This recipe has a variety of healthy and seasonal vegetables from across certain parts of the country that come together in a flavorful, vegetarian-friendly (omitting the bacon) breakfast or brunch casserole. It’s a great alternative if you have vegetarian friends like me, having an option that they would love.

However, if you want to make a meaty version of this breakfast brunch casserole for the carnivores, add some cooked, crumbled sausage meat to the layers or shredded rotisserie chicken from your local deli or grocery store for a more substantial breakfast. If you have leftovers of this recipe, it is great cold and reheated in the microwave if you use one.

I made this recipe in a 13 x 9 x 2 or 2½” casserole dish, greased or sprayed. You can use any bacon you wish and switch up the veggies as you like. Just remember, you need to part roast or sauté some veggies to release some water from those that contain a high amount of water, as this will really make your casserole soggy if you don’t.




Ingredients

Olive oil
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
4 yellow (banana) squash, diced or sliced ¼”
1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced ½” rounds
1/2 large red onion, halved, sliced thin
Medium sized russet potatoes, peeled, sliced ¼”
3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
5 thick slices Applewood smoked bacon, cooked & chopped
5 oz. bag Arugula, torn
10 large eggs
1 tsp. Herb de Provence
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 tsp. ground or grated nutmeg

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1. Layer the eggplant on a cookie sheet on paper towels. Sprinkle each layer with kosher salt and let sit for at least 10 minutes. You can stack the layers using paper towels in between during this procedure. Rinse, pat dry and cut the rounds into quarters. Set aside. Peel and slice the potatoes into ¼” rounds. Set in a bowl of water to remove a little starch, changing the water at least once. Pat dry before baking.

2. Separately, toss the squash, eggplant, potatoes and onion with a little olive oil and season with light salt and ground black pepper. Place the veggies individually onto cookie sheets with a lip, working in batches if necessary and roast for 12 minutes. Let the veggies cool a little before layering into the casserole. While the veggies are cooking, beat the eggs with ¼ cup whipping cream adding the nutmeg and combine well.

3. Divide the potatoes into two and layer half of them into the bottom of the casserole. Continue layering the veggies, bacon and cheese in a repetitive manner. Pour the egg mixture over the casserole and bake until a knife comes out clean, approximately 40-50 minutes.

If you wish to add a little crust of cheese onto the top, and then take the casserole out a little before you think it’s done and sprinkle a healthy amount of cheese on top. Bake for a further 15 minutes or place it under your broiler for 5 minutes or so.