Sitting in my garden the other day and having a lazy time, I really didn’t want a heavy lunch but thought I fancied something which was tasty and full of local flavour and used up what was in the fridge as it was too hot and too busy to go to the supermarket.
This recipe hit the spot with an explosion of flavours with not a lot of effort, giving me time to finish the really good book I was reading!
The ingredients below should be enough to feed four hungry sunbathers!
Ingredients
■ 1 small aubergine
■ 1 medium red pepper
■ 1 medium yellow pepper
■ Extra-virgin olive oil
■ Sea salt
■ Freshly-ground black pepper
■ 4 French crusty rolls
■ 4 leaves of crispy lettuce
■ 100gms fresh goat’s cheese, sliced
PASTE
■ 1 medium head of garlic
■ 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
■ 2 large seeded ripe plum tomatoes coarsely chopped
■ 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
■ 12 fresh basil leaves
■ 2 anchovy fillets (oil packed) drained
■ ¼ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
Method
Prepare the gas grill or charcoal BBQ for indirect cooking over a medium (180° Celsius to 200° Celsius) heat.
Remove the loose papery outer skin from the head of the garlic and cut off the top to expose the cloves. Drizzle the oil over the cloves. Re-place the top and place on a square of foil big enough to be able to fold up the sides to make a packet. Leave room for the steam to escape.
Make sure the cooking grates are clean with a wire brush. Grill the garlic packet using the indirect method with the lid of the BBQ on until the cloves are soft.
This will take between 45 minutes to one hour. Remove the garlic packet and allow to cool. Unwrap the packet and squeeze out the garlic cloves into a food processor. Add the remaining paste ingredients and blitz until you have a wonderful smelling smooth paste.
Cut the aubergine crosswise into slices about 1cm thick. Cut the peppers lengthwise in half and remove the stems and de-seed. Flatten out the peppers with the palm of your hand. Brush the aubergine and peppers with oil and season liberally with the salt and pepper. Grill over a direct heat, with the lid of the BBQ closed until tender but not limp; turn once. The aubergine will take between 8 to 10 minutes and the peppers a little quicker. The pepper skins should have some small grill charring but not blackened and peeling. Remove from the grill.
Just before serving, toast the rolls for about 30 seconds cut side down over a direct heat. Brush the inside of the rolls with the yummy garlic paste, layer on the grilled vegetables, lettuce and sliced goat’s cheese. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Article supplied by Chris Winstanley from Moveison outdoor living store near Lagos
