Roast Veg & Sausage Casserole

I'm always scared of trying out new veggies. Hubby doesn't eat many veggies, so if I try something new and he doesn't like it, I'm forced to eat it all. Hence there's this enormous pressure to make sure it tastes delicious. I finally tried fennel! After passing it by so many times during my many grocery shopping trips, I finally took the plunge and bought one. It had lots of the fronds on it so I used it as garnish. I figure if I roast the veg, it should be fine right? Roasting veg is the best way to have any veg!

So here's what I did with the fennel bulb I bought...after chopping everything into bite sized pieces anyway. The sausage is pretty salty so I didn't give it to K. But he ate up all the veggies and potatoes. He even had the roasted garlic! I do hope that boy will continue loving onions and garlic as he gets older. :)


Roast Veg & Sausage Casserole
(serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 fennel bulb, chopped
• 2 Yukon gold potatoes, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 lb garlic sausage, chopped
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp dried Italian herbs
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Handful of fennel fronds (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a large bowl, combine chicken stock, olive oil, herbs, garlic and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Mix well.
3. Add in veggies, potatoes and garlic sausage and toss/stir until well coated.
4. Pour everything into a large (2L) casserole dish. Cover with a lid (or wrap tightly with aluminum foil). Bake for 45 minutes, or until veggies are fork tender.
5. Take out of the oven and add the balsamic vinegar. Mix everything and then bake for another 10-15 minutes, uncovered.
6. Set on the counter to rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with the fennel bulb fronds (optional) and serve in a bowl.