Grilled Vegetable Platter with Avocado Hollandaise

Ingredients

Serves 4
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for brushing
  • 1 teaspoon very finely chopped garlic
  • 1 teaspoon very finely chopped fresh thyme or rosemary
  • 10 to 12 large, fresh basil leaves
  • 2 small heads garlic, halved crosswise
  • 2 small, firm zucchini about 1 inch in diameter, halved lengthwise
  • 1 medium globe eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/2-thick slices
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise
  • 1 red onion, cut into ½ -inch thick rounds 1 large sweet bell pepper, cored, quartered, and seeded 2 to 4 Portobello mushrooms, about 2 inches in diameter, gills removed Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 loaf crusty bread such as baguette or ciabatta, cut into ½ -inch thick slices

Directions

Preparation:

Build a medium-hot fire. In a small bowl, stir together the ¼  cup olive oil with the garlic and thyme. Set aside. Stack 5 of the basil leaves, roll them up, and cut crosswise into a fine chiffonade. Repeat with the remaining leaves and set aside in a small bowl. Brush all the vegetables all over with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Place them diagonally across the grate and cook just until they are nicely marked: cook for about 1 minute, then rotate them about 90° for another minute to create a crosshatch pattern. Cook the mushrooms gill side up, brushing them while on the grill with the garlic-oil. The juices will collect in the cup and the garlic is protected from burning. Once the vegetables are browned on both sides, move them to a cooler part of the grill, brush with the garlic oil, if desired, cover, and cook until tender. The garlic heads will need the longest time, about 30 minutes. Check frequently and remove the vegetables to a platter as they are done. Brush the bread on both sides with more oil and grill until lightly browned.

When all the vegetables and bread have grilled, sprinkle the basil over the vegetables and serve with the sauces and the remaining garlic oil at table.

 

Avocado Hollandaise:

  • ½ ripe avocado, cut into dices
  • 2-teaspoon Fresh lemon juice
  • 2-tablespoons Virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Using a blender, puree ½ avocado with 2 teaspoons lemon juice and ¼ cup hot water until smooth, about 2 minutes.

With the machine on, drizzle in 2 tablespoons olive oil until combined.

Season with salt and pepper, and the sauce is ready to be used.