VJRILLED VEGETABLE SALAD with Pesto Vinaigrette
If you are planning to serve an entree from the grill, you may wish to combine it with this salad. In some ways it seems like so much work to clean the grill, had up, start the fire, wait half an hour for it to be perfect and then cook a piece offish or meat on it for 5 minutes. Why not get double duty out of your effort and pull two courses from one source? Just grill your vegetables before the fire reaches its peak, and make the salad. In that way, you can cook the entree while you enjoy the first course.
This salad, accompanied by large, grilled slices of sourdough bread brushed with olive oil and spread with a soft cheese, makes a nice luncheon.
Serves 4
VINAIGRETTE
'/2 cup red wine vinegar Ъ cup balsamic vinegar 2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1 cup safflower oil % cup Pesto (page 224) 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper 1 medium-sized eggplant, ends removed, cut into "planks" '/г inch thick
head radicchio, washed and shaken dry
head romaine, inner leaves only, washed and shaken dry
head Belgian endive, washed and shaken dry
head curly chicory, washed and shaken dry
Salt and pepper
2 medium-sized zucchini, ends removed, cut into planks V2 inch thick
2 medium-sized yellow squash, ends removed, cut into planks Ч2 inch thick
4 tomatoes, cored and cut into thick slices crosswise
1. Prepare a fire in the grill.
2. Whisk together all the ingredients for the vinaigrette.
3. Salt the eggplant liberally and allow it to drain in a colander.
4. Lay the other cut vegetables in a shallow baking dish and pour on just enough of the vinaigrette to coat them. Turn them occasionally while the fire gets hot.
5. Rinse the eggplant planks and pat them dry. Add them to the other vegetables in the vinaigrette.
6. Combine all the greens in a large mixing bowl and keep cool.
7. Using tongs, place the vegetables on the grill and cook until slightly soft, turning once and removing them to a plate when they are ready.
8. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the vegetables and arrange them on plates, cutting them as necessary for presentation.
9. Toss the lettuces lightly in some of the remaining vinaigrette. Arrange the lettuces in the center of the grilled vegetables.
10. Pour a bit more of the vinaigrette over the grilled vegetables. Serve.
UELL PEPPER, ENDIVE, JICAMA, AND AVOCADO SALAD with a Salsa Vinaigrette
Serves 6 to 8
green pepper, stems, ribs and seeds removed
red pepper, stems, ribs, and seeds removed
yellow pepper, stems, ribs, and seeds removed
3 heads Belgian endive, cores removed
1 small jicama, peeled
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
Juice of'h lemon
SALSA
VINAIGRETTE
3 % 1
tablespoons Spanish wine vinegar cup extra virgin olive oil tomato, concassee in medium dice
1 jalapeho, finely diced
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
Ч2 red onion, finely diced
1. Finely julienne the bell peppers, endive, and jicama and mix. Keep cold.
2. Cube the avocado flesh in medium-sized dice and squeeze lemon on it.
3. Prepare the vinaigrette: Whisk the vinegar and oil together and stir in the remaining ingredients.
4. In a large bowl, mix enough of the salsa with everything but the avocado to moisten well. Divide this mixture on plates and garnish with diced avocado.