We often prepare a tray or two of this before leaving the house for a weekend on the boat. If you use disposable foil trays, it even saves on washing up. There are no hard-and-fast rules with this one, experimentation is the name of the game.
This dish can be popped in the oven and forgotten about while you prepare the barbeque or partake of a G & T.
Serves two to three.
Ingredients:
One courgette
One medium red onion
Half a small butternut squash
One large red pepper
Half a medium aubergine
Half a small punnet of cherry tomatoes
Two tablespoons of good olive oil
Half a dozen cloves of garlic
Two teaspoons of dried oregano
Salt
Pepper
Method:
- Dice all the vegetables except the tomatoes and garlic cloves. Keep the dice fairly small, about 1.5 - 2cm. This will allow the vegetables to cook faster and save on precious gas!
- Place the vegetables together with the whole tomatoes and garlic cloves in a disposable foil tray, add the oregano, season with salt and pepper.
- If you are preparing this at home before your trip, as we do, then cover tightly with foil and place in your cool-box until needed.
- If preparing for immediate cooking add the olive oil, with your hands make sure all the vegetables are coated with the oil. If preparing for later use, just add the oil before cooking as it saves leakage during transport.
- Place covered tray in a moderately hot oven for about 20-25 mins. Remove the foil, turn the veg, and cook uncovered for further 15 minutes, or until the peppers and tomato skins start to blacken at the edges.
Variations
You could use more traditional root vegetables, such as carrot, swede, turnip and potato etc. If this is the case increase the cooking time accordingly and use fresh thyme instead of oregano.
Try soaking some couscous in chicken or vegetable stock, as per the packet instructions, along with the zest of a lemon and a squeeze of lemon juice then adding the cooked veg to this for a delicious and healthy main course. This works best with the Mediterranean ingredients.