A lot of people today have grown quite health conscious that they have sworn off eating meat. Some would even eat only vegetables. There are others out there, however, who could still forgive themselves a bit of dairy every now and then. Well, if you are among the latter; Grilled Portobello, Heirloom Tomato, Cipolline, Artichoke, and Asparagus is the perfect dish for you. Remember, you can never have too much of these super healthy edibles we call vegetables.
Serves: 4
4 portobello caps, stem removed and black scraped off inside
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 yellow heirloom tomato, sliced medium
1 red heirloom tomato, sliced medium
16 grape tomatoes, yellow and red, peeled
2 cooked Roma artichokes
8 spears grilled asparagus
12 roasted cippoline onions
1 loaf semolina bread, with crust removed and sliced
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 slices Carrot Bacon
1 zucchini, sliced thin
2 lemons
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves
2 sprigs thyme, picked
2 Tbsp simple syrup
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup fresh fava beans
2 shallots, sliced thin
6 Tbsp soft Brie cheese
To taste, kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 Tbsp Balsamic Reduction
1. Mix oil and vinegar, and brush the mixture on the portobello caps. Grill for 3–4
minutes on each side. Reserve.
2. Ensure that the tomatoes, onions, asparagus and artichokes are at room temperature, and place them on a baking tray.
3. Brush the bread slices with olive oil, and grill 1–2 minutes per side. Reserve.
4. Grill thin zucchini slices for 1–2 minutes per side.
5. For dressing, in a stainless steel bowl add lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, thyme and simple syrup. Whisk very well or use a blending stick.
6. In a small sauté pan add oil and then shallots, sauté until soft.
7. On toast, spread the Brie cheese, top with warm shallots, then fava beans.
8. Brush well all the vegetables on the tray with the dressing.
9. Season with salt and pepper.
10. On a plate, place a portobello cap sliced or unsliced, followed by artichoke, sliced tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and asparagus.
11. Wrap onions with zucchini slices and place them on the plate. Garnish the plate with the carrot bacon and the fava bean toast.
12. Drizzle the plate with the Balsamic Reduction.
For a unique touch, I like to add a bit of my favorite sorbet with herbs such as pineapple sage.
Some say being a vegetarian is boring because meat is where the deliciousness of a dish rests. I don’t believe this is always the case for there are a lot of extraordinarily delicious meatless dishes out there. And Grilled Portobello, Heirloom Tomato, Cipolline, Artichoke, and Asparagus is the perfect dish to prove those doubters out there wrong. Trust me, try this recipe out and see for yourself. The ingredients are easy to find and the instructions are quite easy to follow. You could not possibly go wrong with this one.