Sunday, February 19, 2006
Quick'n Easy Vegetable Bake
Wednesday was a totally uneventful day. Nothing memorable happened, no new ideas popped into my head, no new people appeared in my life. And no good food was to be found anywhere in our kitchen.I threw together a quick vegetable bake, nothing special, not even worthy of its own recipe. However, if you have one of those days, but do not want to resort to microwave meals or takeout, try compiling what Germans call an "Auflauf". All you need is a bunch of food that feels like it might go good together, such as a mix of vegetables, some leftover meat (mince or sausage bits are always good for Auflauf), tinned tuna or salmon, fresh fish filet or soy. Add a chopped onion, some garlic, herbs, some mashed potatoes and some grated cheese and you're laughing. OK, not quite. Here's a quick intro to nice Auflauf:
First, you'll need to chop the ingredients into bite-sized pieces. Then preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Heat some oil, butter or drippings in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the onion until translucent. Then add the garlic and any herbs and spices. (A Mediterranean mix of oregano, basil, rosemary and thyme is always a winning combination. Or if you've still got some herbes de provence kicking about somewhere that you have no clue what else to do with, here's your solution. Obviously, other flavours, such as ready-made curry powder or Moroccan spices, work just as well, albeit with different results.) Continue frying for another minute. Now add your other ingredients in the following order: Things that will release moisture, such as fish or mushrooms, want to go first, followed by the hardest vegetables, such as carrots or broccoli. Then comes any uncooked meat. And last, but not least, we have soft vegetables, such as spinach, and cooked or canned meat or fish. Continue frying for a few minutes.
When the vegetables are beginning to soften, add some liquid. If you are using wine, add that first and let it boil down a bit. Then add a small amount of stock. Alternatively, you can add cream, a mixture of milk and strongly flavoured soft cheese (blue cheese works well), mascarpone or Philadelphia cheese, or even a can of condensed soup (such as Campbell's cream of broccoli). Allow to thicken and season to taste with salt and pepper or stock granules.
Put the vegetable/meat mix in an ovenproof dish, top with mashed potatoes and sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake in the oven until the veg mix is heated through and nicely thickened, and the cheese is browned.
Christine at 7:52 pm
