Marinated Summer Vegetables Grilled on Rosemary Skewers
Garden-fresh summer vegetables need little to adorn them. Here, they’re marinated in a simple vinaigrette, then threaded onto sturdy rosemary stems and grilled over a hot fire. This cooking process infuses smoky-woodsy nuances into the vegetables as the herb stems smolder over the high heat of the grill.
Ingredients:
- 1 small globe eggplant, about 1 lb., cut lengthwise into quarters
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 9 large fresh rosemary sprigs with strong woody stems
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbs. sherry vinegar
- Pinch of sea salt
- Pinch of freshly ground pepper
- 1 zucchini, cut into rounds about 1/2 inch thick
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
Directions:
Cut the eggplant quarters into slices about 1/2 inch thick.
Add the garlic to a large bowl. Pluck the leaves from 1 rosemary sprig and add them to the bowl. Add the mustard, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and stir well. Add the eggplant, zucchini and the tomatoes, and toss well to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the vegetables marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, strip the leaves from the bottom two-thirds of the remaining 8 rosemary sprigs (reserve the leaves for another use). Place the sprigs in a shallow dish, add water to cover and soak for 1 hour to prevent them from burning on the grill.
Drain the rosemary sprigs. Thread the vegetables onto the sprigs, alternating the eggplant slices, zucchini slices and tomatoes, and shaking off any excess marinade as you remove the vegetables from the bowl. Reserve the marinade.
About 15 minutes before you plan to serve the vegetable skewers, prepare a hot fire in a grill.
Grill the vegetables, turning once or twice, until the vegetables are tender but not falling apart, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with the remaining marinade. Serve hot or at room temperature. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma New Flavors for Vegetables, by Jodi Liano (Oxmoor House, 2008).