Grilled Ratatouille

This recipe is so quick and easy to put together and all of the elements are so full of flavour. The garlic and tomatoes melt into a sweet and tangy dressing for the rest of the vegetables.  Scoop this up with some warm grilled Naan bread or toss it with pasta and Parmesan cheese. The leftovers make a wonderful cold salad or sandwich filling. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 Zucchini, halved lengthways

2 Roma Tomatoes, whole

1 medium Onion, peeled and cut in half through the root, with the root still intact

1 head garlic

1 large Eggplant sliced lengthways 1 inch thick

2 Peppers, whole

a few glugs of EVOO

a splash of Red wine vinegar

1. Preheat your grill on high for at least 10 minutes,
2. Slice the top off of the head of garlic, then place it on a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with a little olive oil and season with a pinch of salt.  Wrap it up tightly and set it aside on a large platter.
3. Place the whole tomatoes and peppers and the halved onion on the platter.  Use a pastry brush to lightly oil the slices of zucchini and eggplant and place them on the platter as well.
4. Take the platter to the grill and turn down the heat to medium on one side of the grill.  On the side with high heat, place the tomatoes and peppers.  On the side with low heat, place the zucchini, eggplant, onion and garlic pouch.  If they don't all fit at once, or your grill only has one heat zone, you can do this in batches.  
5. Close the grill but check the vegetables frequently and turn as needed.  The peppers and tomatoes should get blackened and charred all over.  the Rest of the vegetables should be lightly charred with dark grill marks and cooked all the way through.   This will take about 15 minutes.  Remove each piece of vegetable as it is ready.  All of the vegetables do not need to be hot or come off of the grill at the same time.  
6. When you remove the peppers from the grill, place them in a bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap and set aside for 5-10 minutes.  Chop the zucchini and eggplant into large chunks, about 1 inch.  Pull the peel from the tomatoes.  It should come away fairly easily.  Don't worry if you miss a few small pieces.  Dice the tomatoes and onion to about 1/2 inch size.  Scrape all of the vegetables and juices from the cutting board into a large bowl as you chop.  Remove the peppers from the bowl and peel away the skin, again not worrying if some skins sticks and can't be removed.  Dice the peppers to 1 inch pieces.  
7. Open the garlic pouch and squeeze the cloves of garlic from the papery shell.  If it is still to hot to use your hands, use tongs.  Use the side of your knife to squich the garlic into a smooth paste and scrape it into the bowl.
8. Drizzle all of the vegetables with your best extra virgin olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar.  Toss to combine all of the ingredients and disburse the garlic paste.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.