Recipe: Foster's Market Grilled Vegetable Antipasto with Herbed Balsamic Vinaigrette, Herbed Chevre, and Crostini

GRILLED VEGETABLE ANTIPASTO
WITH HERBED BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE, HERBED CHEVRE AND CROSTINI

"This dish is particularly delicious in summer, when zucchini, peppers, and summer squash are farm-fresh. You can also pile the grilled vegetables onto crusty French bread that's been slathered in creamy chevre. Or make hors d'oeuvres by topping Crostini with slices of grilled vegetable and some crumbled chevre. The vegetables can be grilled up to 1 hour in advance; assemble just before serving."

Safflower oil or canola oil, for oiling the grill
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
5 fresh basil leaves, cut into very thin strips (chiffonade)
2 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch slices lengthwise
2 yellow squash, cut into 1/2-inch slices lengthwise
1 red onion, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 2-inch strips
7 scallions, trimmed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 ripe tomatoes cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 recipe Herbed Chevre (recipe follows)
1 recipe Herbed Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Fresh parsley and fresh basil, to garnish, optional
Crostini (recipe follows)

Brush the grill grates lightly with the safflower oil. Prepare a hot fire on a gas or charcoal grill.

Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, and basil in a small bowl until well blended. Brush the zucchini, yellow squash, onion, red bell peppers, and scallions with the olive oil mixture. Place the vegetables on the hot grill and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side until crisp-tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in 1 cup hot water, covered, about 5 minutes or until softened. Drain and set aside. (Note: Eliminate this step if you are using sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil.)

Arrange the grilled vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes, and sliced tomatoes on individual plates or a serving platter. Add a slice of chevre on the side of the vegetables. Drizzle the vegetables with the vinaigrette, and drizzle a little more vinaigrette around the place. Garnish with the parsley and basil. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired, and serve with crostini

Serves 6-8

CROSTINI

Crostini are toasted slices of bread - usually Italian or French bread - used for snacking, dipping, or to float on soups as a crunchy garnish. Crostini are also delicious as an accompaniment to salads or topped with various spreads and cheeses and served as hors d'oeuvres. When making crostini, use the best-quality bread you can find; day-old bread works well, too.

1 long, thin, good-quality baguette
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt or coarse sea salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Slice the bread on a slight angle into 1/4-inch-thick slices and place on a baking pan in a single layer.

Mix together the olive oil, butter, parsley, dill and pepper in a small bowl.

Brush one side of each piece of bread with the butter mixture and sprinkle with the salt. Toast in the oven 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown and crunchy.

Let cool completely, then service of store in an air-tight container up to 1 week.

VARIATIONS:
We use a mixture of butter and olive oil for our crostini, but they're equally good with either one alone. Or try Asian chili oil for added spiciness or lemon- or lime- flavored olive oil for a mild citrus flavor. You also can drizzle or brush a little balsamic vinegar on the crostini before baking for a bit of tartness. Experiment with other herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, and marjoram.

HERBED BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE
Makes about 1 cup vinaigrette

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons mixed chopped fresh basil, parsley, and thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup canola or safflower oil

Combine the vinegar, lemon juice, herbs, and pepper in a small bowl and stir to mix.

Slowly add the olive oil and the canola oil and whish until all the oil is incorporated. Refrigerate in an air-tight container until ready to use or up to 1 week.

HERBED CHEVRE

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, or mixed fresh herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, and dill
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
One (8-ounce) mild, creamy chevre log

Mix the parsley and pepper together on a plate. Roll the chevre log in the mixture, pressing lightly so the seasonings adhere. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 1 to 2 hours.

Remove the log from the refrigerator and unwrap. Cut into 1-inch slices with string, dental floss, or wire. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve

Chevre
Chevre is the French word for goat, but it has become the generic name for all cheeses made from goat's milk (and for some cheeses made with a combination of goat's milk and cow's milk). Imported chevres are delicious, but there are many wonderful chevres made in this country, too. Chevres can be mild, creamy, aged, dry and crumbly. For a salad dressing, a less expensive domestic chevre works just as well as an imported one.

Makes 25 to 30 crostini
Excerpted from The Foster's Market Cookbook by Sara Foster with Sarah Belk King Photographs by James Baigrie
Copyright 2002 by Sara Foster with Sarah Belk King Photographs by James Baigrie. Excerpted by permission of Random House, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.