Wave 1 - Charcooked veggies with spicy dressing

  • I "borrowed" this recipe from The Wholefoods forum. It is too delicious not to share. I think any leftovers (minus the corn cobs) would be nice stuffed in a wholewheat pitta pocket with some of the leftover salsa.

    Grilled Veggies

    1 red pepper
    1 orange (or yellow pepper)
    2 zucchini
    4 corncobs
    1 eggplant (I didn't have an eggplant but with all the other veggies, there was still plenty for 4 people)
    olive oil

    Spicy Sidekick Dressing

    1 tbs olive oil
    crushed garlic (I used 4 cloves)
    1 small onion, chopped
    1 celery stalk, finely chopped
    1 small green chile, seeded and finely chopped (I used 1 tsp Lazy Cook chopped green chiles in a jar)
    4 tomatoes, chopped (I didn't have 4 fresh tomatoes so I used a can of chopped tomatoes and it was still really lovely and saucy)
    2 inches of cucumber, finely chopped
    1 tbs tomato paste
    1 tbs lime or lemon juice

    Dressing

    To make the dressing, heat the oil in a saucepan or skillet. Add the garlic and onion and saute gently until softened, around 3 minutes. Add the celery, chile and tomatoes, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.

    Add the cucumber, tomato paste and lemon/lime juice and simmer for 8-10 minutes until thick and pulpy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

    Veggies

    Cut the veggies into thick slices and brush with a little olive oil. Cook the vegetables on the grill for about 5-8 minutes, sprinkling them with salt, pepper and fresh herbs as they cook, turning once (under the broiler in the oven is okay too). (I found that it took much longer than 5-8 minutes to "char" the veggies under the grill in my oven. Just allow yourself some time to experiment and get it right)This dish is delicious served over brown rice with lime wedges to squeeze.