Sformato di Verdure – Garden Vegetable Bake with Melty Cheese

Sformato di Verdure – a rustic garden vegetable bake with melty cheese, full of seasonal flavour and homemade comfort. This simple, satisfying dish uses freshly picked spinach, chard, peas, broad beans, and zucchini flowers, folded into a warm flan of potatoes, mozzarella, and cheddar. It’s the kind of meal that tastes even better the next day, ideal for summer lunches, picnics, or just a quiet moment at home. In this final episode of my From Patch to Plate mini-series, I harvest a little of everything from our garden, no single ingredient takes over. This is a true example of zero-waste, homegrown Italian cooking. As always, I show every step, from picking to plating.

Please let me know what you think in the comments. And thank you to all of you who asked for more dishes like this, your suggestions are already shaping future episodes.

📺 Watch the full From Patch to Plate mini-series:

🌱 Episode 1: Sautéed garden greens (chard & spinach): https://youtu.be/j1y9j7SwX4s

🧀 Episode 2: Ricotta nudie – Tuscan dumplings, no flour: https://youtu.be/VHVJvzUBwdk

🥚 Episode 3: Golden frittata with leftover stems: https://youtu.be/0BtlnV3jjcc

🍲 Episode 4: Minestrone risotto with garden stock: https://youtu.be/wK2CqE1WmzE

🥟 Episode 5: Pork & greens in crisp puff pastry: https://youtu.be/4AtMT93V0VE

Sformato di Verdure – Garden Vegetable Bake with Melty Cheese ← you are here.

📺 Watch the full series here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5hyv3uIw40UbUMvSy5Gkkh4k2V_Ri2z7

👉 Subscribe for more: youtube.com/@TortellinoTime

00:00 Picking garden vegetables
04:42 Prepping peas, beans & zucchini flowers
06:02 Cooking vegetables with garlic & herbs
07:14 Mashing potatoes & building the mixture
08:46 Assembling and baking the sformato
14:08 Tasting and serving advice

INGREDIENT LIST (as used in the video)
250g peas and broad beans (shelled weight)
3 zucchini flowers, chopped
A handful of spinach and chard, washed and chopped
1 large clove garlic, crushed
A few basil leaves, chopped
Small handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
500g boiled garden potatoes
125g mozzarella, torn
125g mature cheddar, grated
1 large egg
2 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
A few knobs of butter
Salt and pepper to taste

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Start by preparing all vegetables: shell the peas and broad beans, chop spinach, chard, zucchini flowers, and herbs. Gently cook the garlic in olive oil, add peas, broad beans, and zucchini flowers. Add a little water, cover, and simmer. After 5 minutes, add spinach and chard. Let it wilt with the lid on for another few minutes.

Meanwhile, mash the boiled potatoes in a large bowl – leave a bit of texture. Mix in salt, cheddar, mozzarella, chopped herbs, and the cooked vegetables (with their liquid). Let it cool slightly, then add the egg and mix well.

Oil and breadcrumb an oven dish, then add the mixture, press it down, and top with more breadcrumbs and a few knobs of butter. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30 minutes. Let it cool for at least 20 to 30 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or cold – it’s even better the next day.

#sformatodiverdure #vegetablebake #frompatchtoplate #tortellinotime #italianhomecooking #gardenrecipes #tortellino #vegetablebake #vegetarian

