Three Sisters Casserole

This is the recipe that pushed me to press play on the blog. I submitted this for a contest on http://www.food52.com/ . Taking the step to publish one of my recipes left me unbelievably giddy which made me realize it was time to start the blog. A reader on the Food52 site left a comment that I should name this dish the "The Three Sisters Casserole". I did some internet searching and found out that squash, corn and beans were among the first crops for the Iroquois Indians and were called the "three sisters". The rest is history. No really, look it up....it's history!

2 cans cannellini beans drained 

1.5 cups frozen corn, defrosted

3 cups summer squash, diced

salt ,pepper, oregano to taste

Trader Joe's Lavash Bread (or any crusty bread on hand)

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

Red pepper flakes, pinch

Two handfuls of shredded asiago cheese (or any cheese on hand)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Start by making a tomato sauce of your own or use this simple recipe I adapted from http://www.101cookbooks.com/. In a cold saucepan add 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic minced and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Heat on medium until garlic becomes fragrant (3 minutes). Add the can of tomatoes, 1 tsp oregano and simmer on low while dicing the veggies. Turn off the heat.

Add squash, beans, and corn, to the tomato sauce. The more veggies added the thicker the casserole will be. Begin layering a casserole dish with the veggie mixture, topped by a couple strips of bread, followed by a veggie layer, etc ending with a top layer of bread. On the top layer of bread sprinkle two handfuls of asiago cheese. Bake for about 25-40 minutes until veggies are cooked through, cheese is melted and desired consistency of liquid in the casserole is reached. When serving you can remove the top layer of crusty bread and divide among servings to be used as a "scooper" or utensil. I like to serve with a diced avocado on top.

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