A vegetable melange. French for a mixture of all sorts of things that just come together in harmony. I am making this sound more romantic than it really is. However, this is a quick and easy combination of grilled vegetables all held together by creamy goat cheese, a little butter and garlic all of which forms a light sauce. You can serve the vegetables as a side dish or over pasta. I love DeBoles Spinach Fettuccine made with artichoke flour. Very tasty. I make a very light “sauce” for the pasta by simply combining a bit of pasta water, some butter and some parmesan cheese and giving the pasta a quick turn in the pot before topping with the vegetables. You could also put this over some zoodles (lightly steamed or sauteed) if you are REALLY into zucchini since the grilled vegetables have plenty of it.
The vegetables are grilled in stages depending on cooking time and because my grill surface doesn’t hold all of them at once.
While you are grilling, you can make quick work of the sauce in a bowl and then toss all the vegetables in as they are removed from the grill. You can chop them on a board or just use two knives to cut them into a large dice.
I use a combination of rosemary, basil and thyme but you can add anything you want that is green and flavorful. Looks good. Tastes good. And because the dish is so simple, I am making this blog post short and sweet.
Hope you love this.
Grilled Vegetables with Goat Cheese and Spinach Fettuccine
Ingredients
For the Grilled Vegetables:
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 large eggplants sliced into ¼” slices lengthwise
- 4 zucchini halved
- 3 yellow squash halved
- 1 large sweet onion sliced into thick slices
- 1 red pepper halved
- 1 yellow pepper halved
- 6 ounces goat cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons each freshly chopped basil and thyme
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- salt pepper and a dash of cinnamon (optional)
For the Spinach Fettuccine:
- 1 8 ounce box DeBoles Organic Spinach Fettuccine
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for garnish
Instructions
For the grilled vegetables:
-
Preheat a gas grill to medium high heat.
-
Salt the eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash and let stand ½ hour to remove the bitter juices. Wipe off the vegetables with a damp paper towel to remove the excess salt.
-
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
-
Brush all of the vegetables with the olive oil and place the onions and squash, cut side down on the grill.
-
Turn them after 5 minutes and cook on the other side until they are cooked through but not mushy, about 4-5 more minutes. Remove all of the vegetables from the grill and place them on a cutting board. Chop them into a large dice, about 2 inch pieces.
-
Place eggplant slices, also brushed with olive oil, on the grill and cook them for 5 minutes on each side until they are nicely browned.
-
While the vegetables are cooking, in a large heatproof serving bowl place the goat cheese, butter, herbs, garlic and seasonings. As the vegetables are done and chopped, add them to the bowl. Stir gently until the goat cheese is well incorporated.
-
Place the bowl in the oven to keep warm while you make the pasta.
For the Spinach Fettuccine:
-
Cook the pasta according to the directions. Remove 1/3 cup pasta water and drain the pasta. Over medium low heat, add the butter to the pot along with the pasta water. Add the pasta back and stirring quickly add the cheese all at once. Turn off the heat and stir the pasta well just to incorporate the cheese. Remove the pot from the heat and serve the pasta in individual bowls topped with the Grilled Vegetables and some more Parmesan cheese.