Mediteranean vegetable casserole

It's summer veggie season, finally! The gardens, the markets and the shops are full of fresh and delicious vegetables, so let's take advantage of them.

We craved for an easy and light veggie dinner, also my fridge was loaded with tones of veggies, when I decided to bake an easy vegetable casserole.

After an hour I served this tasty vegetarian casserole made with a lot of summer veggies, baked with Mediterranean spices and topped with grated cheese.

It was a huge hit, believe me. If you are a veggie lover, this recipe is must try!

The baked casserole contains five vegetables: eggplant, zucchini, tomato, onion and garlic, the vegetables are seasoned with Mediterranean spices: oregano, basil and rosemary, which give the casserole a special Mediterranean flavor.  The casserole is poured over with a garlicky sauce and topped with cheese.

Preparing the casserole is easy: just cut the veggies into thin slices, lay them off in a prepared baking tray, season them with the spices and besprinkle with sour cream - egg - garlic mixture. Sprinkle the top of casserole with grated cheese and the casserole is ready to bake.

Cook the layered vegetable casserole on medium heat, after 40 minutes this great vegetarian dish is ready. It's a delicious dish by itself and also makes a perfect healthy side dish. If you are a carnivore, like us,  serve the veggies with grilled or fried chicken or pork, as you taste - I served the veggies with cheesy oven-baked chicken breast slices, it was awesome.  The casserole has a special Mediterranean flavor.

This fresh layered veggie casserole is healthy and gluten-free. If you have an abundance of veggies and you are looking for an interesting summer recipe, I recommend trying this Mediterranean casserole!

Level: easy
Cost: average
Diet: vegetarian, gluten-free, low-carb, clean eating

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini
• 2 medium eggplants
• 2 medium red onions
• 6 medium tomatoes
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup |100 g grated cheese
• 1 cup | 200 ml sour cream
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons basil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F.
2. Wash the vegetables. Peel the eggplants and onions, then cut them into 1cm / 1/2" thick slices. Slice the unpeeled zucchinis into the same thin slices.
3. Grease an ovenproof dish with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
4. Lay a line of eggplants on the bottom of the dish, season it with salt, lay a line of onion slices and zucchini slices, season them with salt, finally put the tomato slices. Season with salt, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon oregano, rosemary and chopped basil.
5. Sprinkle the top with cheese.
6. Repeat layering the vegetable slices the same way: first the eggplant, then onion, zucchini and tomato. Season with the spices.
7. Combine the crushed garlic with the sour cream and two beaten eggs, season the mixture with the rest of the Mediterranean spices. Pour the mixture on the top of the layered vegetables.
8. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the rest of the cheese.
9. Put the dish into the preheated oven and cook the veggies slowly for 40 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven when the the cheese is golden brown and the veggies are thoroughly cooked. Serve the casserole warm by itself or as a side dish.

Enjoy!