Father’s Day Casserole Recipes Dad Will Love
Father’s Day is coming up and what better gift to give than a Father’s Day casserole? Surprise them with a symphony of flavours served in a hot dish. Accompany with some good bread and beer and share the laden table.
Bean Stew
This is the most simple Father’s Day casserole recipe. Cook some celery, carrots, and onions in hot oil in a casserole dish. Once they soften, add lots of chopped tomatoes, and cannellini or butter beans (from a can or dried and cooked).
Add vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Cover the dish and heat in the oven at 180C for just under an hour and removing the lid for the last 15 minutes. Finish with chopped herbs and olive oil.
Pumpkin Couscous
Starting with hot oil in a casserole dish, cook diced onions, pumpkins, potatoes and carrots until they are start to brown. Add just enough vegetable stock to submerge the vegetables and let it simmer until the vegetables begin to soften. Then cover and move to the oven for about 30 minutes at 180C or until the vegetables are all very soft.
In a separate bowl, combine couscous and boiling water and cover the bowl until the couscous is cooked. Season it with olive oil, salt, and fresh green herbs.
Serve the couscous and vegetables with a lemon wedge on the side.
Ratatouille
For this Father’s Day casserole, start with onions softened in hot oil in a casserole dish. Then, add some aubergine, zucchini, and bell peppers all cut up into small chunks. Once the veggies are tender, add some tomatoes cut into quarters. If the mixture looks dry, add small splashes of water. Sprinkle in some oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper.
Take some thin slices of zucchini and lay them on top of the dish to create a green top layer. Drizzle olive oil over the arranged zucchini slices and add some salt and pepper. Stick it all in the hot oven uncovered until the zucchini is cooked. Remember to add splashes of water if the mixture is too dry. Let your guest if honour cut into the green top first!
Aubergine Lemon
Slice an aubergine lengthwise into thirds (about the thickness of a 300-page paperback) and then in half (so that they can fit nicely in a pan). Pan fry them in olive oil until they are golden brown but not necessarily soft and set them aside in a plate until you have done all of them.
Next, soften chopped onions in hot oil and add crushed canned plum tomatoes and a sun-dried tomatoes to it. Stir in fresh parsley at the end.
Layer sauce, aubergine, and sauce in that order until you have none left. Then, cover the dish and bake in the oven at 180C for 45 minutes or until the aubergine is so soft that you don’t even need teeth to eat it. Finish with some more parsley and serve hot or cold!
Bangers and Mash
This particular Father’s Day casserole is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Peel, cube, and boil potatoes in salty water until they are very soft. Toss the potatoes into a casserole dish with melted butter, salt, and pepper and mash it all together.
Cut up a few sausages (I like Linda McCartney ones) into chunks and pan fry them until they are crispy. Stick the sausages into the mashed potatoes so that they are not sticking out above the potatoes (we don’t want them to burn).
Create swirly patterns with the mashed potatoes and bake in a hot oven (180C) until the swirl marks start to brown. Serve with plain green peas and your favourite gravy.
This Father’s Day, give the gift of a great meal and quality time. If they like to cook then you can even prepare the dish together. If not, make it a surprise!
