Grilled Vegetables with Walnut Dressing

I had a bunch of leftover fresh veggies in the fridge, including zucchini, which I love grilling in long planks. The walnut dressing really helped to round it out, but they're also great all on their own. I served the veggies with grilled prosciutto-basil chicken for a complete meal. Just keep the veggies warm in a 225 degree oven while you finish cooking the chicken.


Adapted from Food and Wine Magazine, June 2010.


Serves 4.

Ingredients
2 zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 1/3 inch planks.
1/2 lb mushrooms, stemmed
1 lb thick asparagus, tough ends snapped off
1 red onion, sliced 1/3 inch thick
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup walnuts
1 small shallot
1 Tbsp loosely packed thyme leaves
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

Preparation

Zucchini planks

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Preheat gas grill to medium high.
2. Spread the walnuts in a shallow baking pan and toast for about 12 minutes or until fragrant. Let cool completely.
3. Brush zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus, and onion with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the vegetables (in batches, if necessary), turning occasionally, until lightly charred in spots and tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer grilled vegetables to serving platter and keep warm.
4. Transfer toasted walnuts to food processor. Add shallot, thyme, lemon juice and lemon zest and pulse until the nuts are coarsely chopped. With the processor running, drizzle olive oil into the walnut mixture. Season the dressing with salt and pepper and drizzle over the vegetables.