I still had one zucchini and one squash to use that were starting to look a tad wrinkly. I had a recipe in mind from the time I read the June Bon Appetit magazine while I was getting a haircut, so I looked that up and modified it to use up a lot of stuff in the produce drawer. The long, thin, Japanese eggplant are a variety I’ve never used before, and they are nice because they don’t have the seedy centers.
The instructions said to cook the vegies al dente otherwise they would be “floppy.” I usually prefer floppy, and I considered doing an experiment with half the recipe made according to the directions and the other half floppy and having a taste test. But there wasn’t time to mess around tonight so they were all al dente. The recipe below is based on the vegetables that I had on hand, but use whatever you want – the original recipe called for just two zucchini and two leeks. These photos show the grilled, chopped vegetables and the walnut sauce.
I was also making a meat dish and wanted the vegetables to be half the plate, and all of this made about 6 large servings. The kids liked the leeks the best. I didn’t know what a leek was until I was in my 40s, so I’m glad they get to experience a wide variety of foods.
Grilled Vegies in Walnut Sauce
2 large leeks, white and pale-green parts only, halved lengthwise
1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise (seeds removed)
1 medium yellow squash, halved lengthwise (seeds removed)
3 Japanese eggplant, halved lengthwise
2 turnips, sliced
¼ C avocado oil
Sea salt and ground pepper
1/2 C chopped walnuts
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 T fresh lemon juice
½ C extra virgin olive oil
¼ C fresh chopped parsley leaves
Preheat grill. Meanwhile toast chopped walnuts in a dry small skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Brush all vegies with avocado oil and season with salt and pepper.
Whisk garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil in a large bowl. Stir in the nuts and parsley.
Grill vegetables, turning often, until tender and charred in spots, 10 minutes for zucchini and 8 minutes for everything else. Transfer vegetables to a cutting board and cut them all into bite-size pieces. Add vegetables to bowl with walnuts and toss to combine.
