Grilled Vegetable Salad with Greens, Tomatoes, Herbs, Olives and Cheese

Pre-Story:
My South Mountain Veggies delivery included beets and I have never cooked a beet in my life. We had friends coming over so I found this recipe interesting. See final notes to see the changes I made when I made it for my Father’s Day Brunch.

SOURCE/ADAPTED FROM: www.epicurious.com - Grilled Vegetable Salad with Greens, Tomatoes, Herbs, Olives and Cheese, Bon Appetit, August 1996

ACTIVE TIME: 30 min-ish TOTAL TIME: 40-50ish min

INGREDIENTS:
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 large red onion, cut into 3/4-inch-thick rounds
• 12 baby beets, stems trimmed to 1 inch, peeled, halved lengthwise – didn’t peel them and they tasted fine
• 3 small zucchini, each cut lengthwise into 4 slices
• 2 Japanese Eggplants – I don’t know if baby eggplants are the same thing, but that’s what I used.
• 2 large red bell peppers, cut into 2-inch-wide strips
• 6 slices country-style-French bread
• Additional olive oil
• 10 cups mixed baby greens
• 4 large tomatoes, sliced
• 3 Tbs chopped fresh basil
• 2 Tbs chopped fresh chives or green onions - used chives from my herb garden
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh majoram – - used thyme from my herb garden
• 3/4 cup chilled fresh mild goat cheese (such as Montrachet), crumbled (about 3 ounces)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 2 ounces) - used but it didn't add anything really
• 3/4 cup brine-cured black olives (such as Kalamanta) - chopped

INSTRUCTIONS:
Prepare barbeque (medium-high heat). Whisk 3/4 cup oil and vinegar in medium bowl to blend (I added some of the fresh herbs to the oil/vinegar mixture).

Place onion, beets, zucchini, eggplants, and red bell pepper on baking sheet. Brush both sides with some of vinaigrette. Sprinkle vegetables with salt and pepper.

Grill vegetables until just cooked through, about 10 minutes per side for beets, 6 minutes per side for onion and 4 minutes per side for zucchini, eggplant, and peppers. (Vegetables can be grilled 1 hour ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) I grilled each vegetable separately since the timing varied. I also cooked them on a grill pan for easier flipping. Once cooked, I cut them into bite size chunks.

Brush bread with additional olive oil; sprinkle with pepper (you guessed it, no pepper - YUCK! In the future I'd rub the bread with a garlic clove but one of our guests hates garlic (freak!)). Grill bread until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes per side.

Arrange greens on large platter. Overlap tomatoes atop greens in center of platter. Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and pepper. Arrange grilled vegetables atop greens around edge of platter. Drizzle remaining vinaigrette over tomatoes and grilled vegetables. Sprinkle tomatoes and vegetables with herbs. Sprinkle tomatoes with goat cheese. Sprinkle Romano cheese over all. Garnish with olives. Serve with bread.

SERVES / NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Serves: 6 very large servings

RATING/DIFFICULTY:
Taste Rating: Four Fat Running Chefs
Difficulty Rating: Just Tri

SERVED WITH:
Dude’s Incredible Ribs and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

FINAL NOTES: This was so good the first time, I made it as part of my Father’s Day Brunch. Because we were having so much other food I cut the veggies down to just zucchini, red onion, and red bell pepper and still served over greens with tomatoes, goat cheese, olives and fresh herbs. I did not serve it with bread this time, only because I forgot to make it.

This is an incredibly versatile recipe and mighty tasty! It also makes a lovely presentation! I gave the difficulty rating just based on the time required to grill the veggies.