Mediterranean grilled vegetables

Ingredients for 5 servings:

• 500 g triplets
• 3 small zucchini, yellow or green
• 3 pointed peppers, red
• 500 g cherry tomatoes, small and sweet
• 300 g mushrooms, brown
• 3 small pak choi
• 1 bunch of spring onions
• 2 large onions
• 6 Pepper, mild
• 1 lemon(s)
• 1 pack of sheep’s cheese
• 6 cloves garlic
• 250 ml olive oil, good
• 100 g Pecorino, grated
• 1 tbsp, heaped mustard, hot
• 2 tsp, heaped rosemary, shredded or fresh
• 1 tsp thyme, shredded or fresh
• 1 tsp, heaped pepper, crushed
• 1 tsp, heaped basil, shredded or fresh
• 1 tsp, heaped chili flakes
• 2 tsp, heaped vegetable broth, instant
• Rosemary and thyme, fresh (garnish)

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes

The grilled vegetables are suitable for preparation in the oven or over indirect heat with the grill and smoker.

First of all, I’d like to point out that individual components can of course be chosen according to taste and preference. It can also be done without leeks or with eggplant; that’s a matter of personal taste. I and my guests like it that way, even if pak choi isn’t very Mediterranean. So please feel free to combine the vegetables, as well as the seasoning of the marinade. The potatoes (small, skin-on potatoes) should be pre-cooked; not until they’re soft enough to eat, but already cooked. This prevents them from being undercooked later in the oven. Cut the vegetables (peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, spring onions, pak choi) into bite-sized, not too small pieces (see pictures), chopping the spring onions more finely. Peel one of the onions and cut lengthwise into slices about 0.5 cm wide, then halve these so that the onion breaks into half rings (the shape doesn’t really matter, but the size should be about right). Place everything in a large bowl. Tip: During these preparations, there’s plenty of time to cook the potatoes. For the marinade, we’ll need an electric chopper (one with a rotating blade). Add the olive oil, the remaining onion, the garlic, the mustard, the pecorino, and all the spices mentioned. Blend thoroughly; this should create an emulsion, a mustard-like paste. If the whole thing becomes too pasty, simply add more oil. You can use fresh herbs or dried herbs, but don’t use powdered herbs. In a sufficiently large bowl, toss the vegetables with the marinade until everything is completely coated. This will still look a bit like “too much marinade,” but now the potatoes are added and mixed together without mashing them. At the same time, add the cherry tomatoes; you can mash them slightly as you add them, if you like; the juices will then create a thinner sauce. Mix everything thoroughly and then pour into a casserole dish. The layer shouldn’t be too thick so that the vegetables “in the second row” also have a chance to brown. Now spread the peppers and feta cheese on the marinated bed of vegetables, crumbling the feta cheese into cube-sized pieces at most. Do yourself and your guests a favor and use real feta cheese and not just any “white cheese” made from cow’s milk. Now slice half a lemon and place it on top, drizzle the juice of the other half over the vegetables. If you like, you can sprinkle the feta cheese with some chili flakes or pepper. Not only as a garnish, but also for even more flavor, sprinkle fresh rosemary and thyme on the vegetables. Remove the leaves before serving. Roast in the oven on the middle rack at 180°C (convection oven or top/bottom heat) until brown spots appear on the edges of the feta cheese (approx. 30-40 minutes). But that also depends on personal taste. I like it lightly roasted. If you prefer it cooked quickly and well (not firm to the bite), you should cook it covered for about 20 minutes.