Easy Vegetables Square

Make this useful recipe with canned, leftover cooked vegetables, or ‘purpose cooked’ vegetables. The pesto and parmesan cheese ensure a good, interesting flavour, even when mild-flavoured vegetables are used.

ingredients

• 2-3 cups cooked drained vegetables
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup low-fat or regular sour cream
• 6 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons basil pesto
• 3 tablespoons couscous or dry breadcrumbs
• 2 tomatoes, optional
• ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
• 120g rocket

method

Turn the oven on to 180°C to preheat.

Cook raw vegetables in a small amount of salted water until just tender, then drain thoroughly, in a sieve. OR use cooked leftover, or canned vegetables. (If vegetables are cooked without salt, add ½ teaspoon salt to the egg mixture.) Cut the cooked vegetables into pieces no bigger than 1cm cubes.

Put the eggs, sour cream, parmesan cheese and pesto in a bowl. Stir with a fork or whisk until well mixed.

Lightly butter or spray with non-stick spray a baking pan about 20cm square. Sprinkle the base with couscous or bread-crumbs, so any liquid which comes from the vegetables during baking will be soaked up. (If you have couscous, use it, because it works well and makes the base firmer, almost like a thin pastry crust.)

Sprinkle the well-drained cooked vegetables evenly over the base of the prepared pan, then pour the liquid over them. Shake gently so liquid surrounds the vegetables.

Cover the surface with slices of tomato (if you have them) then sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake at 180°C (on fan-bake if possible) for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and nicely risen, the sides are golden brown, and the centre feels firm. Leave for a few minutes before cutting into serving-sized pieces.

Suitable vegetables include asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, young green beans, broccoli, whole kernel corn, kumara, squeezed spinach, well drained silver beet, young carrots, pumpkin, new potatoes, peas, frozen mixed vegetables, zucchini, mushrooms.

notes

Tomatoes and eggplant are too wet to use for the main vegetable filling.

• 1 cup peas
• 1 cup corn
• Carrots