Vegetarian #BettaRecipe Challenge : Courgette and Potato Layered Casserole

Next week (19th-25th May) is National Vegetarian Week and, to mark the occasion, Betta Living are looking for exciting and innovative recipes. Here's what I came up with.

Cheesy Courgette and Potato Layered Casserole

ingredients :

1 large courgette

2 large potatoes

2 tins chopped tomatoes or passata

4 mushrooms

2 onions

3 cloves garlic

1/2 red pepper

1/2 green pepper

seasoning : 1 tsp each of smoked paprika, garlic pepper, onion salt, Spanish seasoning, oregano, (optional : chilli flakes)

2 slices wholemeal bread

150g vegetarian cheese

Crush the garlic and chop the onions, red and green pepper and mushrooms. Fry them in a drizzle of olive oil for 10 minutes until they are soft.

Add the seasoning, then the two tins of tomatoes. Add a little extra water (to rinse out the cans and get every last drop of tomato), reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired.

At this stage, I decided to throw in some leftover cooked pasta that was lurking in the fridge but this is not an essential step. This is a great recipe for using up all sorts of leftovers lurking in the fridge - cooked potatoes, vegetables, pasta or rice could all be incorporated.

While the sauce is cooking, wash and dry the potatoes and courgettes but don't peel them. Slice them very finely. Put a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish then fill it up, alternating layers of courgettes, potatoes and tomato sauce.

Finish with a layer of tomato sauce. 

Toast two slices of wholemeal bread and crumble or blitz briefly in a food processer. Mix in the grated cheese and use to top the dish.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180° for 45 minutes. Check the potato is fully cooked with a sharp knife and adjust cooking time as necessary.

Disclosure : This is my entry for the Betta Living Vegetarian Recipe Challenge. For more information  or to enter yourself : http://www.bettaliving.co.uk/blog/articles/2014/04/vegetarian-recipe-competition/

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Vegetarian recipe : Cheesy Leek Glamorgan Sausages

Haggis recipe #3 : Veggie Haggis with Roasted Onions and Tomatoes

Moroccan recipe : Chakchouka