Grilled Vegetables
Every time I make this, someone always asks “what did you put on the vegetables?” They never believe me when I say “Just salt, pepper and olive oil”! There is no fancy secret to this. It’s just chargrilled vegetables, seasoned with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil. The “must do” part is cooking the vegetables until they are charred (i.e. burnt!). It’s the flavour base of this entire dish! “This gets even better if it’s made the day before. It’s just like the vegetable antipasto you buy at delis – but without that sour taste (and costs a lot less!).” As simple as this recipe is, what you may not know is that this is fabulous even if made the day before. In fact, I think it gets better because the vegetables sweat out juices overnight leaving a more intense flavour. It makes it taste even more like the vegetable antipasto that you can buy over the counter at delis, except the homemade version doesn’t have the vinegary flavour that commercial antipasto has which I think is to make it last longer. The mixed vegetable antipasto at the local deli costs around $25/kg which is far more than what it costs to make at home! While these grilled vegetables are great as they are, sometimes I like to sprinkle over some fresh or dried herbs (after cooking it) and lemon zest for an extra special touch. I made this as an appetiser for an Arabian Feast I recently made. 7 dishes that took 1 hour to prepare – 3 starters (including this Chargrilled Vegetable Platter), 2 meat dishes plus 2 salads. I’ll be doing a post on the menu soon but here’s a little preview for you!
1 Hour Arabian Feast Menu
To Nibble
Classic Hummus Herb Chili Feta Chargrilled Vegetable Platter (this recipe)
For the Men to Grill
Lamb Koftas Chicken Sharwarma
Because we must have Greens (and cater for Vegetarians)
Shredded Red Cabbage Carrot Salad Spiced Chickpea Salad
Here’s the post rounding up the full menu and explaining how to prepare it in 1 hour, how to store it and what needs to be done on the day.
Vegetarian Grill Out!
This is also a great dish to make as part of a meat-free cookout. Here’s are some ideas for things I’d make:
Spinach and Feta Gozleme or Vegetarian Quesadillas – great for cooking on BBQ’s! Lemon Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad or Coleslaw Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad No Yeast Soft Flatbreads – try stuffing them with grilled veggies! Grilled Eggplants