Ciao and benvenuti! We were back from Sicily 
yesterday, and I have to be honest, it feels like we’re still in Sicily. The temperature here 
is about 30°C – very, very warm. But it’s not going to stop me from picking something from the 
garden and making another vegetable meal. Today, I’m looking to make a Sformato di Verdure, which 
is like a vegetable flan, and I’m picking just a variety of pieces. I will be picking also some 
broad beans. I’ll show you in a moment. Not a lot, just a bit of everything, so that we don’t 
have a single ingredient that takes over. So, a handful of peas over here. These 
are ready. They are full, actually, while we’ve been away. Everything has grown 
mad and absolutely beautiful. From that, it’s a nice one here done. You probably need 
more of those than you think because, you know, literally inside you’ve only got five or six peas. Yeah, OK. These are mange-tout, but 
I’m still going to need to be wild while we are on holiday. Let’s go. 
Teasing. So I’ll show you here. Look, I’m going to pick them also. So they’re larger. 
Yes, they’ll have a nice variety to have. That’s really sweet too, aren’t they? No. Oh my God. We need to pick a load of 
these tomorrow and take them around to everybody. It seemed like a good idea at the time 
when we planted them. We’ve got more than what we can cope with. So we will be cutting some today, 
but also we’ll be bringing some to do tomorrow. We’re going out for dinner tomorrow, so I’m 
sure that she’ll appreciate some peas and some beans. And these are some of my favourite broad 
beans. They are absolutely delicious, actually. Some of you have asked me what we grow in our 
garden because they are quite sweet. Definitely, there are. So we’ve got two varieties: on 
the left-hand side, something called “lost the opt” (I’m not sure if my pronunciation 
is any good), and the ones on the right, they’re called the Boneyard exhibition. So 
there you go, if you want to grow the same, you know where they are. But they are really, 
really nice. So they’re not very big, actually, and I think that’s partly because it’s 
not a good year this year – it’s a bit dry here. But especially, they’re so tasty 
because they are nice and tender. Anyway, I will pick a few of those also for 
my verdura. It adds variety and taste. I will be picking up some spinach and some chard 
in a minute, but I’m inside Julie’s greenhouse right now. I’m picking a little parsley, as I 
will need this also for additional flavour. Got some tomatoes, but they’re not ready yet. And over 
here, there is also some basil. So I’ll go right down low, otherwise, you’ll turn me off, and I’ll 
pick a good couple of them. And this, by the way, is a zucchini plant, and the fruit will be a 
very long zucchini. It looks more like a snake, actually. I think they’re called serpent 
zucchini. You can also eat the leaves, and this will grow and grow and grow. I promise 
you. I will show you what it looks like once the zucchini is formed. Literally, they get this long. 
Yeah, I don’t know that it’ll get that long in my little greenhouse, but we’ll see. We cannot help 
it, and I’ll make a beautiful pasta. I’ve made it before on the channel, but obviously, it’s 
difficult to make your own from your own fruit. And you will recognise this from my 
previous videos that I’m also pinching a little chard and will also be attacking 
some of the spinach in a moment. Again, I will not use a lot, but enough 
to give it flavour in addition. You’ve got enough for Tesco’s, I think, 
or other supermarkets are available. I said, “Can you just take that long stem 
out? Because it’s trying to go to seed, as it’s so hot.” So, if you can cut it 
right, take that stem right down low. Well, this one here? OK. There you go. Lovely, because you can use all of that. I don’t know 
if you want to use the stem or the leaves. Hi, Lisa. Yeah, I’ll use the leaves. And 
I’m in the spinach jungle now. That will be my last vegetable for today. Again, a good 
handful to complement the dish. And by the way, look at this! I think I’ve shown it before – 
this is the cleaner plant. We did have a few, but I think Julie planted them 
somewhere on holiday. Yeah, my mum had some given walking in the garden, 
but you can see there’s some more. So, we will put a little coming. I’ve got 1, 2, 3, 
4, if not 5 on there – 5, I think. And otherwise, the round ones again, they’re very small now. 
Tiny, but you can see them just forming. And a few tomatoes on my outside tomato plum. 
That’s unheard of in the UK this early. Wow. OK, I think I’ve got enough. It’s been so. I’ll 
see you in those, and I’ll start cooking. Also, every year again, I have washed 
all of my vegetables. Also, I have shelled all of my broad beans and 
peas together. They weigh, by the way, 250 grams. You don’t have to use broad beans 
