Grilled Veggie Bonanza With Mustard Dressing

Another one of our regulars. This is a great recipe for those evenings when you’re craving something healthy-ish (that is not another salad), and you also don’t want to wait more than 20 minutes before you can indulge.

Also great for a BBQ party as a side or if you are staying away from burgers and hot dogs. In this case, I suggest you make the dressing ahead of time and bring it with you in a small jar.

Makes enough for 2-3 people.

Ingredients

• 1 small zucchini
• 1 small eggplant/aubergine
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 medium red onion
• 10-ish mushrooms
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 ball of fresh mozzarella (optional)

For the dressing:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 big tsp dijon mustard
• 1 big tsp mustard with mustard seeds
• Squeeze (1 tsp) of agave nectar
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to a grill setting – mine is about 300 C // 570 F degrees. Alternatively, if you have a grill pan or an actual grill, go ahead and use that. The idea is to expose the veggies to high heat so that they would cook a little but still remain crunchy. And ideally, they should get those nice black grill lines.
   
   
2. Prepare the veggies – cut the zucchini and eggplant in 1-1.5 cm // ½ inch thick slices. Cut the bell pepper in half, remove the stem and seeds and cut it lengthwise in 2 cm // ¾ inch strips. Peel the onion and cut it in 4 big wedges. Cut the mushrooms in half, or if they are on the smaller side leave them as they are.
   
   
3. Put all veggies in a large bowl, drizzle over the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and mix so that all pieces are somewhat coated.
   
   
4. If using the oven, take the grill rack and put it on top of a regular baking sheet (as the juices from the veggies will be dripping and I am assuming you don’t want to make a mess). Place each veggie piece on the rack individually, so that they don’t overlap.
   
   
5. Grill for about 10-15 minutes – this really is up to your preference and your oven situation. The veggies should be fairly cooked, still somewhat crunchy and, this is the most important to me, get a bit burnt and show some dark grill lines.
   
   
6. While the veggies are grilling, cut up the mozzarella into small bite size pieces and prepare the dressing by adding all the ingredients to a small jar, closing the lid and shaking until well combined.
   
   
7. Once done, transfer grilled veggies back to the large bowl for a brief moment. To serve, plate a mix of veggies, add mozzarella pieces on top and drizzle over a good amount of the dressing. Bon appetit!