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Very Veggie Pesach 2023: Amish Shipwreck Casserole

I found a recipe online called Amish Shipwreck Casserole. It was a hearty meal, easy to make, just two problems: beef and rice. Rice is traditionally avoided at Passover, and of course meat is not vegetarian! But when I substituted quinoa for the beef and rice, it was a very good meal! And so easy to make, the ingredients are mostly vegetables, readily available for Passover! It's also vegan and gluten-free. And it passed an early taste-test at the home of my longtime Passover tester Rachel and her family! Thanks again, Rachel!

This recipe is basically just a bunch of common vegetables, cut up and layered, and baked for a very long time. That's the main difficulty of this recipe: it bakes for two hours! So don't expect to make this for dinner after you get home from work at 7PM! But on a work-at-home day, you could easily cut up and layer the vegetables in a pan in the morning, leave it in the fridge until you're ready, and stick it in the oven two hours before you want to have dinner. If you're not ready to eat at that point, just turn the oven down to 200 degrees to keep it warm until you're ready. Easy peasy! If you need less food, you can cut the ingredients in half and make it in an 8x8 pan instead of a 9x13 pan, but it will take about the same amount of time and effort and the larger quantity stays very well in the fridge or freezer.

Ingredients:
  • 1 large sweet onion
  • 2 medium potatoes (any kind of potatoes you like: I used russet but I think yellow would be very nice)
  • 2 cups uncooked quinoa
  • 1 cup thinly sliced celery (2 or 3 sticks)
  • 1 cup thinly sliced carrots (3 or 4 carrots)
  • 15 oz can of tomato sauce
  • Optional: a little salt and pepper
  • Optional: 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 
Kashrut Notes:
  • Fresh whole vegetables are commonly understood to not be a problem for Passover. And the vegetables in this recipe are either peeled (potatoes, carrots and removing the outer layer of onion) or easily fully cleaned (celery), so acceptable even to the very strict
  • Quinoa is now generally understood to be kosher for Passover (it wasn't always) but requires certification. I get mine from OhNuts.com
  • Tomato sauce requires kosher for Passover certification, because it may contain mystery ingredients or be exposed to grains in processing. For this recipe, I used a plain old can of tomato sauce, nothing fancy. They are available on OhNuts.com.
  • Sea Salt or salt without iodine does not require KFP certification, but most salt contains iodine. Check the label carefully. FYI: Salt lasts a long time and I have kept my KFP salt locked away with my Passover dishes for several years.
  • Ground spices require KFP certification because they may be exposed to grains. This applies to the pepper. But whole peppercorns are not a problem so maybe a pepper grinder is the way to go!
  • Cheese also requires kosher for Passover certification, but most kosher brands of cheese are marked kosher for Passover year-round. I am particularly partial to Les Petites Fermieres brand, which has pre-shredded bags and blocks of cheese.
... and that's all of the ingredients, including the optional ones!


Preparation:
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
  • Cook the quinoa in boiling water for about 5 minutes - not completely cooked (it will get too mushy in the casserole!), but not uncooked (it won't absorb enough liquid)
  • Slice the onion, cut the slices in half and split up the layers. Place them in the bottom of a deep 9x13 baking pan.
  • Slice the potato and layer the slices over the onions in the pan
  • Drain the quinoa and layer it over the potatoes 
  • If using salt and pepper, sprinkle it over the quinoa layer now
  • Mix the sliced carrots and celery and layer it over the quinoa
  • Pour the tomato sauce over the top
  • Cover with a layer of aluminum foil and bake for at least 2 hours. If using cheese, put that on top after about 90 minutes and re-cover for the last 30 minutes of baking
Once it's finished, leave  it out on the counter for about 10 minutes to cool before serving! 

This probably makes at least 8 servings.

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