Roasted Summer Vegetables with Goat Cheese
This vegetable salad, inspired by Spanish escalivada, can be served warm from the oven but is equally delicious at room temperature. If you like, serve alongside grilled fish or top the vegetables with anchovies, arranging them on the salad as you would on a classic Caesar. Leftovers are delicious cooked into a frittata.
Ingredients:
- 4 Tbs. olive oil
- 1 lb. red or orange bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 lb. slender eggplant, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 lb. zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 tsp. ground cumin
- 3/4 tsp. smoked paprika
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
- 3 Tbs. sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1 romaine lettuce head, separated into leaves
- 4 oz. fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 400°F.
Pour 2 Tbs. of the olive oil into a large roasting pan. Add the bell peppers, onion, eggplant and zucchini, and sprinkle with the garlic, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. Roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes total. Drizzle with 1 Tbs. of the vinegar.
In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil and 2 Tbs. vinegar. Add the lettuce and toss to coat.
Divide the lettuce among 4 plates, stacking the leaves slightly to make a bed for the vegetables. Spoon the vegetables evenly over the lettuce and sprinkle about 2 Tbs. goat cheese over each salad. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Eat Well, by Charity Ferreira (Oxmoor House, 2008).