and peas. You can use just broad beans, peas, or a combination of both. That’s the beauty of 
picking your own vegetables from the garden. Also, Julia has donated me three zucchini flowers 
over here, so I will be using those. I’ve got here one large clove of garlic, 
and you see me picking some parsley and some basil. I will be using also 
some potatoes. These are potatoes, which, again, I’ve picked from our garden 
this morning. I have boiled them already, and they’ve cooled down, and there are about 
500 grams in weight. I have created a fresh bowl of mozzarella – 125 grams – and also I’ve 
got here some cheddar cheese, again 125 grams, which is grated. And also, in terms of the 
ingredients, I’ve got 1 egg, one large egg, and only using a few dried breadcrumbs, 
olive oil, salt, and pepper, as always. And, as often is the case with these dishes, 
I’ll start with a little olive oil and garlic, which I’ve just crushed. My temperature is 
on medium-high at the moment, and my garlic has been sizzling for a good 30 seconds. I’ll 
start by adding my peas and my broad beans. I’m reading everything at the moment on a high 
temperature, but I’m going to add a tiny little amount of water. A quick mix, and I’ll turn the 
temperature down, and I’ll place the lid on, and I will leave them now to gently cook for 
about 4 to 5 minutes – enough for the peas and for the broad beans to soften. You 
might not be aware of it, but actually, you can eat the zucchini flowers. But I’m going 
to just chop them up into small pieces like this, and I’ll add them to my peas and broad beans so 
that they can start releasing some early flavours. Five minutes on, and then my beans and peas will 
be partly cooked, and they smell really good, I have to say. So, a gentle mix, and I can now 
add the rest of my chopped chard and spinach. And I’m not going to mix anything, as this 
will go down in volume considerably. I just place the lid on, and I will leave it to gently 
cook on medium heat for another 5 to 7 minutes, which is the perfect amount of time I need 
so that I can get my other ingredients ready. I’ll start with my potatoes, and they’ve cooled 
down, obviously. And I’m going to mash them, but I’m not going to do them too fine. 
I like to leave them slightly bigger, and I enjoy the rustic consistency 
in there. So, I just go along, and maybe I’ll go once or twice. Oh, 
piece! And this is what I mean here: I’ve got a few pieces which are still whole, but 
also some very, very finely mashed potatoes. And I’ll move them into a larger bowl so that we can 
start collecting all of my ingredients together. Before I forget, I’m going to add some salt, 
but I would only be adding half a teaspoon, as much cheddar is mature, extra mature, 
and is quite salty. So, depending on what sort of cheese you are using, you might want 
to regulate it. But try not to add too much, because, you know, always add it at the 
end. You cannot take it away, of course. And, talking of which, cheddar goes in next, 
followed by grated fresh mozzarella. Parsley next and basil. Of course, you can use any 
herbs you like, but parsley and basil are very, very summery, and they are absolutely beautiful 
with this dish. And I mix everything together to see what it looks like. But, of course, I 
will be adding the rest of the vegetables next, and all of my vegetables are ready, and I 
haven’t touched them. I wanted to show you. See, they’ve shrunk considerably in literally 
minutes, and they’re ready to be added. Do not worry that they’re hot, by the way, 
because you will be going in the oven anyhow, and you will have a little water 
or liquid left. That is fine. Also, just leave it in, because it will 
naturally help in the oven. So, I’m adding everything together, and there 
it is. I will be adding my egg in a minute, but I will mix it all together to ensure that it 
cools down slightly so that the egg doesn’t cook. Great time for the egg, so in it goes. Actually, 
I think that adding the vegetables when they’re really, really hot is a really good thing, 
because, if you look, the cheese is melting beautifully already, and it helps combining all of 
the ingredients. OK, so I’ll put this on one side, and I’ll get my oven dish ready. And here 
it is. I will start by adding a little olive oil at the bottom. Last. And, using a 
little brush, I’ll just cover the entire surface, including these sides like this. I got 
my dried breadcrumbs here. Actually, I made a video on how I make breadcrumbs in a 
new video. I will be releasing that shortly, and this is a combination of two types of 
bread. But I will not spoil it for you. I’ll put enough in there just to cover the entire 
base, and then what I do, I’ll shake it together, and then I’ll start going around the 
