Luuk Zegers, Resource-editor
You encounter all the flavours of the world in Wageningen. Resource editor Luuk Zegers shares his favourite Italian side dish: grilled vegetables.
‘I recently cycled with my dad from Bologna to Rome. In addition to the cycling, Italian cuisine was a big part of that trip. At every place we ate, we ordered verdure grigliate. That is a plate of delicious grilled pepper, aubergine and courgette, usually just with some high-quality olive oil, pepper and salt. The taste is amazing, it’s easy to prepare and it goes well with everything. I call this version alla studentesca (student-style) as I always use a toaster grill to make it.’
Time: 20 to 30 minutes
Side dish for 4 people
Equipment:
- Toaster grill
- Baking paper
Ingredients:
- two bell peppers (I usually use the sweet pointed peppers)
- courgette
- aubergine
- good quality olive oil
- pepper, salt
- grated Pecorino Romano (optional)
Preparation:
- Wash the peppers. Remove the stalk and seeds. Cut each pepper into four to eight pieces of equal size, depending on your preference and what will fit in your grill.
- Wash and cut the courgette. I usually slice it lengthwise, but you can cut it into rounds instead. The slices should be no more than one centimetre thick.
- Wash and cut the aubergine. Like the courgette, I usually slice it lengthwise, but you can cut it into rounds instead. The slices should be no more than one centimetre thick.
- Heat the toaster grill. Place a sheet of baking paper, put the first batch of vegetables on top and grill them until they have nice grill stripes. Continue until all the vegetables have been grilled.
- Arrange the grilled vegetables on a dish, sprinkle olive oil over them, add salt and pepper and grate some delicious Pecorino on top if wished.
Tip: Make sure all the slices in the grill are about the same thickness so they cook evenly.
Tip: Grill some green asparagus as well. Amazing!
