Mixed roasted vegetables with yoghurt and green chilli oil

I love roasting/grilling vegetables because the possibilities are endless. You can either lightly roast them, leaving a wonderful crunch, or char them for a lovely smoky flavour. In addition, you can add any flavour to them, and the roasting process allows the flavours to penetrate the vegetables. This recipe allows you to do all of this, resulting in a dish with great textures and flavours. We ate this dish as a salad, although serving it as a side is just as appropriate. I used a few extra vegetables, charred onions, crunchy carrots, and cauliflower. Feel free to add or substitute vegetables depending on what the market offers and what you prefer. The vegetables roast at different times, and I like them with different textures. Onions, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes are charred and mushy, and carrots, zucchini, and cauliflower are charred but crunchy. I combined the oil and yogurt sauce processes for a simpler recipe but with the same intensity of flavor. The yogurt dressing adds a pop of spice and tartness to the roasted vegetables and brings them alive. This salad is beautiful, has a ton of crunchy texture, and is delicious. It's definitely a keeper. Another Ottolenghi recipe that is wonderful. The more I cook from the Ottolenghi cookbooks, the more I am fascinated and awed by the wonderful dishes from around the world that he brings to my table. For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

2 zucchini or yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 large eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch dice

3 large tomatoes, cut into wedges

2 red peppers, cut into 1/2 inch dice

2 onions, cut into wedges

2 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 cup cauliflower or broccol, cut into small florets

Salt and pepper

Olive oil spray

For the chilli and herb dressing

1/2 cup Greek or regular yoghurt

1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice 1 green chilli, chopped roughly or to taste 1/4 cup parsley 1/4 cup mint 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Juice of 1 lime, or to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

EVOO to serve

Heat the oven to 375°F.

Add the cut vegetables in a single layer to a lined roasting pan; you may need to use 2. Grate some pepper and large-grain sea salt on the vegetables and spray with olive oil. Roast in the oven till the vegetables are done to your liking, but make sure at least some of the vegetables have charred well (see note in the introduction).

Put all the chilli and herb dressing ingredients in a food processor with a pinch of salt and process to a smooth, thick sauce. Taste and adjust lime, salt, and herbs to your liking. Allow the dressing's flavours to come together for at least 1 hour.

Arrange the roasted vegetables in a shallow platter so they look decorative. Drizzle some EVOO over the vegetables and some of the dressing. Serve the dressing on the side for those who would like more.