I love roasting/grilling vegetables because the possibilities are endless. You have the ability to either lightly roast them, leaving a wonderful crunch or char them for a lovely smoky flavor. In addition, you can add any flavor to them and the roasting process allows the flavors to penetrate the vegetables. This recipe is one of those where you can do all of this, resulting in a dish with great textures and flavors. 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 charred and mushy, carrots, zucchini, and cauliflower charred but crunchy. I combined the process for the oil and yogurt sauce 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. 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 on a lined roasting pan, you may need to use 2. Grate some pepper and large grain sea salt 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 introduction.
Put all the chili 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 flavors of the dressing to come together for at least 1 hour.
Arrange the roasted vegetables in a shallow platter so the 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.
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