summer / vegan / appetizers

I love ratatouille – eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes all mingling together with flavors of fruity olive oil, thyme, oregano, and fresh basil… But it’s summer and what I don’t love is standing over a hot stove. So I came up with this simple GRILLED version of ratatouille that takes all of about 15 minutes to make. It’s not at all authentic, but I love how the char of the grill flavors these vegetables.

For easy summer eating, I assembled these as toasts. They’re a delicious snack with wine – but they’re hearty enough to double as a light dinner.

Once grilled, I chopped up the vegetables into bite-sized pieces and tossed them with sherry vinegar, garlic and herbs de provence (which is basically a mix of dried thyme, oregano, rosemary, marjoram and lavender). I supposed you could mix all of those spices together separately but trust me, it’s just easier to buy the spice mix – you’ll use it again and again if you love these flavors as much as I do.

To get the vegetables to stick to the bread, I put a slather of plain hummus, though you could use a spread of goat cheese if you like. Again, not authentic, but I didn’t want the vegetables to fall all over the place upon first bite.

Serve with chilled rosé (we like this one, pictured, by Charles & Charles – you can find it at Whole Foods) Cheers!

For more appetizer ideas, check out this post with 50 easy appetizers.

5.0 from 4 reviews

Grilled Ratatouille Tartines

  PrintAuthor: Jeanine DonofrioServes: serves 4Ingredients

• 1 zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1 medium eggplant, sliced into ¼-inch thick rounds
• 1 red bell pepper, halved, ribs and seeds removed
• 3 whole scallions
• extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• sea salt
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
• 8 slices of good bread, toasted
• hummus or goat cheese

Instructions

Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium heat.

Drizzle the zucchini, eggplant, red pepper and scallions with olive oil and a few pinches of salt. Grill until charred, about 3 minutes per side.

Remove the vegetables from the grill, let cool slightly, then chop everything into 1-inch pieces. Toss them in a mixing bowl with the cherry tomatoes, garlic, sherry vinegar, herbs de Provence and basil.

Season to taste, then serve on toasted bread with a spread of goat cheese or hummus.

3.4.3177
This recipe was created in partnership with Whole Foods Market.

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