A Quick and Easy Lunch

I know I have once again managed to disappear but I guess that’s going to be the case for the next couple of months. My PhD program is at last coming to an end (hopefully). So now I have a research proposal to submit in March and then a written and oral proposal defense right after that. So March is pretty much going to be a very, very busy month. As for now I will try my best to post atleast once every week. This afternoon I wanted to make something quick and easy before we left for the lab. I was searching for ingredients in the refrigerator and the pantry. I found some onions, potatoes, green peas, sausages and some eggs. Obviously these ingredients come together best in a casserole. I also like to add a little crispness to the casserole, like a pie crust.

 

It took about 45-55 minutes to prepare, cook and bake this dish. It will easily serve about 4-5 persons.

Ingredients:

1. 2 gold potatoes (chopped into 1/2 inch pieces)
2. 1 small red onion (sliced)
3. 1 cup green peas
4. 2 teaspoons olive oil
5. 1/2 cup chopped coriander
6. 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
7. 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8. 3/4 teaspoon salt
9. 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
10. 2 hot Italian sausages (Use more if you like more meat in the casserole)
11. 4 tablespoons of grated cheese
12. 3 eggs
13. 1/4 cup flour
14. 1/4 cup milk
15. 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Directions

• Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil and add the mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter add 1/2 teaspoon, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the chopped coriander leaves. Stir the spices and the coriander leaves together. 
• Now add the sliced red onions and saute the onions till they soften (about 5 minutes).
• Next add the potatoes and the green peas and stir till all the spices and the vegetables mix together thoroughly.
• Add a few teaspoons of water and cover and cook for about 5-10 minutes.
• In the meanwhile prepare a baking dish by applying 1/2 teaspoon of butter all over the dish.
• Once the vegetables have softened, transfer the vegetables into the baking dish.
• Remove the cover from the sausages and crush it into small pieces.
• Cove the sausages in a pan till thoroughly cooked, then transfer it into the baking dish over the layer of vegetables.
• Sprinkle the grated cheese over the sausages.
• Pre-heat the oven to 374 degree F.
• Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the flour, milk, cream, and remaining salt and pepper to it.
• Pour this mixture over the sausages and bake the casserole for about 25-35 minutes or till the crust is a golden brown.
• To test if the casserole is completely baked, insert a toothpick into the casserole and if it comes out clean, it’s ready to be taken out of the oven.

We loved the casserole and I am definitely going to try different combinations of vegetables, spices and meat. And this is definitely a recipe that I am going to repeat pretty often. Hope you enjoy the recipe too. And I am definitely going to try my best to atleast post one recipe every week. There is a pav bhaji recipe that I most definitely have to post soon. Which I will because I have a lot of potatoes leftover from my last trip to the grocery store.