edges like this. Also, one, two, three. As I’ve applied some olive oil, you can see 
that the breadcrumbs are getting attached to my oven dish, and this will prevent the 
mix from getting stuck when it goes in the oven. That is. And all I’ve got left to do 
now is to just add my mix to my oven dish, and, like magic, looks like I’ve done it 
before. I got the perfect amount in, and, using my wooden spoon, I’m actually pressing 
it down quite firmly so that it cooks properly, and I think it’s good like this 
right before it goes in the oven. I’ve got one last sprinkle of breadcrumbs. Not 
a lot, just enough to make it lovely and crunchy once it comes out. Literally, just sprinkle 
so that the entire surface of my sformato is covered like this. And I’ll finish the job by 
applying a few knobs of butter. You can see that my butter is very, very liquidy as we keep 
it actually in the kitchen at room temperature, so just a few knobs like this 
is fine. That’ll be perfect. And there it is. It is ready to go in the oven. 
You’ll say, in the oven? Yes. And now it’s hot, but trust me, it will be definitely worthwhile, 
especially if you’re planning to eat it cool, which is what we’re going to be doing 
later. It will go in for 30 minutes, that is 30, at a temperature 
of 180°C, so I’ll see you then. And then we have 30 minutes 
exactly, and it is ready. And I have been joined by my 
favourite camera lady, Julie. Yep, the smell’s dreamy, and it smells lovely. A surprising… so it’s really, really hot, so 
I’m going to leave it now for about 20 minutes, because I want to see if I can actually 
remove it from the oven dish. And also, I did say earlier that we will be eating it 
cooler, so I’ll leave it about 20 to 25 minutes. 20 minutes on, and you can see I’m touching 
the oven dish quite safely. It’s cooled down considerably, and I’m now dislodging the sides 
from my oven dish, and it’s working quite well, so the breadcrumbs trick is really, really useful. Now, I’m going to attempt something which 
I’ve never done before. It might spoil it, hopefully not, but I’ve got here one of 
those cake sort of dishes, which is flat. Would that be one of those 
dishes that you constantly tell me when we’re in Sicily 
we don’t need to take home? OK, so I’m going to, yeah, actually, 
I’m going to show you something. It’s not going to be big enough. 
I hate to point you at those. Yes, it is. Yes, I’m going to see if… yeah, 
it’s moving. It’s growing. Up, flop, flop, flop! So, I’ll put this on top, and I’ll turn it 
the other way around first like this. There it is. Yep, and that’s already come off, and now I’m going to remove this. And 
that didn’t look wonderful like this. So, I’ve got something else. Is mine here? Oh, so 
I’ve got my little wooden board, which is where it’s going to go. And I’m like, do it again. I’ll 
cut in the middle, and very excitedly… voila! Down. Oh, my goodness!
And there it is. I’ve managed it. Wow. I did hold together nicely, didn’t I? It did, yes. So that 20 minutes 
has helped for it to cool down, but also it actually firms up. And if you 
want to take it out of your oven dish, you could try something similar, but 
you might need something like this. And, having successfully removed it without 
spoiling it, using a steak knife, I’m able to now slice it relatively easily. Working quite 
well, actually. The longer you leave this, the more it will set, but also the taste will 
become… this is the sort of food that you can make the day before for the day after. So, 
it’ll stay in the fridge for days easily. I just have a little taste. I’ll get rid of that. OK, so there we go. Ready, Julie? You: Oh, oh, looks good. 
Lovely. Tastes very lovely too. What does it look like? Oh, that’s great. Yeah, you can see 
the peas. And can you see the beans? I can see broad beans. I can’t 
see any peas. Also, I can. You: Yes, yes, yes, you can. Yes. Wonderful. I’ll taste some and let you know what 
it’s like before Julie has another. Yes, I can. Girl. Well, there’s my 
tea. We need to eat. Getting late. I have to say it’s still a little bit 
warm, so I’m going to have to blow. But consistency-wise, it’s a little 
bit mushy, is that a word? Mushy? That’s the technical term, yeah. But it will harden up. Oh, it’s 
lovely. It’s really lovely. I think the term is firmer. You know what? The broad beans 
are what I can immediately taste, shortly followed by the wonderful flavour of 
the peas. It’s really delicious. Definitely worthwhile making it. Worthwhile waiting as well. 
The longer you wait, the better it will taste. I didn’t say that. Well, hopefully, we’ll make it, 
and the series of From Patch to Plate continues. Thank you for your feedback, and 
thank you for your suggestions. See you later. Thank you for watching, and enjoy. Bye.