Does anyone have a lovely veggie casserole recipe?

[ComeAlongPond]

Making dinner for a friend of mine tonight, nothing fancy. I don't know how to make vegetarian stew I usually do it with meat and lots of stock. Can I just replace with extra veg and veggie stock (maybe some beans of some kind, or lentils?) and leave it at that? What sort of quantities do I need to use (to feed 4)?

What I usually do is chop up a large onion and fry gently until translucent then add in a crushed clove or two of garlic. The I add roughly chopped carrots and throw in with chunks of parsnips, potato, sweet potato, turnips and/or swede. Basically, whatever's available. You could also add celery/celeriac but my DCs don't like them.

Add a tin of beans of some form - borlotti, cannelini, aduki etc - and some dried lentils. Pour in a pint or two of veggie stock and a carton of chopped tomatoes. Season with worcestershire sauce and maybe a touch of mustard. Leave it to cook for 90min then, if you want, add in some chopped green beans or mushrooms (don't put them in at the start or they'll go to mush) and dumplings. Don't forget to check the seasoning and add some liquid if it's looking a bit dry. Cook for another half hour or so and bob's yer uncle.

This might not be the fanciest of veggie casseroles but it seems to go down well with everyone I've served it to. Depending on veggie selection it can be a touch on the sweet side (my DC's prefer it like that) so you do need to check the seasoning.

No, no, no worcestershire sauce - it contains anchovies!

Snorbs your recipe sounds lovely. What do you serve with the casserole?

That sounds lovely, thank you. And I will leave out the worcestershire sauce!

I meant to say it sounds good, though. Just not with w/s for a vegetarian.

I use this to get extra depth of flavour in the food I prepare for my pescetarian DH.

it now comes in several varieties and is stocked by Waitrose/Ocado. I think Sainsbury's may do it too. It's fantastic and lasts for ages so don't worry about the cost. It is better value than it appears.

www.laurasanttini.com/umami.html

I've made this quite a lot and it's really tasty - serve with fresh coriander leaves and couscous.

Apologies for the worcestershire sauce error - my DD (who's the non-meat eater in our house) doesn't have a problem with fish so it's not something that sticks in my mind. Maybe a teaspoon of english mustard instead?

As for what to serve it with, if I'm doing dumplings then to be honest I tend to just serve it as-is. If not then I'll usually make some bread rolls to go with it. I'm much more of a "This tastes good, eat it" kind of cook rather than a "Wow, what a fabulously unusual and finely crafted meal!" kind of cook

emsyj, that looks delicious! I'll have to give that a try. Butternut squash does go well in casseroles.

It really is delicious - I'm having a good nosey at all the other ideas on this thread too, I love a nice winter veggie casserole.

Oh boo, I forgot to add the lentils. Have chucked them in now, hopefully that'll be fine (they'll cook in 45 minutes won't they?)

The liquid is a little bit watery, hopefully the lentils will soak some up - any suggestions if not? I don't have any cornflour to thicken it with... Not the end of the world though, I had a little taste and it's yummy! Thank you Snorbs.

In situations where the stock turns out excessively runny I have never, ever, bunged some Bisto gravy granules in. Oh no. Not me. Ahem.

Apropos of nothing, did you know that Bisto gravy granules are vegetarian?