A Vegie Delight

A Veggie Delight 

 

I frequently have milk sitting in the fridge, I don't drink Milk or have it in either coffee or tea, but I like to have some 

on hand just in case of course and  it is necessary for some cooking 

I check the use by dates and when it is very close to the end ,  I usually turn the milk into bechamel sauce and freeze it

Very handy 

Also I tend to buy too many vege and need to use them up before they go off

So, using what I had in my freezer and fridge, I concocted this delicious Pasta bake

 For my one cup of sauce I used these ingredients 

Bechamel Sauce 1 cup (to make Bechamel Sauce see at bottom of the blog)

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs butter 

1/2 onion finely chopped 

1/2 red pepper sliced

1/2 courgette grated

5 cherry tomatoes sliced

Grated cheese

Fresh breadcrumbs 

To accompany

I sautéed some red onion, sliced Bok Choy and some sliced 

Celery lightly in a little olive oil

Method

In a pan melt the oil and butter

Add onions sauté till soft

Add red pepper and courgette and tomatoes

Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Continue to sauté till soft not browned 

Warm your prepared  bechamel sauce 

Add to vege 

Place in greased baking dishes 

Sprinkle with grated cheese and top with the breadcrumbs 

You can prepare this far ahead and set aside for cooking later 

Heat oven to 170C 

Cook till bubbly and the top is getting crisp

Serve with the sautéed vege on the side

Voila...Dinner is served 

Simple recipe for Bechamel Sauce

50 gms Butter
1/4 cup of plain flour
2 1/2 cups of milk
Sea salt and ground white pepper 

Gently melt the butter in a pan
Add flour and back on the heat for about a minute to cook the flour out
Slowly add the milk stirring with each addition to avoid lumps 
When all the milk is added 
Slowly bring to a simmer stirring all of the time 
Season with S & P to taste
This is now your base for any white sauce that you would like to cook with
It’s nice sometime to add a bay leaf while cooking but remove when the sauce is ready or the flavour will be too strong
Set aside
I am only using a cup of sauce for this recipe you can freeze the remainder another time