Timbale of roasted vegetables

Grilled vegetables is one of the dishes that I prepare the most during the summer. My father’s garden is full and in these months everything comes out suddenly and even distributing among friends we have everything at home: carrots, lettuce, zucchini, potatoes, cabbage, beans, peppers, tomatoes, onions … to infinity. The flavor of all these vegetables collected in the morning and cooked at noon is incredible. And if we make them on the grill or wok on top, we retain almost all their flavor.

I advise you that if you pass through Galicia or northern Spain, you buy a countryman some surplus from the garden, they are grateful and you more. I repeat as always that it is important to support seasonal products, to save and eat a little better.

The orchard in the Ribeira Sacra (Ourense) has an enviable microclimate and a land full of nutrients that makes everything grow with energy, from fruit trees outside the north (medlars, kiwis, oranges, figs, lemons …) to grapes of excellent varieties ( mencía, grenache and godello). The typically Atlantic climate, with lots of rain and very humid in winter but safe from frost and a very warm climate in summer, makes my father’s job easier (although his work is difficult, I attest that he takes his hours). Thanks to the year-round work he extracts from his garden in A Forraqueira (Nogueira de Ramuín) products of an enviable quality, all kinds of vegetables from the Galician garden, an authentic rainbow of vegetable flavors. I leave you with this recipe a little more elaborate grilled vegetables on timpani and with a spectacular sauce, a great showcase of the garden of Mr. Jesús López, my father .

Preparation of grilled vegetables

1. We wash the vegetables very well (because when they come from the garden they bring a lot of soil), one by one, we dry each piece of the vegetables that we are going to cook. We will need a very sharp knife, which prevents the vegetables from breaking.
2. Put the unpeeled potatoes in a bowl and put them in the microwave for ten minutes over high heat. At that time we will cut all the vegetables.
3. Discard the ends of the eggplant and cut it into half centimeter slices. Sprinkle with salt and leave them on a plate for 15 minutes to make the bitterness sweat. Then we go through cold water to remove excess salt.
4. We discard the ends of the zucchini and cut them into half centimeter slices. In the same way we cut the peppers (red and green) into more or less equal strips and remove the white pulp in the red and the seeds in both. We reserve.
5. We leave the asparagus as is, we will only cut the ends of the stem at the height where it becomes more woody and hard. You can leave them all the same size so that they are beautiful in the final presentation.
6. We cut the tomato into thick slices of approximately one cm, so it won’t break when cooking on the grill. Finally we cut the onion into thin slices so that they pass well on the grill.
7. We remove the potatoes and remove the skin. We cut into sheets and reserve for the final assembly.
8. As we finish cutting the vegetables we put them in a large bowl and sprinkle them with extra virgin olive oil, a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix the vegetables with the oil, stirring with your hands.

Roast vegetables

1. Heat a corrugated cast iron grill, hot plate or large nonstick skillet over high heat. Spread the plate with a brush with a little oil and put the vegetables, without overlapping, in batches. So that the vegetables do not stick to the grill it is very important that it is very hot.
2. Roast them on one side over medium heat until they begin to soften and turn them over with a spatula when they are golden brown. This process is not more than 10 minutes per batch, the interior will be done quickly, leaving the vegetables juicy but without melting, perfect.

Preparation of the special sauce for vegetables

1. While we are passing the vegetables we are going to make a sauce to accompany them. We fry the garlic cloves with skin in a good extra virgin olive oil, when they brown, remove them from the oil and remove the skin. We reserved for the sauce.
2. In the same oil of the garlic we pour the bread into small pieces until they are golden brown, remove the bread and put it with the garlic.
3. In a bowl (I use the one in the blender) add the leftover oil from the garlic and the fried bread. We also add the ground cumin, the paprika and the salt. We introduce a little water and beat everything until there is a paste like puree.
4. We wash the pepper and add it with the oil, honey and tomato sauce to the previous container. We pass everything through the mixer. We taste the sauce and rectify if necessary. And that’s it! One of the best sauces I know, incredible to accompany these grilled vegetables. We reserve.

Preparation and final assembly of the timpani

1. We mount with a metal ring. We start with a layer with the onion, then the eggplant, tomato, the zucchini slices, peppers and top with a piece of roasted potato.
2. We place some asparagus next to it and a generous tablespoon of special sauce.
3. Unmold and sprinkle with a pinch of freshly ground black pepper and a few flakes of Maldon salt. We serve immediately so that the vegetables arrive very hot on the table and do not lose juices, flavor and vitamins.

No need to recommend it … and of course, delicious!