Vegetable bake

‘Is this without meat?’ — that was my brother’s archaic question whenever Mum cooked something vegeterian. I am not sure if he still insists on having some kind of meat in many of the dishes he eats but he used to INSIST, a lot!

Well, this recipe has no meat and since we need to eat more vegetables for whatever moral, health or environmental reasons I suggest that you try this out. And if you are a read-the-recipe-but-do-not-follow-it type, please feel free to change vegetables to what’s in season like artichoke hearts, spinach, pumpkin or courgettes.

The no-meat meal

[caption id=”attachment_2803" align=”aligncenter” width=”600" caption=”Vegetable bake — Photo by David Caruana”]

[/caption]

Serves 6

• 300g aubergine
• 250g yellow or red pepper
• 300g ricotta
• 2 eggs
• 2 tblsp breadcrumbs
• 40g grated pecorino cheese
• milk
• 8 basil leaves
• 4 mint leaves
• a bunch of parsley
• 1 garlic clove
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper

Clean and cut the aubergine and pepper into small cubes. Heat some olive oil in a saucepan, add the garlic clove and when it starts to brown remove it from the pan.

Add the chopped vegetables and leave to saute for 10 minutes on low heat. Season with salt & pepper. Meanwhile, beat the eggs with the pecorino cheese, ricotta, breadcrumbs and chopped herbs; add the cooked vegetables. If the mixture is too dry add some milk. Season with salt.

Line an oven proof dish of 22cm diameter with baking paper. Transfer the mixture into dish; smooth the surface and drizzle with olive oil. Cook in a preheated oven of 180 degrees Celsius for around 40 minutes.

You can serve this dish cold or warm with crusty bread.