Sra very rightly guessed that I’ve become obsessed with baking when I went and bought a book with a 1000 recipes. In fact I have become so obsessed that I baked okras in the oven. It took a whole 40 minutes to get the kind of crispness I’d achieve in 10 minutes on the stove top!!! And NO, it doesn’t take a whole lot of oil on the stove top if one knows how to regulate the temperature. But I can’t be expected to be logical in times like these when I am likely to be diagnosed with an almost borderline Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
I baked a whole lot of bread with Poolish or the french way of pre ferment. I am particularly proud of the way the ciabattas turned out.
You see the holes 🙂 – the texture and shape can improve of course but it looks so pretty already and tastes delightful.
Something had to be made the main course so that between my husband and myself, we could eat up all of that bread. Now given my condition that “something” obviously had to be baked. So I assembled a simple casserole with a few veggies.
Ingredients
- Vegetables – 500 g (Potatoes, Peppers, Tomatoes or similar vegetables of your choice)
- Onions – 2 Medium
- Milk – 1/2 cup (or fresh cream/double cream for a richer version)
- Cheese – 50 g
- White breadcrumbs – 1/2 cup
- Salt and Paprika for seasoning (as per taste)
- Olive Oil – 1 tbsp
Method
- Grease a 9 inch Baking dish with Olive Oil.
- Slice the Onions into rings. Saute the onions until translucent and set aside to cool. Slice the other vegetables into thin discs.
- Preheat an oven to 200 degrees C.
- Form layers in the baking dish with the sliced vegetables, starting with the tomatoes. Sprinkle white breadcrumbs and seasonings over each layer before proceeding to the next. Continue doing this till all the vegetables are used. End with a layer of either potatoes or tomatoes (never onions, unless you like black onions!!!).
- Pour the Milk into the baking dish. Top with the remaining bread crumbs and grated cheese.
- Bake at 200 C for 40 minutes or until the dish turns golden on top.
Serve with bread of your choice.
Notes: Oven timings may vary. Note the browning on top to know when to stop. I finished with a layer of tomatoes for a change this time. Finishing with Potatoes in a casserole is a better idea – browned potatoes taste doubly better than oven baked tomatoes IMHO.
Doubly Note: I also baked samosas along with my baking buddy. Check them out at Baking Buddies.
Aha, I see your cheese too is only 50 gm yet it expanded so well! (Remember our chat the other day?) I can’t see the pix now so I’m glad you sent them earlier – I’m ‘referring’ to them as I write this comment!
I am so glad you are baking, there is no limit for you now! Both look wonderful. Enjoy!:))
I will see you in Sept, my last post went out and my last comment here until September. Hugs! Keep in touch!:)
The casserole is inviting Lakshmi..Like Sra said love the amount of cheese used in the dish..
Kamala – you have to wait for Sra’s post (which she will do soon) to understand the true meaning of what she meant in that comment. 😀 – LOL
Beautiful bread, Lakshmi! 🙂 Love the nooks and crannies. WTG!
Lakshmi, Kamala, sorry to disappoint but I just tried my hand at that post and it’s not coming together! The intro went fine, but not the rest of the post. Dunno if I can finish it before I take off!
Yes , Indeed , baking becomes addictive,.. I recently got a clay pot as a gift… Havent figured what to do.. but its such a wonderful gift for a novice baker like me…
The bread looks delicious ! I wish India had a heriage of baking so that we could have grown up on dishes like these !
That looks scrumptious Lakshmi – am drooling here and that ciabatta does look great! Looking fwd to more baking recipes…
I bake a lot, but it is funny… I never made a casserole of any sort!
I’m happy to see that you’ve been bitten by the baking bug, too.:)
Baking is fun, isn’t it:) Your bread looks lovely to me. And your casserole looks delicious. It is so simple to make too. Thanks for the great recipe! Love your site!
looks yummy. it’s ages since i baked a casserole.
Lakshmi…..the so-called simple casserole is a cheesy delight:) am making it!!!
Just love the way ur bread turned out…well done !!
Baking is fun afterall!!!
‘Baking is highly Addictive’ and all thanks to you, I am missing it terribly. I had couple of recipes bookmarked which I wanted to try but now I HAVE to Wait..:) the bread looks beautiful Laks, its so fluffy and the pics are clicked for ur camera right?.. Ah! What a difference..:) Love them all.
Hugs,
Siri
casserole looks great!
That baking bug is quite infectious isnt it 😉
The casserole looks fantastic! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
You have definitely encouraged me to bake my own ciabatta
hmmm…………..looks so yummy 🙂
hmmm looks yummy
woman’s wonderla
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