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Friday, September 18, 2009

September 14, 2009: Leftover makeover - silverbeet & celery gratin

Regular fruit & veg deliveries from Green Line have challenged us to plan our meals a little more. This week the celery and silverbeet threatened to wilt first, so I devised this vegan gratin as a weeknight side:
  • The first layer is chopped onion, silverbeet and celery - stalks, leaves and all - sauteed until soft in a little olive oil;
  • I poured a white sauce over the vegetables, which was made of olive oil & flour, soy milk, leftover cashew cheese and a seasoning of pepper and powdered 'chicken' stock;
  • Finally I sprinkled breadcrumbs over the top and baked it all until nicely browned.
It was delightful! Michael went back for seconds at dinner and claimed the last portion for lunch. It's a new approach for me that I'm hoping will become a habit, taking inspiration from seasonal produce, foods already in the fridge and pantry, and adaptable techniques that don't require a recipe.

6 comments:

  1. We got silverbeet & celery too, I might try this! Looks good!

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  2. silverbeet and celery can be a challenge for me - I like the sound of this - but I have avoided the veg box delivery partly because I worry about not having control over which veg I buy (after having a bad experience with this in the past)

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  3. convincing tim to eat celery might be too much of a challenge, but this looks like a really great way to use up the massive amount of silverbeet our garden has given us

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  4. this looks great - i'm not even going to bother trying to convince tim to eat celery though - avid hater, but the silverbeet in our garden has exploded into life and this looks like a great way to use it up

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  5. Mmmm I love both silverbeet and celery and this sounds like a wonderful way to eat both!

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  6. Hi Penny - no need to make the cashew cheese in full, some ground cashews (or other nuts or nut butter!) will do the job. :-)

    Johanna, I was unsure about that too but we've not been unhappy with the goods yet. This service offers pick-your-own options too but I imagine it costs a bit more.

    Pip, the celery certainly isn't necessary - I think I'll be repeating this formula with just about any bake-friendly veges that need to be used up. :-)

    Thanks, Vegetation! I was pleasantly surprised by this dish.

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