Monday, September 17, 2007

Grilled Eggplant and Squash with Herb Dressing

So Long Summer, It's Been Great!

I've decided to take advantage of the summer produce as long as I possible can. I picked up some beautiful eggplant, zucchini and summer squash from my local farmers market over the weekend. I wanted to highlight the fresh summer flavors in the simplest way, so I grilled them and made a fresh herb dressing to go over them.

Since I always like to add a little protein to my veggie dishes, I included some cannellini beans and for a little zing, some marianted black and green olives.
I topped it with grated Romano cheese and served it over cous cous, but any medium to small pasta would be fine.

Grilled Eggplant and Squash with Herb Dressing
Herb Dressing
1/4 cup of organic raw apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
1 small clove garlic, grated on microplane, or minced
1/4 cup mixed fresh herbs, your choice of basil, parsley, rosemary, oregano and thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper

Add the vinegar, honey, garlic, honey, herbs, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Mix to combine. Add the oil slowly and blend with an emersion blender. (This can also be done in a blender). Blend until oil is combined with vinegar mixture and it becomes slightly thick. Set aside until ready to use.

Grilled Vegetables

2 small/medium sized eggplant, peeled leaving some small stripes for decoration, cut into 1/2" rounds
1 zuccini, peeled leaving some stripes, cut 1/2" thick on the diagonal
1 summer squash, peeled leaving some stripes, cut 1/2" thick on the diagonal
1/4 cup marinated black and green olives, sliced
1/2 cup cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper

Heat grill on medium and spray with non-stick oil spray. Place the eggplant, zucchini and summer squash in a large bowl, add the olive oil and salt and pepper; toss to coat. Place the vegetables on the hot grill and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side or to desired tenderness. Remove from grill and place into a bowl. Add the 1/2 of the herb dressing and toss to coat. Serve over cous cous or other pasta and drizzle with more dressing and grated Romano cheese.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That looks great Annie. Many of my herbs have flowered and are on their way out, Now's the time to use them or lose them!

Emily said...

Oh I'm in heaven- Eggplant, Olives, Cannillini beans, couscous. This is my type of food.