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I think I want to start cooking more casseroles, I think partly out of nostalgia, and partly because it might be a good way to combine greens and grains (maybe even in a way acceptable to the kid.) I *want* to think they're a good way to make a lot of food at once, but I know that's not actually true. Soups and stews are the only things that seem to match that expectation. :-P
My mom makes really tasty casseroles but I haven't been able to get a very specific recipe out of her. One that she used to make I think involved sauteed greens and vegetables, cheese, and maybe barley or orzo, baked with stuffing mix on top. So I tried something like that:
Roasted mushrooms:
- 253 g shiitake mushrooms, sliced thin, including stems (were 300 g before spending 3 days in fridge)
- 80 g red wine
- 52 g olive oil
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp iodized table salt
Tossed together, spread on baking sheet, and baked on upper rack at 350°F, stirring once, until almost all darkened and losing their moisture/softness (about 40-50 minutes).
Millet:
- 1 cup dried millet
- 1-2 tsp olive oil
- 2 cups water
Rinsed millet thoroughly, toasted for a few minutes with oil, then added water. Brought to boil, then simmered covered until water absorbed, ~20 minutes.
Casserole:
- olive oil
- 24 g garlic, crushed
- 493 g rainbow chard (blade and stem together) chopped to 10-15 mm
- 1/2 tsp iodized table salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper (fine powder)
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 egg
- 138 g sharp cheddar (for mixing in)
- 70 g sharp cheddar (for topping)
- 90 g gluten-free stuffing mix/croutons
Garlic sauteed in olive oil until translucent, then chard added and cooked, stirring, until well wilted. Salt and mushrooms added near end.
In a large bowl, mixed millet, greens/mushrooms, black pepper, and paprika. Then mixed in egg and 138 g cheese. Packed into buttered casserole dish, then topped with 70 g cheese and the croutons.
Baked at 400°F for 20 minutes.
The flavor was good, though mostly concentrated in the highly savory mushrooms, which should probably be in smaller pieces or cooked into the chard more. The proportions were roughly correct even though I basically just guessed.
The texture is good, but it could use a *little* more cohesion. Next time, I could try not rinsing millet, and perhaps the extra starch would help? Or add more egg, I guess. Or I just need to compact the mixture more tightly into the casserole dish. Or... I wasn't sure that the oven time was doing anything useful (other than browning the croutons) since there wasn't any liquid in the mix. Maybe I should just half-cook the millet, or add water. (I'm not a fan of stock. It seems vaguely wasteful.) Liquid would merge the flavors more, perhaps, and steam the croutons a bit.
(The croutons are weird! I bought something at the store that claimed to be savory, and had the right sorts of things in the ingredients list, but the croutons tasted really bland. And it was only when I was taking the bag out of the box to rubber-band it closed that I discovered a packet of spices at the bottom of the box! So I hastily sprinkled some of that onto the baking food. I think they're trying to make a product that can *optionally* taste like stuffing... but it should probably be advertised that way on the outside.)
Definitely something to try making again, and I bet I can simplify and streamline it. I'd love to hear suggestions for other variations I might try!
My mom makes really tasty casseroles but I haven't been able to get a very specific recipe out of her. One that she used to make I think involved sauteed greens and vegetables, cheese, and maybe barley or orzo, baked with stuffing mix on top. So I tried something like that:
Chard, shiitake, and millet casserole -- recipe and photo
Roasted mushrooms:
- 253 g shiitake mushrooms, sliced thin, including stems (were 300 g before spending 3 days in fridge)
- 80 g red wine
- 52 g olive oil
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp iodized table salt
Tossed together, spread on baking sheet, and baked on upper rack at 350°F, stirring once, until almost all darkened and losing their moisture/softness (about 40-50 minutes).
Millet:
- 1 cup dried millet
- 1-2 tsp olive oil
- 2 cups water
Rinsed millet thoroughly, toasted for a few minutes with oil, then added water. Brought to boil, then simmered covered until water absorbed, ~20 minutes.
Casserole:
- olive oil
- 24 g garlic, crushed
- 493 g rainbow chard (blade and stem together) chopped to 10-15 mm
- 1/2 tsp iodized table salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper (fine powder)
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 egg
- 138 g sharp cheddar (for mixing in)
- 70 g sharp cheddar (for topping)
- 90 g gluten-free stuffing mix/croutons
Garlic sauteed in olive oil until translucent, then chard added and cooked, stirring, until well wilted. Salt and mushrooms added near end.
In a large bowl, mixed millet, greens/mushrooms, black pepper, and paprika. Then mixed in egg and 138 g cheese. Packed into buttered casserole dish, then topped with 70 g cheese and the croutons.
Baked at 400°F for 20 minutes.
The flavor was good, though mostly concentrated in the highly savory mushrooms, which should probably be in smaller pieces or cooked into the chard more. The proportions were roughly correct even though I basically just guessed.
The texture is good, but it could use a *little* more cohesion. Next time, I could try not rinsing millet, and perhaps the extra starch would help? Or add more egg, I guess. Or I just need to compact the mixture more tightly into the casserole dish. Or... I wasn't sure that the oven time was doing anything useful (other than browning the croutons) since there wasn't any liquid in the mix. Maybe I should just half-cook the millet, or add water. (I'm not a fan of stock. It seems vaguely wasteful.) Liquid would merge the flavors more, perhaps, and steam the croutons a bit.
(The croutons are weird! I bought something at the store that claimed to be savory, and had the right sorts of things in the ingredients list, but the croutons tasted really bland. And it was only when I was taking the bag out of the box to rubber-band it closed that I discovered a packet of spices at the bottom of the box! So I hastily sprinkled some of that onto the baking food. I think they're trying to make a product that can *optionally* taste like stuffing... but it should probably be advertised that way on the outside.)
Definitely something to try making again, and I bet I can simplify and streamline it. I'd love to hear suggestions for other variations I might try!
