Creamy Roasted Vegetable Hotpot

I call it a hotpot, you might call it a tray bake or a veggie style lasagne.... all I know is that it tastes amazing and can be made ahead, refrigerated or frozen ready for another day.

You will need:

3 large potatoes, this all depends on the size of your casserole or roasting dish
2 red peppers
2 yellow peppers
1 fennel bulb
4 carrots
2 courgettes
1 aubergine
2 red onions
100g mushrooms
Olive oil for roasting
2 pints milk
100g plain flour
100g butter plus 25g for potato topping
1 tsp each of fennel seeds, coriander seeds and sesame seeds
1 tsp All-spice seasoning
1 tsp nutmeg
1 onion
6 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

  1. Dice/slice or chop the peppers, fennel, carrots, courgettes, aubergine and red onion into edible pieces.  Lightly coat  in about 3 tbsp olive oil, the fennel/coriander/sesame seeds and the All-spice seasoning.  Add a little salt and cracked black pepper and then roast in the oven for about 45 minutes until the veg are tender but not mush.  Occasionally check the veg and toss with a large spoon.
  2. Meanwhile, rinse the potatoes and still in their skins, place in a large pot, pour over boiling water and boil for about 10 to 15 minutes so they half cook.  Drain and set aside until needed.
  3. To make the cream sauce, put the milk in a saucepan with the onion (peeled but whole), the peppercorns, bay leaf and thyme and allow to come to the boil.  Set aside. 
    Heat the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until golden.  Strain the milk then slowly, using a whisk pour a little milk at a time in to the roux (fancy french name for cooked butter and flour) and keep whisking, so it doesn't go lumpy.  Season with a little salt, white pepper and the nutmeg.
  4. Check on your roasted veg and remove from the oven but leave the oven on.  Pour the cream sauce over the veg.  Thinly slice the potatoes.  You can remove the skin if you wish but I like to leave it on.  Layer over the top of the cream and then dot around some butter.  Season with a little salt and pepper if you wish then put back in the oven until the potatoes turn a crispy, golden brown, about 40 minutes.
    Note: At the layering stage, before you put the dish back in the oven, you can cover the top with cling film and foil then either freeze for a month or refrigerate for 24 hours until ready to cook.
    This makes a great side dish served with fish or any meat or a simple meal on its own.