We are still in the south aka Mediterranean area … now in Northern Spain. So I made an approach to a vegetable casserole filled w/ Mediterranean vegetables – a simple dish you may prepare anytime & everywhere – as I did some years ago for the 1st time.
So let’s start …
Suppose you need a batch of vegetables for a roast or a BBQ or whatever. How to prepare it w/o too much trouble aka effortless?
I opted for a Mediterranean approach to vegetables & found a convenient recipe in Mimi Thorisson’s cookbook.
You simply start w/ a casserole packed w/ vegetables like in the photo above. About 30 min later after a oven session … you get a casserole w/ a delicious mix of soft vegetables.
How to achieve this?
(I think you’ve noticed that I make it short today … It’s an easy recipe – effortless as I stated before – using unexceptional vegetables: so there is no need to tell a long story!)
What do we need?
(… concerning the input quantities: I prepared 2 casseroles w/ packed vegetables!)
It’s only:
- courgettes
- tomatoes
- aubergines
- bay leaves
- fresh garlic
- fresh thyme.
… & of course olive oil.
For producing a nice packing result take in mind:
- The courgettes have to be big & thick.
- The aubergines have to be rather slim than thick.
- The tomatoes have to be regular – at least.
In short:
All the slices should have almost the same size concerning the diameter.
We start w/ the aubergines which we clean & trim & cut into slices of about 3 mm. We put the slices in a colander, add salt & let it rest for about 20 min or so. Then we rinse the mess w/ water & pat the slices dry w/ kitchen paper.
Finally we get this amount of fine aubergines.
In the meantime we prepare the rest of the vegetables.
… & don’t forget to preheat the over to 180° C fan.
We also clean & trim the courgettes & cut them into slices of about 3 mm … and we clean & trim the tomatoes (if necessary) & cut them also into slices of about 3 mm.
A casserole is oiled w/ olive oil. We need some halves of cloves of garlic. Just rub them into the oil resp. all over the oiled surface.
Finally we pack the slices of our vegetables into the casserole. Mix as you like it.
On top:
- salt & pepper
- chopped cloves of garlic
- bay leaves
- thyme sprigs
- olive oil.
Ready for the preheated oven.
About 30 min later the vegetables are soft, but not mushy.
It’s a nice mix of Mediterranean flavors & may go w/ any roast or BBQ.
If you like sauce … don’t forget to cook sauce w/ your roast or whatever!
… or prepare some dip – maybe a yoghurt based dip w/ minced garlic … or simply buy some aioli!
Enjoy!
- 2 aubergines (about 500 g)
- 2 courgettes (about 900 g)
- 4 tomatoes (about 500 g)
- 1,5 tsp salt
- 1 clove of garlic (halved) (1 half per casserole)
- 2 cloves of garlic (chopped) (1 chopped clove per casserole)
- 8 twigs of thyme (4 twigs per casserole)
- 4 bay leaves (2 per casserole)
- 4 tbsp olive oil (2 tbsp per casserole)
- 2 casseroles (15 x 26 cm)
- Slice the cleaned & trimmed aubergines (about 3 mm), put the slices in a colander, add salt (1,5 tsp), mix & let it rest for about 15-20 min. Rinse w/ hot water & dry w/ kitchen paper.
- Preheat the oven to 180° C fan.
- In the meantime slice the tomatoes & the courgette (about 3 mm) – after cleaning & trimming.
- Add some oilve oil to a casserole, cut a clove of garlic into halves & rub the casserole w/ the garlic halves.
- Start packing the slices of aubergine, courgette & tomato; add pepper & salt.
- Chop the remaining garlic cloves & sprinkle over the vegetables.
- Add the remaining olive oil, the bay leaves & the thyme.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 min.
