I used my oven quite a lot on Tuesday. I had a few friends come over, and I promised one of them I'd make us dinner. As it's currently snowing heavily outside, I wanted to make something warming and filling, and since this is a student flat, I love to use the oven whenever possible, since it can get a bit chilly. We Finns tend to be very fond of casserole dishes, so I decided to make a casserole I once came up with, when trying to decide what I could cook for dinner without bothering to go out to the shops. This recipe is a rather versatile one, as you can change some of the ingredients to suit your own tastes, or the current insides of your fridge. Later on, you may find a slight theme in the ingredients I use, but hoping that maybe not everyone will notice, I won't tell you what it is.
Another good feature of this food is, that it is a lovely, heathy dish to eat during the winter, but also a great dish for summer, since that is the time most of its ingredients are in season.
However, possibly to make up for not using the oven for weeks, I also whipped up a big patch of apple crumble. One of the friends who came over, is absolutely insane about apples, and when she heard what I was making she demanded we should have some vanilla ice cream with it as well. Apple crumble is another dish Finns absolutely adore, eventhough I must admit that it tends to be a more of a autumn dish than a spring one. But it's apples, right? Who could resist!
Mediterranean Casserole (Serves about 4 people)
5 large, firm Potatoes; Washed, peeled and cut into thin wedges.
4 juicy Tomatoes, cut into wedges.
4 cloves of Garlic chopped into large chunks. (You may use more or less according to taste)
200g of fresh Spinach, washed, the hard stalks cut off and gruffly chopped.
200g of salty Feta Cheese, cut into cubes. (I hear that tofu works well too)
A large handful of torn Basil leaves.
For seasoning:
2tbs Lemon juice
2tbs Olive Oil
1/2tsp fresh Red Chilli, finely chopped
1tsp Black pepper
This is possibly one of the easiest things you'll ever make!
1. Heat the oven to 200C.
2. Prepare all the ingredients as instructed above and put them in a large bowl.
3. Add the seasonings, and mix the contents of the bowl with your hands. Pour the seasoned ingredients in a large casserole dish. The one I use is about 18cm x 30cm.
4. Remember that the spinach shrinks in the oven, so even if it seems like an awful lot, it won't be that much in the end. You don't need any salt, as the feta cheese is salty. You don't need any liquid either, because the tomatoes and the spinach will make it moist as they cook. Put the casserole dish in the oven for about 30 - 45 minutes. It's done when the potatoes don't offer resistance, when poked with a fork or a knife. In fact, this recipe is so easy, I feel like I've explained this wrong!
Other ingredients that work well with this dish:
Mushrooms
Chinese cabbage
Courgette (Zucchini)
Tofu (soaked in salt water)
Goat's Cheese (with added salt as a seasoning)
Apple crumble with coconut (Serves about 8 people)
For the Apple-mix:
6 sour Green Apples, peeled and cut into cubes.
(I used Granny Smith apples)
4tbs of Dark Syrup
1tbs of ground Cinnamon
1tsp of ground ginger
For the covering:
1 cup of Oatmeal flakes
1 cup of Coconut flakes
3/4 cup of melted butter
1/2 cup of sugar
1. Heat the oven to 175C.
2. Peel the apples and cut them into cubes. Place the apple cubes in a large casserole dish or a large pie dish (diameter for a pie dish should be about 25cm). Pour the dark syrup and the spices over the apples and mix them in.
3. In a bowl, combine the oatmeal flakes and coconut flakes together with the melted butter and sugar. Mix well until the butter has been absorbed and the mixture is slightly moist. Spread the oat and coconut mixture evenly all over the apples. Be sure that it covers everything. If necessary, make more covering mixture.
4. Put in the oven for about 45mins to 1h, or until the apples have gone soft and the crust is a crispy golden brown colour. This dish is best served warm with vanilla ice cream or custard.
I was thinking of trying out strawberry and raspberry versions of this during the summer, when you start to get them summery fresh. Should be yummy.
No comments:
Post a Comment