Bake Me- I'm Yours!

Verdure Invernale al Forno

Winter Vegetable Bake

"Left-overs"- how I hate that expression! There is no such thing at my house- they are still simply ingredients! Yesterdays cabbage and potatoes can become this mornings "bubble and squeak", stale cookies can become pie crusts... and left-over Brussels sprouts, mashed potato, carrots and parsnips can become a hearty, vegetable bake like this one!

I was contemplating making a soup, with parsnips and carrots, leeks, sprouts and potatoes- and yes, of course I was going to use the remaining sprouts from the other night to save some time... but then I had the idea of using the mashed potatoes too... and one thing led to another- and resulted in a whole, different meal- but I am glad that it did!

I started off by peeling and coarsely chopping the carrot and parsnip and getting that boiling first. I added the leek, also coarsely chopped, around 5 minutes later, as I didn't want it to get too overcooked. I seasoned with salt, pepper, a little cumin, a little nutmeg and also added a clove of garlic into the water to lightly perfume the vegetables.

After 9-10 minutes of cooking time in all, I drained the vegetables and added them to the mashed potatoes along with the sprouts, I added a splash of milk, which also helped cool the ingredients off and stirred everything gently through. Once it was reasonable cool, around 4-5 minutes later, I cracked-in an egg, added a little grated cheese and stirred everything together again.

I added a little extra seasoning of sea salt, coarsely-ground black pepper and a little more nutmeg and then poured the mix carefully into a baking dish. A little extra cheese on top, a tiny splash of green Tabasco and off into the oven it went! 15 minutes later, it was ready, set, golden brown and ready for eating... and amazingly enough... so was I! And I know you will be too! Enjoy!