- 2 lbs. Russet or New potatoes
- 6 Tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- 1½ lbs. ripe plum tomatoes
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1½ teaspoons basil, crushed
- ⅔ lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced
- 4 eggs, hard cooked
- ⅔ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 green onions, chopped
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch casserole.
- Boil the potatoes until they are just barely tender, drain them, peel them and cut them crosswise in fairly thick slices.
- Melt the butter and pour 2 Tablespoons or less in the bottom of the 9x13-inch pan.
- Arrange the potato slices in the casserole in one layer and salt them. Slice the tomatoes and arrange the tomato slices on top of the potatoes.
- Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and pepper and the basil. Slice or shred the mozzarella, and arrange the cheese on top of the tomatoes.
- Peel and coarsely chop the eggs. Combine them in a bowl with the remaining 4 Tablespoons of melted butter, the chopped parsley, the chopped green onions 1/2 teaspoon salt and some pepper. Toss the mixture together until it is thoroughly mixed.
- Spread the egg mixture evenly over the cheese and sprinkle the casserole with the Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (or until the mixture is bubbling and the cheese is lightly browned on top).
DESCRIPTION: Fresh Chives, basil, cilantro, dill, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme are often used as spices or garnishing.
Please Note: Curly leaf parsley is very difficult to check. It is therefore recommended that only flat leaf parsley be used.
INFESTATION: Aphids, thrips and other insects may often be found on the leaves and stems of these herbs. Insects tend to nestle in the crevices between the leaves and branches of herbs. These insects can curl up and stick to the leaf once they come in contact with water.
Vegetable spinners, power hoses, and light boxes are not always available in the home. We therefore recommend the following alternate procedure.
RECOMMENDATION: In order to determine if a particular bunch of herbs is infested prior to washing, bang it several times over a white cloth. This is most important when checking oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme. If only one or two insects are found proceed with the steps below. If three or more insects are detected in a particular bunch of herbs it should not be used.
- Soak herbs in a solution of cold water and vegetable wash. The proper amount of vegetable wash has been added when some bubbles are observed in the water. (In the absence of vegetable wash, several drops of concentrated unscented liquid detergent may be used. However, for health reasons, care must be taken to thoroughly rinse off the soapy solution.)
- Agitate the herbs in the soapy water, in order to loosen the sticking excretion of the bugs.
- Using a heavy stream of water, thoroughly wash off the soap and other foreign matter from the herbs.
- Check both sides of each leaf under direct light.
- If one or two insects are found, rewash the herbs.
- If any insects are found after repeating the agitation process twice, the entire bunch must be discarded.
Please note: To prepare herbs such as cilantro, dill or parsley for use in soups wash them thoroughly and place in a cooking bag.