Here’s a fresh and healthy side dish to serve along anything you’re about to throw on your grill this weekend. It’s a combination of grilled veggies and a salad all in one! I actually recreated this from a salad I had at a restaurant recently.
It couldn’t be easier to make, just grill up your favorite veggies, go for a variety of colors, the more color the better, it adds to a pretty presentation. I even used some mini eggplant I found called Indian eggplant, which I thought gave it a nice visual and something different.
All the vegetables can be grilled ahead of time and set aside until you’re ready to plate everything together.
Crisp romaine lettuce is dressed with a rich, slightly sweet aged balsamic vinaigrette. I also added sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and creamy avocado into the mix.
Feel free to crumble some creamy goat cheese or feta on top with a sprinkling of pine nuts for more bling!
This is great for entertaining with ease and the presentation is gorgeous sitting on your platter!
- red, yellow and orange bell peppers
- eggplant
- zucchini
- yellow squash
- asparagus
- artichoke hearts, grilled or canned, drained of any liquid
- sun dried tomatoes ( soft and tender)
- sliced avocado
- crumbled feta or goat cheese and pine nuts, (optional)
- FOR BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE
- ¼ cup of a good aged balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup, extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced finely
- ¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper
- Prepare and slice all your veggies, place in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill them all ahead of time until tender with nice grill marks, set aside.
- Whisk all your balsamic vinaigrette ingredients together until well incorporated.
- Right before you're ready to eat place chopped romaine, sun dried tomatoes into a bowl and dress with the vinaigrette, place onto your platter.
- Take the same bowl, toss in all your grilled veggies and carefully drizzle balsamic vinaigrette all over them, not too much, a little goes a long way, taste to your liking.
- Carefully arrange the veggies on top of the lettuce mixture with slices of avocado all around the perimeter.
- Add cheese and nuts if so desired.
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
