Description
Grilled summer squash, eggplant and onions tossed with garlic, tomato and basil - a grilled take on Tian Provencal.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 pounds summer squash, ends trimmed, stripe peeled, cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick planks
- 1 pound eggplant, ends trimmed, stripe peeled, cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick planks
- 4 cipollini onions, trimmed (or 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch thick planks)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (or pressed through a press)
- 1 large tomato, cored and diced
- 4 to 6 basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade
Instructions
- Prep the vegetables: Prep the squash, eggplant and onions as described in the ingredients. To stripe peel, peel long strips of skin off the squash and eggplant, leaving them looking zebra striped.
- Season the vegetables: Toss the squash, eggplant, onions, olive oil, herbes de Provence, salt and pepper in a large bowl, until everything has an even, thin coat of olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper.
- Grill the vegetables: Preheat the grill to medium. Grill the squash, eggplant and onions until browned and soft, 4 to 8 minutes per side.
- Dice and season the grilled vegetables: Remove from the grill. As soon as you can handle them (I use tongs, so I can do this immediately) cut the squash and eggplant crosswise into 1 to 2 inch chunks, and dice the onion. While still hot, put them in a bowl, add the minced garlic, and toss. The heat from the grilled vegetables releases the flavor of the garlic, so do this as soon as possible.
- Finish the dish: Add the diced tomato and the basil chiffonade to the bowl, and toss again. Taste for seasoning; add salt and pepper if it needs it.
Notes
This recipe can be halved or doubled easily, depending on the amount of squash you have - as long as it fits on your grill.
You can use whatever summer squash you can find, and skip the eggplant if you want to.
If you have fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage), you can substitute them for the herbes de Provence.
When you taste for seasoning, along with the salt and pepper, you can add balsamic vinegar if it needs a little sweet and sour kick, hot pepper sauce if it needs a little hot and sour kick, or more olive oil.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes