For many the word casserole stirs up conflicting reactions. There is, for those of us old enough, a remembrance of those crazy experiments our mothers would put together from the pages of Better Homes & Gardens or the trusty label of Campbell's soup cans. For those that have not seen it there is this little website called the
Gallery of Regrettable Food that will refresh your memory of some of the truly ghastly ideas being touted to the housewives of the '40s and onward to "stretch your dollar".
Then there is the trusty Thanksgiving and holiday favorite, the Green Bean Casserole(which I personally love but strikes terror in many hearts due to the overly salty, gloppy rendition it gives of green beans). Smothered in canned condensed cream of mushroom soup and topped with the canned french fried onions that seem to defy all the laws of nature it was the dish that put the condensed soup into a starring role as a pantry essential for the busy housewife in the '50's. Believe it or not the original agreement between Campbell's and French's to publish the recipe on their products STILL stands! Just look at a can of French Fried Onions and there it is! But the word also conveys a comforting feeling, remembering Mom's tuna casserole, homemade macaroni and cheese or various other concoctions that are warm, hearty and often bring to mind potluck dinners and church suppers in the chill autumn and winter months. So I would like to share with you some of my favorite variations and renditions of the hearty budget friendly dish we call the casserole and discover a little bit more about it's history and cultural applications.
First off when consulting Wikipedia or Alton Brown (who had a great episode on Casseroles that you can read the transcript from here casserole means both the cooking vessel as well as the food. Casseroles tend to have a simple formula: some kind of meat, vegetables, a starchy binder and a crunchy topping that are baked uncovered in an oven until bubbly and browned on top. Technically there are many different categories of casseroles even if we call them by different terms. I'd like to offer some examples of these as well as the more traditional.
Homestyle
Now, when I say homestyle I am referring to those casseroles that usually come to mind: tuna noodle, green bean, etc. As I mentioned above I do love the traditional Green Bean casserole but when given the opportunity I like to make a homemade and healthier version. In other words, skip the canned items in favor of from scratch ingredients.
Green Bean Casserole
1 lb fresh green beans trimmed and snapped in half
1/2 lb chopped white mushrooms
2 tblsp butter
2 tblsp flour
1 cup milk
1 tblsp soy sauce
1 8oz can of sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 1/2 cups of crispy Chow Mein Noodles,1/2 cup set aside
Steam the green beans until crisp-tender then shock in cold water to retain color and stop the cooking process. In a deep saute pan melt the butter and saute the mushrooms seasoning with a bit of fresh ground black pepper and salt until golden brown and tender. Sprinkle the flour over them and incorporate until the butter is incorporated and smells nutty. Whisk in the milk and bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Add the water chestnuts, 1 cup of chow mein noodles and soy sauce to the green beans in a greased casserole dish and pour the mushroom sauce over. Gently fold to combine. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of chow mein noodles over the top and bake at 425 until bubbly and browned on top.
Now, tuna casserole is one of those things that I will make using a homemade cheese sauce or with condensed soup depending on time and what I have on hand. Here's one of my iterations using condensed soup.
Tuna Casserole Redux
2 cans of tuna drained
2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup condensed
About 2 cups of water
1 lb of macaroni uncooked
1 can of green beans drained
About 1 cup of chopped cooked ham
1 tblsp (about a palmful) curry powder
1 tblsp of dry mustard
1 tsp of paprika
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup of shredded Cheddar
1 cup of shredded Mozzarella
About a cup of bread crumbs
2 tblsp of melted butter
Cook macaroni in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain then return to pot.
Dump tuna, green beans,ham, soup and water into pot and mix until combined well. Add cheeses and fold into mixture allowing the residual heat from the pasta to start to melt them. Season with curry, mustard, paprika and salt & pepper and mix in well then taste to adjust seasonings.
Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 9x13 baking dish. Dump mixture into the baking dish and spread evenly. Cover top with bread crumbs then pour the melted butter over the top. Bake for about half an hour to 45 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and crumbs are golden brown on top.
Let set for about 15 minutes then serve.
