Pesto- a secret ingredient!

Pesto- secret ingredient for simply grilled vegetables

We found ourselves the happy owners of a big bunch of fresh basil last week, so decided that the time was right for making a batch of Pesto. We usually make a very traditional recipe- olive oil, basil, pine nuts etc..., but discovered that there were no pine nuts in the pantry. As luck would have it, we found a bag of beautiful fresh walnuts, and were able to proceed from there.

Once I have put the pesto together, I usually divide the it into a number of small jars – one to be used right away and the rest to be stored in the freezer for a later date. This week, I decided to use the pesto as inspiration for some grilled vegetable recipes! 

We had some friends coming over Friday night for a barbecue and knew that everyone would be wanting to wind down and relax over a simple meal. It was the perfect time to continue with our  pursuit of the perfect “Dinner Tonight”  grilled meal menus.

 The refrigerator was overflowing with beets, onions, leeks, peppers, mushrooms and a big bowl of eggplant, garlic and tomatoes was sitting in a bowl on the counter. 

Keep in mind that we were trying to empty my refrigerator, with the result being a "vegetable blitz" on the grill!! One would not normally expect to have so many vegetables on the go at the same time, however, it was a quick and efficient way to use them up-try it some time. You will find it to be very satisfying! If nothing else, you can whirr them all up with some chicken stock to make a wonderful soup.

Choose one or 2 of these dishes. Any one of them would go nicely with a Grilled Steak or Salmon Fillet.

Basil and Walnut Pesto

4 cups fresh basil leaves, tightly packed

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp walnuts, toasted

4 cloves garlic

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp butter, softened

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Black pepper, freshly ground

Place basil, olive oil, toasted walnuts, salt and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until evenly blended. Turn into a mixing bowl and add butter, Parmesan cheese and black pepper to taste.  Store in small sealed mason jars.  Refrigerate for up to one week, or store in the freezer.

 

The perfect Friday night dinner - Grilled tomatoes, asparagus and steak.

Grilled Tomatoes

4 tomatoes, halved

2 tbsp pesto

Break stems of tomatoes, but do not remove the core. Gently remove the seeds with fingers and set tomatoes on paper towels, cut side down for 10 minutes to drain. Brush Pesto over top of tomatoes.

Place on preheated barbecue set at MEDIUM for 7 minutes. Rotate ¼ turn and cook for another 10 minutes. Serve.

 Grilled Vegetables for Tapenade

This tapenade is delicious as an appetizer on crostini , or eaten the next day in a grilled or toasted cheese sandwich. 

Preheat barbecue on HIGH for 5 minutes and reduce heat to MEDIUM. Brush vegetables with oil and grill as described below.

1 red pepper - place on lower rack and grill until skin is charred all over (15-20 minutes). Peel.

1 zucchini – place on lower rack and grill 8-10 minutes, turning as required

1 small onion, halved – as above

8 mushrooms – as above

Chop grilled vegetables into small pieces and place together in a glass bowl with 2  tbsp pesto. 

Crostini:

Grilled vegetable tapenade

1 baguette, sliced diagonally into 1 inch thick pieces

4 oz. goat cheese chevre

Spread a thin layer of goat cheese on baguette slices. Top with 2 tsp grilled vegetable tapenade and place back on barbecue for 5 minutes, to toast bread and melt cheese. Serve immediately.

Grilled eggplant dip with lemon and pomegranate seeds

This is a modification of a delicious recipe in Jerusalem, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

2 large eggplants

1 garlic bulb, roasted

1 lemon, zest and freshly squeezed juice

21/2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp tahini

1 tsp pesto

½ tsp harissa

 Salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup pomegranate seeds

1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

Place 2 eggplants directly over HIGH heat on the barbecue and let blacken for 30 minutes, turning occasionally .  Do not worry if the skin cracks and liquid starts to seep out. Once the eggplant is grilled so that the flesh is extremely soft inside, remove and place in a large bowl. When they are cool enough to touch, peel the skin away and place the flesh in a colander, allowing them to drain for 30-45 minutes, to get rid of as much water as possible. Meanwhile, cut the top off the whole garlic bud. Drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil and place on upper rack. Grill for 30 minutes.

Place the eggplant pulp in a medium bowl and add ½ roasted garlic bulb, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, pesto, tahini, harissa, salt and pepper. Top with chopped parsley and pomegranate seeds and serve with pita bread.

Grilled Beets, grapefruit and goat cheese salad

6 roasted beets, sliced

2 red grapefruits, sliced into segments(save juices)

½ small red onion, thinly sliced

4 oz goat cheese chevre

6 cups fresh greens

Pesto Vinaigrette:

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp reserved grapefruit juice

1 tsp grainy mustard

1 tsp honey

1 tsp pesto

½ tsp kosher salt

To roast beets: Preheat barbecue oh HIGH for 5 minutes. Reduce to MEDIUM.  Scrub beets well. Wrap in foil with a sprig of thyme and a drizzle of olive oil. Cook on MEDIUM for 1 hour, on upper rack, until tender. Allow to cool and peel.

Place greens in a large bowl and toss with vinaigrette.  Arrange on individual salad plates and top with roasted beet slices, red grapefruit segments, red onion slices, and crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle remaining dressing on top. Serve.