Roasted Vegetable and Potato Tray Bake
As we leave the noughties behind and head into, what can be described as the 'teenies', many of us start making our usual new year's resolutions. Lose weight, finish that book, get a new boyfriend, start a business, get a new job……the list is endless. And some of you, I'm sure, will be thinking, got to learn to cook, eat better, buy organic…… The problem with new year's resolutions is that, with all our good intentions, sometimes they can be hard to stick to. No surprises there then! The thing is, when it comes to food and drink, as long we're realistic and put less pressure on ourselves, we can eat better and be more frugal and most importantly, make more informed decisions about what we eat and where our food comes from.
For Christmas this year and with the recession still lurking about, I bought a few copies of the clever Economy Gastronomy cook book for a few friends, living on a budget but still wanting to eat well. It's a great book as is it gives some interesting recipes that don't require specialist ingredients, and if they do then they're things that you can buy and keep in the store cupboard for a few other recipes. It also got me thinking on the subject of meat, who says we have to eat meat every week? Many of us eat far too much, almost expecting it to be a daily occurrence. Once a week should be sufficient for red meat, if that, and the same for chicken. There are plenty of meals that will still give you protein such as fish, eggs, cheese, chick peas and other pulses, in replacement of meat.
As an alternative to your New Year's meal extravaganza, why not try a vegetarian meal? Or how about a different fish other than the usual Salmon? Pollock, haddock and mullet are all delicious, cost effective alternatives to the rather pricey Salmon.
Here's my own special recipe for Roasted Vegetable and Potato Tray Bake, which is great as an accompaniment or main meal with a simple salad on the side. Enjoy your new year and please, if you're going out, drink responsibly.
Roasted Vegetable and Potato Tray Bake
You will need (serves 4 to 6):
2 red peppers,cut into squares
2 yellow peppers, cut into squares
3 carrots, chopped into bite size pieces or 1 pack of British Chanteney baby carrots
1 fennel bulb, halved and quartered
2 courgettes, sliced, but not too thinly
2 parsnips, sliced into wedges
1 red onion, thinly sliced
3 large potatoes, partly boiled and sliced thinly
Olive Oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
1tsp cinnamon
1 tsp all spice
Half a tsp nutmeg
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
100g plain flour
100g butter, and a little more finish
1 litre or 2 pints milk
Preparation:
Place all the vegetables except the potatoes and red onion, into a large roasting pan and coat with olive oil, fennel seeds, cinnamon, all spice and thyme and roast in a preheated oven at 200*C/gas mark 6 for 40 minutes until vegetables are softened and coloured.
Meanwhile, thinly slice the red onion and soften in a little olive oil on a low heat until glazed and caramelised.
Partly boil the 3 large potatoes in their skins for approximately 10 minutes then drain and set aside to cool before slicing.
When the vegetables have roasted, leave in the roasting tray, stir in the chopped parsley and red onion and set aside until you slice your potatoes and make your cream sauce.
To make the cream sauce, heat your butter on a low heat until sizzling then throw in the flour and slightly brown. Slowly add the milk and keep whisking to avoid lumps. Season with the nutmeg and some salt and pepper.
Thinly slice the potatoes.
To assemble, pour the cream sauce over the roasted vegetables then layer over the thinly sliced potatoes. Now dot with butter and season with some salt and pepper.
Bake in the oven as before, until the potatoes are golden and crisp.
Serve with a salad.
