Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Stacks On! Vegetables...

Eggplants and Zucchinis are seriously in season, (every time we see either set of parents, we seem to acquire a collection of one or both from their respective gardens), and the following was my super-talented way, (I never claimed to be humble!), on how to use them up.

How to make a Vegetable Bake




1;
Bake or grill a lot of sliced vegetables. I used zucchini, eggplant and mushrooms, but you could include capsicums, pumpkin or even asparagus. Use a light spray of olive oil and a little salt and / or pepper to taste.



2;
Make red & white sauce.
Red sauce is canned tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, garlic, fresh basil, oregano, thyme or all of the above, salt and pepper to taste and a good 2 hours of simmering.
White sauce is bechamel.



3;
Cover your dish base with red sauce, layer vegetables more red sauce and repeat until you read the second last layer. Cover the second last layer in bechamel, put on another layer of vegetables, another layer of red sauce and a final few dollops of bechamel.






4;
Cover the top with cheese (whatever you have is OK, I used a mix of tasty and parmesan but I think mozzarella or a 'pizza cheese' mix would be ideal. Buffalo Mozarella would also be divine), and stick under the grill to heat & melt the cheese.




5;
Serve with something deliciously carb-y that will taste great with excess sauce!


It managed to make M eat an entire plate of vegetables on Sunday night, so it can't be all bad! Go a bit light handed on the bechamel and cheese and you've got yourself a healthy, tasty, filling little meal, (and if your parents are like ours, a slightly emptier fridge!). Include the mushrooms for a bit of protein if you're worried about the hungry-in-an-hour factor, and you're set.

Let me know if you give it a go!

Stay well,
Nat x

3 comments:

  1. Wow- this looks seriously delicious!! We are infact growing eggplants at the moment (and I can spot baby eggplants in our garden at the moment which are so, so cute) and I actually need a good recipe to use them when they're ready.

    This dish looks perfect! I'll let you know if I end up using it to cook them :) It reminds me of a lasagna, but without the pasta!

    Hannah x

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  2. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm yum yum yum

    This is a V good idea esp for using up vegetables!!!

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  3. Definitely let me know Hannah! Yes exactly, & lack of pasta makes it much lighter. Very handy.

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