Okay, we promise that this is not a vegetarian food blog. Obviously, there will be a great deal of vegetarian fare (or recipes that can be made vegetarian with very little effort), but the vegetables this summer were just too good not to give them their proper due. On that note, here is a perfect dish when your grill–and your family–wants a break from the burgers and steaks.
You can get as fancy as you want with this, but we opted to keep it simple with eggplant, zucchini and some red bell peppers. They’re easy to prep and they grill up beautifully, which means that they can get in your belly even faster.
Once everything is grilled up and your bread is ready, throw it all on a nice platter. You don’t need to “arrange” everything. Just tell everyone it’s rustic style, and to shut up and eat. Okay, so the shut up and eat part might not be necessary. Once this hits the table, it’ll disappear faster than you can say “Mangia!”
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1 large eggplant, cut into ¼” slices
- 2 medium zucchini, cut into ¼” slices
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 1 tbsp. honey
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp. dijon
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- dash red pepper flake
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- To serve:
- 1 baguette, cut into ½” slices
- 6 oz. fresh mozzarella, torn into bite-sized pieces
- Preheat grill. If using a gas grill, set to medium heat. Place peppers on the grill, and cook, turning occasionally, until the flesh is charred all over and the skin softens, about 6-8 minutes. Remove peppers from grill, place inside a medium bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside to cool.
- Toss eggplant and zucchini slices with salt and black pepper. Place on grill, working in batches if necessary, and cook, flipping once, until slices soften and prominent grill marks appear, about 3-5 minutes per side.
- Once vegetable slices are cooked, slightly char baguette slices on the grill, cooking about 30- 60 seconds per side. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk shallot, honey, vinegar, dijon, oregano and red pepper flake to combine. In a thin stream, gradually whisk olive oil into the mixture. Season with additional salt and pepper if necessary.
- Once peppers have cooled, remove from bowl and scrape off charred skin. Remove the stems and seeds, and slice peppers into ⅛-inch thick slices. Toss peppers, zucchini and eggplant in dressing, and refrigerate, covered, for at least an hour or two to allow flavors to combine.
- To serve, top toasted baguette slices with a marinated vegetables and fresh mozzarella.
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