First, the beets that came in our box this week were so beautiful. And I think beets are ordinarily among the lookers of the vegetable kingdom, but these were extra special. When we cut them open, they looked like strawberries.
Naturally, I made everyone* in the house come and ooh and aah at them with me before the food preparing process could move forward.
Also in the box were bundles of crunchy lettuce and more yellow squash than you could shake a stick at (unless you had a group of people shaking very many sticks, then I think it could be done). This particular combination of goodness made our Saturday lunch decision plain: it was time to break out our favorite grilled vegetable salad from Bon Appetit.
There are so many things that I love about this recipe, not least among them being that someone thought it would be a great idea to grill fennel (they were right!) and that, although it is ridiculously delicious when made just as directed, it can easily be modified to accommodate most any confederacy of vegetables that you happen to have hanging around. But I think that what I love most is its inclusion of blue cheese. Blue cheese, for me, always triggers fond thoughts of my parents. In one of those incidental bits of food memory that tags along with us from childhood, I remember very lovingly the glass jar of Marie's blue cheese dressing as a virtually ever present staple in our refrigerator. For better or for worse, we were and are a blue cheese kind of family and I still can't eat it without pausing for a moment to say a silent prayer of thanks that serendipity set me down in the middle of the oddball group of folks that I am lucky to call kin.
But, I digress. Here it is, so that you might try it for yourself with your own rare and motley crew:
Grilled Vegetables with Mixed Greens and Blue Cheese Dressing
(on epicurious.com, originally published in Bon Appetit)
Serves 4 as a main course.
2 tbs red wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
9 tbs extra virgin olive oil, divided + a bit more for brushing the onion
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (about 2 ounces)
2 medium zucchini or yellow squash, halved lengthwise
2 bell peppers (colors of your choice), seeded and quartered lengthwise
1 lb red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/3 inch thick slices
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cut through core into 8 wedges
8 fresh shitake mushrooms, stemmed (I often use other mushrooms when I can't find fresh shitakes)
10 baby beets (about 1.5 inches in diameter), trimmed, scrubbed and halved crosswise
1 large red onion, cut into 1/3 inch thick slices
1 5-ounce package mixed baby greens (or greens of your choice)
Whisk vinegar, Dijon mustard, and 5 tbs olive oil in small bowl. Stir in cheese. Season dressing with salt and generous amount of pepper.
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat); brush grill with oil. Place all vegetables except beets, onion, and greens in large bowl; drizzle with remaining 4 tbs oil and toss to coat. Transfer to large rimmed baking sheet. Place beets in same bowl; toss to coat with any remaining oil and transfer to baking sheet. Sprinkle vegetables on baking sheet with salt and pepper. Brush onion slices with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Grill vegetables until slightly charred and tender; about 12 minutes for beets, potatoes and fennel, turning occasionally, and about 4 minutes per side for zucchini (or squash), peppers, onion slices, and mushrooms.
Mound greens in center of 4 plates. Scatter onion slices over greens. Arrange vegetables around greens. Drizzle dressing over and serve.
* The husband and the dog. The neighbors did not appear to be home, so they got a pass. This time.
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