs. Paul’s or Gorton’s.”

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