Vegetable Hot Pot

2 large potatoes, thinly sliced
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 leek, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 carrot, cut into chunks
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower florets
2 small turnips, diced
1 Tbs flour
3 cups vegetable stock
1 Tbs ground sage
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

1) Cook the potato slices in a saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly and reserve.
2) Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add the leek and garlic, and saute, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, for a further 3-4 minutes.
3) Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add the stock, and bring to a boil. Add the sage, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and season well. Remove from the heat and transfer the vegetables to a 9x13 casserole dish.
4) Arrange the potato slices on top of the vegetable mixture to cover.
5) Sprinkle the cheese on top of the potato slices and cook in a preheated oven at 375F, for 30-35 minutes or until the potato is golden brown and beginning to crispen around the edges. Serve immediately.

Review: This is a tweaked recipe. The original called for one apple and 2/3 cup of dry cider. After hunting through a couple of grocery stores, a liquor store and a convenience store, still without finding dry cider, I decided to omit the apple flavors. They seemed kind of weird in it, anyway. So, this came out to be a great dish, although it seemed like a potato topped stew, even after I omitted 2/3 cup of dry cider! I'd probably omit a cup of broth, in order to make it more like a casserole. This was a great dish, though. It had a nice fall, harvest flavor, which was perfect for our cold, rainy evening tonight!!