This is a great light lunch or side dish and can be varied according to what's in season, what's inexpensive or as the name suggests, what's growing in your own garden right now.
For this version you need:
6 tomatoes, sliced thinly
3 large cloves Australian purple garlic, peeled and sliced into thin slivers
1 fresh cob of corn, husks removed, and kernels cut off with a sharp knife (stand it on end to do this)
3 large field mushrooms, cut into thin slices
4 sprigs fresh basil, leaves only
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, buds removed from stalks
Optional for serving: Pan fried croutons made from stale bread, and/or slivers of Australian Brie
Cooking Spray
Small pie or quiche dish (mine is about 25cms diameter)
Then just:
Preheat your oven to 180C. Spray your pie dish with cooking spray.
Cover the bottom of your dish with one third of the sliced tomatoes. Scatter with a third of the garlic slivers. Sprinkle with a few rosemary buds.
Layer the half of the mushrooms next, followed by half of the corn kernels. Carefully add half of the fresh basil. It should be smelling pretty good by now, and you haven't even cooked it!
Repeat with the next third of the tomatoes followed by the next third of garlic, and the rest of the mushroom slices and corn kernels, and another layer of basil leaves.
Finish with the last of the tomato slices, the last of the garlic and the rest of the rosemary.
Cover your tart loosely, with a large piece of foil, sprayed on the underside with cooking spray to prevent it sticking.
Pop it into the oven for an hour to an hour and a quarter, removing the foil after the first 30 minutes.
While it's cooking prepare your croutons if you're having them. Just remove the crusts from some stale bread, and cut the bread into cubes. Toss the cubes of bread in a little oil, and pan fry them over a medium heat until golden brown. Set them aside to cool.
Prepare your Brie by cutting it into neat slivers and allowing it to come to room temperature to allow the flavour to develop.
Check the casserole regularly, flattening it down with the back of an egg spatula, as it cooks.
When it's reduced in height significantly and the tomatoes on top look cooked and a bit shrivelled, remove it from the oven, and press it down with the back of the egg spatula again.
Use a serving spoon to neatly dish it up onto flat plates, and garnish your Summer Garden Casserole with some fresh basil, and your slivers of Brie or Croutons.
I'm having mine for lunch with Australian Brie.
Deeeee-lish!
Cooked and served photos coming but the site won't allow me to upload those for some reason? I'll try again later.
