This Summer Vegetable Casserole creation is the direct result of a recent visit to my favorite local farmers market. This is the time of year where I find myself at all the various Farmer’s Markets that are in full swing, in my area. It’s just way too easy to buy more vegetables than I need when I go. When I do that, I try to find creative ways to use what I brought home. That’s when the idea came to me to create this Summer Vegetable Casserole.
So without further a due.
Summer Vegetable Casserole
Ingredients:
- 6 large Redskin Potatoes
- 4 medium Zucchini
- 4 to 6 medium Tomatoes
- 4 medium Summer squash
- 2 to 3 large Onions
- 1 large Eggplant
- 12 to 14 slices of Provolone Cheese slices
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 ½ cups Grated or shredded Parmesan cheese (reserve ½ cups top the casserole)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Liberally coat the bottom and sides of a 9X12 casserole dish with olive oil. Thinly slice all the vegetables long ways or, if you have one, use a Madeline to slice the vegetables.
To start, place a layer of potatoes in the bottom of the oiled casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil, salt lightly; add freshly ground pepper and Parmesan cheese. Next, add a layer of zucchini, repeat the salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Continue the layers in this order; tomatoes, summer squash, onions, and eggplant with the salt, pepper, and Parmesan in cheese per layer. Continue layering the veggies. Halfway through, add a layer of sliced Provolone cheese. Continue the layering until the casserole dish is almost full. Top with provolone cheese slices, a final layer of potatoes (if desired, create a decorative pattern with remaining vegetables) and finish with ½ cup Parmesan cheese. Lightly tent with aluminum foil and place in the center of the oven.
Bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for 20 to 25minutes. The internal temperature should reach 165°. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes. There will be a lot of juice. Carefully drain off the liquid with a turkey baster or you can tilt and drain it in the sink. The casserole is dense enough to allow this.
Notes: Always start and end with a layer of potatoes. Don’t over do the salt. You can use just about any vegetable of the same density that you like and layer the veggies any way you wish. There is no wrong way, just your way. The salt in the dish encourages the vegetables to release water so draining off the extra juice is not a problem.
When I made Summer Vegetable Casserole, I had enough to make two casseroles. I found that this Summer Vegetable Casserole reheats very well. It can be served at room temperature, which offers up an opportunity for a potluck dish. It was a great discovery to find that I could also make this Summer Vegetable Casserole ahead of time and reheat it for an excellent meal at a later time and of course it makes for great leftovers.
This Farmer’s Market Summer Vegetable Casserole is such a delicious dish that we found ourselves using it as a main course. All we added was a nice crusty bread and side salad, and we were ready to go. This casserole went especially well with the Franciscan Estate Equilibrium. Enjoy.
Time to eat…
If you enjoyed this “Summer Vegetable Casserole,” check out, Simple Three Cheese Lasagna, Easy Healthy Verdure and Make Fresh Mushroom Salad with Parmesan Cheese & Parsley.
P.S. Take a moment to check out some of the tools I used for this “Summer Vegetable Casserole” below. 🙂