Fresh garden vegetables celebrate summer with a smothering of melting cheese.
An egg and yogurt sauce blanket its entirety to a bubbly gratin casserole.
If only the garden-to-table would be sustainable throughout the year.
Our reality is that we are restricted to these very few months.
Time well spent in our gardens or neighbourly markets bring a twinkle in my eye.
I actually get quite emotional when I realize how fortunate we are to seed and pick such gems.
The majestic summer squash plant blooms into pretty flowers before surprising us yet again.
This time with the long awaited versatile zucchini ready for our handling into delicious meals.
Our garden is showing it's tired facade; one that's getting itself ready to retire.
Soon Autumn will come knocking and scenes like these will become a distant memory.
Now, for some of the cooking that's been done in my small cucina ;o)
Enjoy making this dish with whatever you have on hand, especially when it comes to vegetables.
Vegetable Pasta bake
YOGURT sauce gratin
note: this recipe can be simplified even further by...
using leftover pasta with some tomato sauce.
INGREDIENTS:
(American/ Metric measures)
. 2 cups (200g) cooked pasta of choice
[about 1 cup (100g) of uncooked pasta]
. 3 cups (750ml) sautéed, mixed vegetables *
. 1 cup (250ml) fresh tomato, chopped with seasoning...
or Tomato sauce (homemade preferred)
. 3/4 cup (75g) mild cheese,** shredded
. 1/4 cup (25g) Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
. 2 large eggs
. 1 cup (250ml) plain yogurt (2% or more)
* Vegetables sautéed for this recipe were: sweet onion, leeks, red bell pepper, thinly sliced, zucchini and a touch of finely zested lemon.
** Some mild cheeses used: 'Mozzarella' , 'Friulano' , 'Fontina'
PREPARATION:
. Pre-heat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas4. Position the rack in the center of the oven. Lightly oil a shallow, medium size casserole oven-proof dish. Set aside.
1. In a large bowl, mix together the cooked pasta together with the mixed vegetable preparation that was already pre-cooked. To it, also mix in the tomato sauce if not already added at the vegetable cooking stage. Note: At this point, taste to make sure there are no seasonings missing. Some to keep in mind are a few pinches of dried Basil, Marjoram, sea salt and granulated garlic powder.
2. Place the mixed pasta and vegetables with the tomato sauce into the prepared oven-proof dish. Add the cheeses over the surface of the mix. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and the yogurt. Pour this mix evenly over the casserole dish. Bake for 35 minutes or until the gratin surface is lightly golden and bubbly. Serve after the dish has rested for about 10 minutes. Enjoy.
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Realizing
how busy Summer has kept us spinning through joyful moments...
most of us
still have to make the time to eat well.
Eat well we shall, especially
with such freshness delivered through our thriving gardens.
Looking forward to sharing a few more summer delicacies.
Have a lovely week everyone.
Flavourful wishes,
Foodessa
Comments ... ??? ... or suggestions ... write me :o)
Claudia at: foodessa [at] gmail [dot] com
Go HERE for more SAVOURY creations.
Please take note on how I bake and cook...
Here’s a 101 of sorts to make sure that there are no disappointments when trying my creations.
Also...just so you know...feel free to increase the salt and sweet factor since I'm not high on either of them ;o)
. Use DRY cup measurements for...you guessed it...all DRY ingredients.
Anything DRY gets measured by spooning the overfilled ingredient (never shake the cup) and then level off with a flat edged tool. Exception...Brown sugar should be packed in and leveled.
. Use LIQUID cup measurements for...all LIQUIDS that cannot be leveled like for example butter, yogurt...etc. Measure the liquids at eye level to avoid overdoing what the recipe truly needs.
. OVENS are unfortunately not created equal. Mine is so old that it has reached many degrees off it's norm. It's really worth investing a few dollars to test yours with an appropriate oven thermometer. You'd be surprised how many ovens I've heard about not being where they should have been. Before you lose any more ingredients and much time preparing a new recipe...run to the store...you'll thank me later.
Here are related recipes that may be of interest:
- Pasta Al Forno My Italian version of 'Mac and Cheese'
- Stuffed pasta SHELL with a vegetable cheese mix and a rosé tomato sauce
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