Chargrilled Eggplant And Zucchini Salad

After a long weekend away in Tasmania, eating and drinking lots of delicious things, I was in desperate need of some simple vegetables!

As much as I love to eat out and enjoy new and different food, nothing beats a simple homemade meal.

With a few vegies left in the fridge before we headed away, I knew that they needed to be made into something before they would be wasted. This salad is the result of using up leftovers, and I must admit that it was pretty tasty.

The creamy Danish feta combined with the oil and lemon juice to make a lovely dressing on the vegetables. Being chargrilled first, the zucchini and eggplant were nice and soft, but still with a little bit of bite. You could also roast some red capsicum and add that to the salad for extra sweetness.

I served my salad so that the vegetables were still warm. I think the flavour in the eggplant and zucchini are much nicer when they aren't too cold. If you were preparing the vegetables earlier in the day, either take them out of the fridge an hour or so before serving to warm up, or give them a short burst in the microwave to heat them up.

Toasted almonds would also be perfect in this salad, if you didn't have any pinenuts. You just want something to add a little bit of toasty crunchiness.

Enjoy this salad on it's own or with some beautiful fresh crusty bread and butter.

Chargrilled Eggplant And Zucchini Salad

1 eggplant
1 zucchini
3 spring onions, trimmed and white and inner green parts cut into thin rounds
2 tsp toasted pinenuts, plus extra to serve
50g Danish feta, diced
A handful each of baby spinach and rocket
A sprig of parlsey, leaves coarsely chopped
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice eggplant and zucchini lengthways into 5mm thin slices.
Spray with an oil spray and season lightly with salt and pepper.
Heat a grill pan over medium heat and grill vegies for 2-3 minutes each side or until grill marks form and the vegetables are soft. The eggplant will need a little bit longer to soften.
Remove from the pan and allow to cool slightly.
Thinly slice each piece of eggplant or zucchini into long strips. You should get about 4 strips from the zucchini and 5 or 6 from the eggplant.
Put the eggplant and zucchini strips in a bowl with the spring onions, pinenuts, rocket, baby spinach, parsley and feta.
In a small jar, combine the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Season the taste and shake to combine.
Pour about half of the dressing over the salad and toss well to combine. The feta should 'melt' and make a creamy dressing. Season to taste.

Serve the salad piled on to plates, topped with a few extra toasted pinenuts.

Enjoy!