Summer Sausage-and-Veggie Casserole

This is the type of dish you can mix and match to fit your family's tastes and what was on the CSA table that week. One time, I did a version that used up some old cheese in the fridge and a huge amount of olives that I'd left sitting out on the counter all night. Another time, I did one with eggplant in it, and I have a feeling it would be a great option for folks unsure about eggplant! It keeps really well and is also a great use for that loaf of bread that's hard as a rock on your counter. The images above give an idea for the versatility!

Here's what you need:
Olive oil
Thinly-sliced summer squash/zuchinni and/or eggplant and/or peppers and/or onion
Thickly-sliced tomatoes (I either use plum/paste fresh tomatoes or some sauced-up frozen tomatoes or tomato sauce in place of fresh if they aren’t in season.)
Cooked loose pork sausage, any type
Mushrooms or olives, if desired, added to the pork while cooking
Cheese, if you like!
Breadcrumbs (optional, but yummy. I make my own or just use whatever I have on hand)

First, I make breadcrumbs by food-processing stale bread until it is crumbly and then toasting it with some olive oil and salt. If you don’t want to do this, you can use pre-packaged panko or regular breadcrumbs instead.

If you want to use frozen instead of fresh tomatoes, pour boiling water directly over the frozen tomatoes in a small bowl. When the water has cooled enough to put your fingers in, slip the skins off and transfer the still-frozen tomatoes to a small saucepan and heat until bubbly. If you like, fish out cores or other blemishes, or not! Use an immersion blender to roughly puree and set aside until you’re ready to top the casserole. Below, you can see images of the tomatoes before and after skinning.

I cook the sausage in a skillet while slicing and layering the veggies in a baking dish. I like to put the veggies in the bottom and then the tomatoes and sausage on top and those juices drip down into the veg while its cooking. On top of the veggies, I put the sausage, and then the tomatoes. Sometimes I add dolops of goat chese, feta, or whatever needs using, but it can stand without that for sure. I've tried multiple method of adding the breadcrumbs at the beginning and at the end of cooking, to similar results. But to me, the most important step is to take it out of the oven once or twice during cooking and press it down with the back of a spatula. This helps squeeze juice out of the tomatoes to meld the whole thing together.

In one version, one pound of sausage, and one CSA-serving each of eggplant and summer squash and two CSA-servings (9-ish plum tomatoes) was enough for two 8-inch casseroles or one 9x12.

In another, a pound of sausage, 1.5 CSA servings of summer squash and one ailsa craig onion with 5-6 frozen tomatoes, skinned, stewed and pureed, made the same size dish.

I bake the dish for 30-40 minutes (depends on size and how many veggies you put in the bottom layer) in a 375 degree oven until the veggies are tender and the flavors have melded. It's even better the next day!