Mediterranean Grilled Vegetable Tartine

Yesterday’s White Bean-Chive Hummus lay the foundation for today’s hugely flavorful (and also quite healthy) Mediterranean Grilled Vegetable Tartines.

The term “tartine” simply refers to an open-faced sandwich. You want to start with a nice-sized slice of grilled bread for this one to accommodate a good layer of hummus and a mound of these incredible marinated grilled vegetables. I first let the eggplant, zucchini and bell peppers get comfortable in an herb paste of aromatic dried herbs, olive oil and balsamic vinegar then grilled them in quick batches on the panini maker. I added some rings of grilled red onion and sprinklings of feta and chives. I didn’t think it was possible to enjoy an open-faced vegetable sandwich this much!

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Mediterranean Grilled Vegetable Tartine

Prep time: 2 hours 30 minutes (including marinade time) | Cook time: 25 minutes |Total time: 2 hours 55 minutes

Yield: 4 tartines

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried marjoram
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Japanese eggplants, sliced lengthwise 1/4-inch thick
• 2 small zucchini, sliced lengthwise 1/4-inch thick
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
• 1 small red onion, sliced into 1/4-inch rings

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 slices country bread
• 1/2 cup White Bean-Chive Hummus
• 4 ounces crumbled feta
• Chopped chives, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Marinate and grill the vegetables:

1. In a large, resealable plastic bag, combine the olive oil, parsley, marjoram, basil, vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic. Place the eggplant, zucchini and bell peppers into the bag (reserve the onions). Seal and marinate for 1 to 2 hours in the refrigerator.
2. Turn off the grill, allow it to cool and carefully wipe it clean with paper towels. Reheat the panini grill to medium-high heat.
3. In batches, grill the marinated vegetables with the lid closed for 4 to 5 minutes until they are tender and grill marks appear. Try to grill in batches of the same type of vegetable (i.e., all of the eggplant together, all of the zucchini together, etc.) as the different vegetables may require slightly different cooking times.
4. Drizzle a little of the remaining marinade over the onions and grill them with the lid closed for 4 to 5 minutes until they are tender and grill marks appear.
5. You can either make the tartines right away or refrigerate the vegetables for a day or two.

Make the tartines:

1. Preheat the panini grill to medium-high heat (if you are preparing the tartines immediately after grilling the vegetables, be sure to first unplug the grill and clean off the grates).
2. Brush a little olive oil on top of each slice of bread. In batches grill the bread slices, oil side up, for about 4 to 5 minutes until they are toasted with grill marks.
3. Spread about 2 tablespoons of White Bean-Chive Hummus on each slice of bread. Top with the grilled vegetables and a sprinkling of feta and chives. Serve immediately.