Mediterranean Marinated Salad

This Mediterranean-inspired salad is can be served as a dinner-party appetizer, and is delicious with grilled fish, poultry, or meat.

Inspired by Mediterranean cooking methods, this salad of roasted vegetables has a rich flavor cut by a piquant dressing. It is ideal for a healthy mid-week meal with crusty bread, some pasta, or couscous.

It is also good as a dinner-party appetizer and delicious with grilled fish, poultry, or meat.

Prep time: about 1 hour
Marinating time: 4 hours

You Will Need
Salad
1 small eggplant, cut into 1-inch-thick slices
1 red pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 2-inch squares
1 yellow pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 2-inch squares
4 baby zucchini, halved lengthways
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 canned anchovy fillets, drained and finely chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper

Dressing
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Garnish
Sprigs of fresh rosemary (optional)

What to Do
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lay the eggplant slices in a single layer in a large roasting pan. Arrange the red and yellow peppers and zucchini around the eggplant, placing them cut sides up.

2. Brush the vegetables lightly with the oil. Scatter the garlic, anchovies (if using) and chopped rosemary over the vegetables, and add salt and pepper to taste. Roast the vegetables for 25 to 30 minutes.

3. Cover the vegetables with foil and roast until they are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a large dish and drizzle the cooking juices over them.

4. Whisk the dressing ingredients together and pour over the vegetables. Cover and leave to cool completely, then put the vegetable salad in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 4 hours.

5. Remove the salad from the refrigerator 1 hour before serving so it can return to cool room temperature if desired. Garnish with sprigs of rosemary, if desired.

Some More Ideas
Replace the zucchini with 1/2 pound plum tomatoes, halved, and use fresh thyme instead of rosemary. Roast the eggplant and peppers for 30 minutes, then add the tomatoes, and roast for a further 15 minutes without covering with foil.

For a vegetarian version, omit the anchovies and add 2 tablespoons chopped capers.

Plus Points

Eggplant is satisfyingly filling but low in calories. Three ounces contains just 15 calories. It is renowned for absorbing oil when fried, but cooking it this way keeps the fat content very low.

Roasting brings out all the natural flavors of the vegetables. Serve this to people who typically do not like vegetables and watch them enjoy this dish!

All of the vegetables in this dish are good sources of fiber and they provide lots of vitamins and minerals.

Serves 4

Nutrition Information
Each serving provides calories 109, calories from fat 64, fat 7g, saturated fat 1g, cholesterol 0mg, sodium 34mg, carbohydrate 12g, fiber 3g, sugars 7g, protein 2g. Excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C. Good source of vitamin B6.

Exchanges: fruit 1, fat 2

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