Casseroles are a winter food, I have decided.  I never bake casseroles in the spring, summer or fall.  I don’t know why exactly, though I can honestly say that winter veggis taste great baked and it doesn’t hurt to heat the house with an oven on a cold night.

The following is a recipe my friend Noreen Morley sent me (along with a cup of her veg stock) so I could try another fabulous winter casserole in one of my casseroles.  My casseroles can go into a hot oven, as long as they are room temp when they go in.    Once out and empty, these babies are a breeze to clean!  Either hand wash or dishwash, my pots clean up easy.

By the way, Noreen is a wine maker, honey bee keeper, honey collector, shiitaki mushroom grower and mead maker… along with other fabulous things!  Check out her Big Girl Winery, made from fruits grown on her property or pretty darn close!  Visit her winery or find our where you can get some of her fab wines!

Winter Vegetable Cobbler

1 turnip. peeled and cut in bite-sized pieces

1 potato (russet or baking) peeled and diced

2 small parsnips, peeled and sliced

1 small onion, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup parsley

1 cup vegi broth

2 Tb cornstarch

1 tsp salt

pepper to taste

4 Tb butter

COBBLER DOUGH

1 1/4 cup flour

1 Tb baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 Tb butter, chilled and in small pieces

3/4 cup cream

Put the vegis in a large, 8-cup baking dish (preferable clay pot 2 inches deep).  In a small bowl, blend the broth with the cornstarch and pour this over the veggis.  Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well.  Dot the top with butter.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and begin making the cobbler dough:  mix flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor.  Drop chilled butter in and mix, with short bursts, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Slowly add cream to mixture and blend until it just begins to ball up.  Empty dough onto floured board, flatten out and place onto top of baking dish to cover veggis.  Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until lightly browned and veggis are tender.

YUM!