Food Hack: Via Mare’s Vegetable Casserole

For our first recipe entry on the blog, we’d like to share our version of Via Mare’s Vegetable Casserole. I first tried it when Mark brought me to a government agency-hosted event at Philippine International Convention Center. I liked it so much that I had to recreate it in our kitchen.

Ingredients

1/2 bulb garlic (chopped)

1 large white onion (sliced)

1 large head of broccoli

1 large carrot (Sliced in wedges)

1 large potato (Sliced in wedges)

1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (Soaked)

1 pack all purpose cream

Melty Cheese

Salt & Pepper

Knorr Savor Rich (for additional flavor)

Directions

1. Saute chopped garlic and onions in butter or oil.

2. Add veggies starting with mushrooms.

We like Shiitake mushrooms because of its full flavor but you may use any mushroom you like. Since we love them, we usually combine 2 kinds. Our rule is that if the first mushroom has a strong flavor, the other one should be mild to complement it like oyster mushrooms or button mushrooms.

Tip: Get the sliced ones already to save time!

3. After the mushrooms have browned a bit, add your root crops as they take a little more time to cook: Carrots and Potatoes.

Tip: To help thoroughly clean your potato, soak it in water with vinegar for an hour, and then scrub the skin with a scrubbing pad. Rinse thoroughly and then cut it. We don’t peel the skin anymore when we do this.

4. Add broccoli and salt and pepper to taste

Tip: No need to cook the veggies through because it will still be baked.

5. Add All purpose cream, simmer, and turn off the heat.

Tip: You may use evaporated milk as substitute, just mix in some thickening agent like cornstarch or flour.

6. Transfer the veggies to a baking pan

7. Top the veggies with melty cheese

Tip: You may choose any cheese you like but what usually marries everything together is a quick melt cheese for its mild flavor but if you like some sharpness to it, try cheddar or parmesan. For us, we buy a grated cheese blend of mozarella and cheddar and add some “fridge staple cheese”.