My Vegetable Blog

A lot of the meals I eat, especially the vegetarian ones (which are becoming more and more frequent), are usually composed of a series of sides. Personally, I'm perfectly happy with that. Sides have always interested me more than meaty main courses. I'd definitely never complain about being served lots of sides (as a bride did on the one episode of The Next Food Network Star that I watched before losing all interest in the show). But there is something appealing about a singular vegetable main dish, vegetables at the center of the plate, if you will.

This particular vegetable dish was inspired by Matt, a fan of balsamic vinegar, who requested a grilled vegetable dish that uses plenty of it. I used my two trusty grill pans for the green beans, zucchini and bread, but an actual grill would be fine too. You'd want to use a vegetable basket or foil for the beans so they don't roll into the grill itself.

Here's the recipe:

• 1 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed
• 1 large zucchini, cut in half and sliced into 1-inch strips
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 large tomato, cut into 8 wedges
• 1 small baguette, sliced
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• fresh basil
• salt and pepper

Heat vinegar in small pan over medium low heat. Simmer until it is reduced by half (about 8 minutes).

Heat grill pans or grill. Toss vegetables with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper. Drizzle remaining oil onto bread slices. Grill vegetables for 5-7 minutes, turning zucchini once and tossing beans occasionally. Grill bread for 1-2 minutes per side.

Arrange bread slices and tomatoes along the edge of a plate and top with vegetables in the center. Drizzle balsamic reduction over everything. Top with roughly torn basil leaves.

Enjoy.

*Note: If you prefer a less crunch/raw texture to the beans, you may want to steam or blanch them first.