Now, I know this is not "true" Shepherd's Pie but this is what my mom made when I was growing up and she called it that. Besides, I'm not a fan of lamb anyway;)
Shepherd's Pie Like My Mom Used to Make
Brown a couple of lbs of ground beef with salt, pepper, onion and garlic. Add some cumin, paprika and cayenne to taste. Drain off fat.
Boil 5-6 good sized potatoes (peeled of course!) and when fork tender mash with butter and a bit of milk to get a good smooth texture. Salt liberally. Them taters soak up lots of salt!
Spread ground beef in bottom of 9x13 baking dish then dump and spread 2 cans of corn (whole or cream style is up to you, although cream style will result in a goopier texture)
Top with mashed potatoes, spreading with a fork evenly to cover all the way to the sides.
Sprinkle with a bit of paprika.
Bake at 425 until bubbling and top is golden brown.
Let rest and set for about 15 minutes then serve. If you have some parmesan to sprinkle on top I highly recommend!
Now there are a ton of great Macaroni and Cheese recipes and I just make mine pretty simply by making a cheese sauce and then pouring it over cooked macaroni and adding lots of shredded cheddar cheese and topping with bread crumbs or cracker crumbs. But if you want the ultimate I highly recommend this cookbook that I borrowed from my local library a year ago and is now on my wishlist because it is full of wonderful recipes for casseroles:
Best Cover & Bake Recipes
Crust Casseroles
This category would include dishes such as quiches, pot pies and something my mom discovered when I was a teen: The Impossible Pies from Bisquick. Instead of just a crispy topping as implied these have a bottom crust. Now, noweasels treated us a to a wonderful diary about chicken pies here a few weeks back so I'm not going to cover pot pies. Quiche is one of those things left to it's own diary (much like lasagna which I'll discuss in a little bit) but I will mention that frozen puff-pastry is a great shortcut for making pot pies in a pinch for those of us not adept at making pie crust. Here's a Steak and Mushroom Pot Pie recipe I clipped from a magazine recently for a good example. Now the Impossible Pie recipes can be found on this website and I have to admit this is my favorite one:
Impossible Taco Pie
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 1/4 cups milk
3 eggs
3/4 cup Bisquick Baking Mix
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 cup shredded Monterey jack or Cheddar cheese
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch pie plate.
Cook and stir ground beef and onion in 10-inch skillet until beef is brown; drain. Stir in dry taco seasoning mix. Spread in plate; sprinkle with chiles.
Beat milk, eggs and baking mix until smooth, 15 seconds in blender on high or 1 minute with hand beater. Pour into plate. Bake 25 minutes.
Top with tomatoes; sprinkle with cheese. Bake until cheese is golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean, 8 to 10 minutes longer.
Cool 5 minutes.
Serve with sour cream, chopped tomatoes and shredded lettuce if desired.
Cassoulet
Cassoulet is a traditional French dish that is typical of the hearty peasant fare of southwestern France. There are many variations but traditionally it would have pork, poultry (such as duck or goose more than likely), sausages and white beans. What makes it so rich and hearty is the cooking of the meats with the beans so they are full of flavor. In Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" it is suggested that while it can be made in one day often a 2-3 day leisurely process will result in the best flavors. As much as I would love to do this I opted first to try a much simpler and quicker variation. What I came up with is loosely based on 2 recipes I found on Epicurious.com; one for a "quick cassoulet" and one for a "white bean and tomato gratin".
Quick "Cassoulet" Supper
To start I measured out 2 cups of dried Great Northern white beans. With all dried legumes you want to sort through them for any small pebbles or other organic non-edible stuff then rinse in cold water. Dump rinsed beans into a large stock pot and add 1 whole peeled clove of garlic, a couple of bay leaves, 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme and about 2 tsp of kosher salt. Add 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Let boil for about 2 minutes then reduce heat and simmer covered for about 2 hours or until beans are tender but not splitting open. Drain the beans and discard the bay leaves and the thyme stems which are left behind.
