Chargrilled Summer Vegetables with Caesar Dressing Recipe

Bettina says: “This is an all-in-one charred salad. The best way to incorporate as many hero vegetables as possible is to barbecue them and pair them with a killer dressing”

Makes:

Ingredients

2 carrots, cut horizontally into 5 mm (¼ in) strips
2 courgettes (zucchini), cut horizontally into 5 mm (¼ in) strips
1 aubergine (eggplant), cut horizontally into 5 mm (¼ in) strips
3 shallots, peeled and cut horizontally
300–400 g (10–14 oz) tenderstem broccoli
2 corn on the cob
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon maple syrup
½ teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper

For the Caesar dressing:

100 g (3½ oz) cashew nuts
250 ml (8½ fl oz/1 cup) water
1 garlic clove, grated
1 sheet or a few sprigs of dulse (about 10 g/½ oz), chopped
Zest of 1 lemon, plus a squeeze of the juice
1 tablespoon capers, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

For charred croutons:

1 garlic clove, cut in half, for rubbing
2–3 slices of bread
Olive oil, to drizzle

Method

1. Start preparing the Caesar dressing first by soaking the cashew nuts in a bowl of water for 2 hours (you could do this the night before to get ahead).

2. Place all the prepared vegetables in a large bowl. Mix through the olive oil, maple syrup, chilli powder, and salt and pepper. Make sure all the vegetables are properly coated, then set aside for a few minutes.

3. Mix all the dressing ingredients (except the capers) in a food processor or blender until super smooth. You should have a super-creamy dressing.

4. Add the chopped capers to the dressing and mix in well, seasoning with more salt and pepper if needed.

5. Prepare and heat up the barbecue and get all the vegetables on there. Start with the carrots, as they will take slightly longer to cook than the other vegetables. Add the remainder of the vegetables as soon as there is some char on the carrots and then grill until everything is nicely cooked.

6. To make the croutons, rub the slices of bread with the garlic clove and drizzle with some olive oil, so they will be nice and crisp and give the salad that perfect ‘crunch’ factor.

7. Chop the bread into bite-size pieces.

8. Arrange the vegetables beautifully on a serving platter, drizzle generously with the Caesar dressing and sprinkle over the croutons.

Recipe extracted from Celebrate: Plant Based Recipes for Every Occasion by Bettina Campolucci-Bordi (Hardie Grant, £20) Photography: Louise Hagger

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