Grilled Vegetables & Mixed Herb Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 large courgettes
- 1 large red onion
- 1 aubergine
- 1 red pepper
- 1 block of haloumi
- Salad potatoes to serve
For the Pesto
- 50g flat leaf parsley
- 30g basil
- 50ml olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 tbs parmesan, grated.
- 1.5 tbs lemon juice
Method
- Set the oven to 190º and get a heavy griddle pan on a high heat.
- Cut the aubergine lengthways into 1 cm thick slices. Cut the courgettes into rounds at a diagonal angle, 1 cm think. Quarter the pepper. Quarter the onion keeping the root end so that the pieces hold together.
- Place all the vegetables in a tray. Drizzle with olive oil, and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix the vegetables so that they all recieve a coating of the oil.
- Get the potatoes on; cook them in salted water, at a simmer, for 15 minutes.
- Cook the vegetables, in batches, on the hot griddle. Don’t move or turn them until you have good seared grill lines on them; about 5 minutes. Once a pan-full of vegetables are done, transfer them to the baking tray and put in the hot oven to fisnish – this way, the ones you do first will get longer in the oven – Grill the vegetables in this order:
- onion
- aubergine
- peppers
- courgette
- Meanwhile, briefly toast the pinenuts in a hot, dry pan.
- To make the pesto, combine the parsely, basil, oil, pinenuts, garlic, lemon juice and parmesan in a blender. Season with salt and pepperand whizz until well blended.
- Once all the vegetables are cooked, transfer to a serving platter, and spread generously with about half of the pesto. Save the other half to have with pasta, another day.
- Heat a teaspoon of oil in a small, nonstick frying pan. Cut the haloumi into 5mm slices and add to the pan. The cheese will sizzle. Wait until you have a good golden colour, then flip the slices. The second side will colour much quicker than the first.
- Plate everything up, and eat it before the cheese cools and goes squeaky!