Cook 4-5 sweet Italian sausages that have been pricked lightly with a fork all over in a large deep skillet in 1/2 cup of water for 10 minutes covered. Remove lid and cook for another 10 minutes letting the liquid evaporate and the sausages brown lightly. You will get some browned residue in the bottom of the skillet which will be very important for developing flavors so it is best to use a stainless steel pan for this and not non-stick! Remove the sausages to a plate to cool while you continue.
While the sausages are cooking chop 1 med. yellow or white onion and 1 clove of garlic. After you have removed the sausages from the pan drop heat to low and add about 2 tblsp of olive oil and let heat through then add the onion and saute until onion is softened. As you stir the onion scrape the pan and the onions will take on lots of deep brown from the pan drippings. Add the garlic and then season with salt and pepper. Take about 3 sprigs of thyme and starting at the tip run your fingers down to the bottom stripping off the leaves into the pan. Then add a couple of tsp of oregano and basil. Stir to combine then add 2 cans of diced tomatoes with liquid to the pan and stir scraping up all the brown drippings from the bottom of the pan. Allow to come to a simmer and taste for seasoning.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
By now the sausages will be cool enough to handle. Cut into 1" pieces. In a 13x9 baking dish or large casserole add the beans, sausage and tomato mixture and carefully stir to combine. Take 3-4 slices of crusty white French bread and tear off the crusts. These can be saved for other uses. Take the bread and tear into small pieces and saute in about 1 tblsp of olive oil until golden brown. Scatter across the top of the "cassoulet" and then if desired add fresh grated Parmigiano or Romano cheese. Bake for 1 hour uncovered until juices are bubbling on the sides and bread topping is browned. Serve warm or at room temperature with a nice green salad, slices of French bread and some red wine for a hearty French/Italian country style dinner.
Gratins
Probably best known in this category would be Potatoes au Gratin but Gratins are a category of casseroles which can include potatoes as well as various vegetables. One of my favorite creations is made with cauliflower:
Cauliflower and Green Apple Gratin w/Swiss
Cauliflower works really well for this as it is somewhat mild in flavor and the texture comes out so well. Because I was serving this with a nice honey mustard glazed ham I was inspired to add the tart Granny Smith apple and use Swiss instead of a more typical Cheddar although that would work as well.
1 medium sized head of cauliflower
2 cups of shredded Swiss cheese
1 Granny Smith apple cubed
2 tblsp of butter
2 tblsp of flour
1 cup of milk
Trim the head of cauliflower and then blanch in boiling water and drain. Dump the cauliflower into a casserole dish along with the apple breaking up any big chunks of cauliflower as needed to fit in the dish. I used an 8" round dish.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan (you can use the same one you blanched the cauliflower in) and add flour to make a light roux. Season with a bit of salt and pepper and after the roux has cooked for a minute or two add the milk and whisk or stir to incorporate the roux. Turn the heat up and continue stirring to make sure the roux is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once the sauce comes to a boil or nearly there it will thicken up nicely. Once it has done this turn off the heat and add the grated cheese a handful at a time stirring as it melts in. Once all the cheese is in and melted taste for seasoning then pour over the cauliflower & apple. Bake in a 350 ° oven for about 20 minutes or until the top is slightly golden brown. You can also add some breadcrumbs on the top before baking if you want a nice bit of crunchy topping.
Lasagna & Pasta Casseroles
Lasagna really does deserve it's own diary but technically it is a type of casserole when you think about it I wanted to give it a mention. Layers of pasta, meat sauce, cheese and baked until bubbly and browned on top. Yum. I have made killer lasagna numerous times and I've even received marriage proposals from both men and women over it. I've also made an "Almost Vegan Lasagna" as well as a Butternut Squash Lasagna.
"Almost Vegan Lasagna"
This was 2 firsts for me: 1)cooking eggplant for the first time (it came out fine, no bitterness!) and 2) using tofu in place of ricotta. It turned out fantastic and I am happy to say a guest who unexpectedly came over said if I hadn't told him he would not have known it was not ricotta!
This was inspired by the fact that the last time I made lasagna my roommate could not enjoy it as she is lactose intolerant. So I wasn't worried so much about making this completely vegan as I was about replacing the ricotta and mozzarella cheese in the making. And my local grocery store had really good prices on zucchini, eggplant and mushrooms! I figured the small amount of Parmesan would be tolerable for her, hence the "Almost" in the title.
