Italian Vegetable Casserole

I have been making this recipe for about 15 years.  The original recipe comes from a cookbook I picked up in New Haven Ct at a restaurant called Claire's Cornercopia.  Over the years I have made a few additions and deletions to either cut some calories or for taste.  I have written in the margins of the cookbook about a dozen times to count up the "points" for the current Weight Watchers program and no matter the program, it is low in points for a pretty generous serving.  The basic ingredients are still the same, although I have veganized it (the original is vegetarian, but calls for cheese) and have added either veggie burger or lentils, depending on my mood.

 The preparation of the casserole is infinitely faster if you have a food processor with a slicing blade, but it can still be made with some patients for slicing all of the vegetables thinly (about 1/4 thick).

 First, slice about 4-5 red potatoes either by hand or with food processor.

 Prepare a lasagne pan or a deep roasting pan by drizzling about 2 TBSP of olive oil in the bottom and rotating the pan to cover the bottom.

 Layer the potatoes in the bottom of the pan, covering the entire bottom.  Continue to layer potato slices until all of the holes are covered, this will make a solid bottom for the casserole.




 Sprinkle salt and ground pepper over the layer then sprinkle bread crumbs (use gluten free if desired).  This is important because the raw vegetable will produce a lot of liquid as they bake and you will want the bread crumbs to help absorb some of the liquid.

 Slice your eggplant in the same fashion and then layer the eggplant slices on top of the potatoes.

Sprinkle the eggplant layer again with salt, pepper and bread (panko) crumbs

 Add one package of your favorite vegan cheese (Daiya works really well and makes a nice creamy sauce when baked).  Add a package of veggie burger crumbles or lentils.

 Now cover the casserole so far with one whole bottle of spicy marinara sauce.

 Next slice one whole onion thinly and layer on the casserole, repeat the process with two peppers ( I prefer red, yellow or orange) and slice baby bella mushrooms.

 Slice 2 squash into 1/4 thick rounds (use either yellow/summer squash or zucchini) and layer on top.  Add more salt and pepper.

 Pour a second jar of spicy marinara sauce over the casserole (if desired, you can add more vegan cheese before adding the sauce).

 Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 400 degrees covered.  Remove the foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes uncovered.

 Spicy Italian Vegetable Casserole

2 Tbsp Olive oil

4-5 medium red potatoes- sliced in 1/4" rounds

1 large eggplant sliced in 1/4" rounds 

1 package veggie burger crumbles

2C (or more) Vegan mozzarella cheese (Daiya)

1/2 C panko or italian flavored bread crumbs

1 package slice baby bella mushrooms

1 medium sweet yellow onion sliced thinly

2 sweet peppers (red, yellow or orange) slice in 1/4" ribs

2 zucchini or yellow squash sliced in 1/4" rounds

2 jars spicy red pepper marinara

Salt and pepper to taste

• Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a deep lasagne pan or roaster
• Layer potato slices over the bottom until bottom is fully covered
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste
• Sprinkle with 1/4 C panko
• Layer the eggplant over the potatoes.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and remaining panko
• Add 1 package of Vegan cheese
• Add 1 package of veggie burger crumbles
• Add sliced mushrooms
• Cover the casserole with 1 jar of spicy marinara sauce
• Layer on the onions, sweet peppers and then the squash.
• Sprinkle squash with salt and pepper.
• Cover casserole with second jar of marinara sauce
• Cover casserole tightly with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.
• Uncover casserole and bake an additional 30 minutes uncovered.