Charred Summer Vegetables
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Charred Summer Vegetables are the perfect vegetarian meal or a delicious side dish that you will enjoy serving all summer long! It is also the perfect way to use up all of those vegetables that are bursting out of your gardens. Topped with a fresh basil pistou {sauce} and shaved Gruyere cheese keeps it deliciously healthy and takes the flavors to a whole new level…..
I was searching around the internet last week looking for Mediterranean vegetable type meals and came across a recipe for Soup au Pistou {French Minestrone} that looked amazing!! Then I remembered that it is 100+ degrees outside and hot soup all of a sudden sounded a lot less appetizing, LOL. I was intrigued by the pistou so I adjusted my search and came across a recipe on the Le Creuset site that sounded interesting, so I decided to go for it. Unfortunately, the recipe didn’t make any sense!!!
I made adjustments, scratched my head a few times in disbelief, and decided to share my version of Charred Summer Vegetables to show how to fix a ridiculously written recipe!! 😉 I don’t like wasting food, and I’m sure you don’t either, sometimes you just need to get a little creative. Oh ya, I don’t like unnecessary steps either! 😉
How to make Charred Summer Vegetables in a cast iron skillet:
Make the Basil Pistou first:
Tear the basil leaves into pieces and place in bowl of a food processor. Add the garlic and pulse a few time to combine.
Add the olive oil and continue processing until you have a smooth sauce.
Stir in the lemon juice then season with sea salt and ground black pepper to taste.
I could not find my food processor so I tried making my sauce in a blender, it did not work. I could not achieve a smooth sauce so I poured what I had into a glass measuring cup and finished it off with an immersion blender. 🙂 Problem solved!! With a tall enough jar, this sauce could be made with an immersion blender from the start.
Toss the vegetables together with two tablespoons of olive oil in a large bowl. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
Heat one tablespoon of oil in a LARGE skillet over medium-high heat until HOT.
Pour half of the vegetables into the pan and cook until charred, about 4 to 8 minutes depending on your stove top…..
See the char on the yellow squash? Allow the vegetables to char on one side, then flip them over to char the other side. If the tomatoes start to pop open, go ahead and remove them.
Special Note: those zucchini and squash slices are too thick, I will explain more down below.
Once the vegetables are charred and softened, but not fully cooked, remove them from the skillet and place in a large bowl or serving platter.
Repeat the process with the second half of the vegetables. If the skillet looks too dry, add an additional tablespoon of oil.
When the second batch is charred, add the first batch back into the skillet and cover with a lid. Cook for an additional 3 minutes or so until the eggplant is tender but not falling apart.
Add additional salt and pepper if needed. Spoon the basil pistou over the vegetables and garnish with shaved Gruyere or Parmesan cheese, if desired…..
It may have been a bizarre experience to complete this recipe, but it was well worth it otherwise I would not be sharing it with you!!
My issues with the original recipe:
It states to cut the eggplant into large cubes, and the zucchini and squash into thick slices….so I did that. The eggplant cooked way faster than the squash and zucchini did so I had to remove it from the pan as I went along. Solution: large eggplant cubes, thinly sliced zucchini and squash (1/4-inch).
It states to toss all of the vegetables together with one tablespoon of oil….um no, that is not enough. Then the directions instruct you to cook the eggplant first, by itself for 2 minutes on each side. Then the zucchini and squash, and finally the tomatoes. How? All of the vegetables have been tossed together in the bowl?? Solution: everyone goes into the skillet at the same time.
Notes:
- Basil Pistou is the French/Provencal version of the Italian Basil Pesto. There are no pine nuts or Parmesan cheese, just basil, garlic, oil, and lemon juice.
- Pistou means “pounded”, so technically it should be made using a mortar and pestle…but mine is MIA
- I used Gruyere because it is more common in France than Parmesan. Use whichever you prefer, just remember that Parmesan has a saltier flavor so go easy on the salt.
- 2 cups of fresh basil is equivalent to (4) of those plastic packages at the grocery store.
Some of my other favorite vegetable dishes for you to try:
- French Green Beans {Haricort Verts}
- Sauteed Zucchini and Carrots
- Simple Grilled Vegetables
- Simple Roasted Carrots
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Squash with Dried Cranberries
Tools used to create this recipe: {contains affiliate links}
- 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet
- Large Mortar & Pestle – I have this one, but it is still packed in a box somewhere. 🙁
- Immersion Blender
- Bamboo Cutting Board
Do you have a vegetable garden in your backyard? I live in Arizona with no shade whatsoever, so I gave up on gardening the first summer that I lived here! LOL
Enjoy!!
Charred Summer Vegetables
Ingredients
Basil Pistou {Sauce}
- 2 cups basil (lightly packed)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- sea salt and black pepper (to taste)
Summer Vegetables
- 1 medium eggplant (cut into large cubes)
- 1 large zucchini (sliced thin and cut in half)
- 1 large yellow squash (sliced thin and cut in half)
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- sea salt and black pepper (to taste)
- ¼ cup Gruyere cheese - or Parmesan (shaved)
Instructions
Basil Pistou {Sauce} - make the pistou first
- Tear the basil leaves into pieces and place in bowl of a food processor. Add the garlic and pulse a few time to combine.
- Add the olive oil and continue processing until you have a smooth sauce.
- Stir in the lemon juice then season with sea salt and ground black pepper to taste. (Add more lemon juice if needed)
For the Vegetables
- Toss the vegetables together with two tablespoons of olive oil in a large bowl. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
- Heat one tablespoon of oil in a LARGE skillet over medium-high heat until HOT.
- Pour half of the vegetables into the pan and cook until charred, about 4 to 8 minutes depending on your stove top. Allow the vegetables to char on one side, then flip them over to char the other side. If the tomatoes start to pop open, go ahead and remove them.
- Once the vegetables are charred and softened, but not fully cooked, remove them from the skillet and place in a large bowl or serving platter.
- Repeat the process with the second half of the vegetables. If the skillet looks too dry, add an additional tablespoon of oil.
- When the second batch is charred, add the first batch back into the skillet and cover with a lid. Cook for an additional 3 minutes or so until the eggplant is tender but not falling apart.
- Add additional salt and pepper if needed. Spoon the basil pistou over the vegetables and garnish with shaved Gruyere or Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
- Basil Pistou is the French/Provencal version of the Italian Basil Pesto. There are no pine nuts or Parmesan cheese, just basil, garlic, oil, and lemon juice.
- Pistou means “pounded”, so technically it should be made using a mortar and pestle…but mine is MIA
- I used Gruyere because it is more common in France than Parmesan. Use whichever you prefer, just remember that Parmesan has a saltier flavor so go easy on the salt.
- 2 cups of fresh basil is equivalent to (4) of those plastic packages at the grocery store.
- Serves 4 as a meal, 6 as a side dish.
- You will not use all of the Pistou, so the "Fat" Nutritional Facts are way off.
- I have not included amounts for the sea salt, so they are not calculated in the "Sodium" Nutritional Facts.