2 16 oz. pkgs silken tofu
1 med. eggplant
3 med. zucchini
1 sm onion
1 pkg. pre-sliced mushrooms (about 2 cups)
2 cloves garlic
2-3 tblsp olive oil & 2 tblsp butter
1 32 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce
1 pkg. no-bake lasagna sheets
1 8 oz. pkg of lactose-free mozzarella (soy or rice)
about 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesano Reggiano
about a 1/4 tsp of: garlic powder, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flake
about a tblsp of oregano
Veggie Ragout:
Cut ends off eggplant, halve and slice into 1/4" thick pieces. Larger end pieces may need to be quartered for uniformity. Salt liberally and drain in colander for about an hour. When eggplant is nearly ready chop onion and garlic and saute in deep pan in butter/olive oil mixture seasoned with salt & pepper. Add mushrooms once onion starts to turn transparent. Toss to coat and slice zucchini into round slices about 1/4" thick. Add to pan and toss to coat. Rinse eggplant in cold water and drain well then add to pan and toss to coat. Season with a bit more salt and pepper. Let veggies saute until just beginning to get tender. Add the spaghetti sauce and mix well. Turn heat down to low simmer.
Tofu "Ricotta"filling:
Dump both pkgs of tofu into large mixing bowl and add the last 3 ingredients. Using a potato masher or large fork break mixture down and blend together until it resembles ricotta.
In a 9x13 baking pan coat bottom with a bit of tomato sauce from veggie ragout. Assemble layers starting with lasagna noodles then ragout then tofu ricotta mixture and sprinkle about 1/3 of mozzarella and then repeat. Top layer will be mostly ragout and then finish with a layer of noodles and mozzarella on top. Cover and bake at 400 degrees F for about 45 minutes then remove foil and bake until top cheese starts to brown.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 15-20 minutes to set then cut with a sharp knife to serve.
* I wanted to add some cheesy zing to the tofu mixture and Parmesan seemed like it would be a good way to do this and still be ok for my lactose intolerant roommate. Obviously this recipe would be easy to make completely vegan by omitting the parmesan as well as the butter in the veggie ragout.
And now Lasagna's cousin Baked Ziti is similar to lasagna in that it has the ricotta, meat sauce and mozzarella but instead of sheets of pasta it uses small pasta shapes such as ziti or rotini or in this case shells.
Lasagna-style Casserole
2 cups medium whole wheat shells cooked al dente and drained
1 lb ricotta cheese
2 cups meat sauce (recipe follows)
2 cups shredded mozzarella
Fold meat sauce, ricotta cheese and about a cup of the mozz into the cooked pasta in a casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining mozz on top and bake until bubbly and top is melted and browned slightly.
Meat Sauce for Lasagna/Baked Ziti etc.
1 lb ground beef (I use 93/7 fat so I don't need to drain it off)
1/2 lb Italian sausage
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (use fire-roasted or Italian seasoned for extra oomph)
1 small can of tomato paste
Brown ground beef and sausage in large saute pan or pot until cooked through lightly seasoning with salt and pepper. Add can of tomato paste and diced tomatoes w/juices and enough water to barely cover meat. Simmer over med-low heat for about an hour and taste for seasoning. The longer it simmers the better the taste so if you have time go ahead and simmer away until you are ready to assemble your lasagna or other dish.
Whew! I had a lot more to add here but I think it's getting pretty lengthy as it is so I'll stop for now. As you can see casseroles may have started as a way to stretch a dollar and stretch small amounts of meat but they have experienced a resurgence as we hit difficult economic times again and as chefs get creative and elevate the simple humble dishes using things like lobster and truffles (the mushroom kind, not the chocolates!) to make Mac-n-Cheese a gourmet dish. But more than anything casseroles are a very interesting glimpse into mid-century Americana. Different regions have their own specialties and casseroles make appearances on tables everywhere with different names such as Minnesota hotdish, Hungarian goulash, American chop suey. Please share your favorites in the comments!