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Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

grilled veggie towers with pesto dipping sauce.

michelekf avatar
Recipe by
MICHELE Feldman
@michelekf
Santa Clarita, CA

This recipe is a combination of my favorite veggies and my favorite sauce. Perfect for a hot summer dinner! I was afraid it wouldn't fill up my hubby. However, one veggie tower filled him up! I used walnuts instead of pine nuts and it tasted delicious. My 18 year old daughter and my 86 year old mom loved it, too! Enjoy! :)

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yield 6 serving(s)
prep time 45 Min
cook time 35 Min
method Grill

Ingredients For grilled veggie towers with pesto dipping sauce.

  • 3 c
    fresh basil leaves, divided
  • 1/2 c
    walnuts
  • 1/4 c
    fresh grated parmesan cheese
  • 3 clove
    garlic, minced, divided
  • 1/3 c
    olive oil, extra virgin
  • 1/2 c
    olive oil, extra virgin
  • 1 Tbsp
    olive oil, extra virgin for brushing veggies
  • 1/4 c
    mayonnaise
  • 6 lg
    fresh portabello mushrooms, stems removed
  • 2 lg
    eggplants
  • 2 lg
    red bell peppers
  • 6 oz
    bag spinach leaves
  • 1 tsp
    lemon zest, grated
  • 6 slice
    mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
  • 6 sprig
    fresh rosemary
  • salt and pepper to taste

How To Make grilled veggie towers with pesto dipping sauce.

  • 1
    Make the pesto dipping sauce: In the bowl of a food processor add 2 cups of basil leaves, walnuts, 2 cloves garlic, parmesan cheese. Puree, scraping down the sides of the bowl. With the machine running add 1/3 cup olive oil and blend well. Scrape pesto into a bowl. Add the mayo. Blend well and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill.
  • 2
    Remove stems from mushrooms and reserve for another use. Cut eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise. Remove stem/seeds. Cut each half into 3 pieces. Brush both sides of the sliced veggies with 1/2 cup olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill veggies over med heat until softened, pliable, browned and grill marks appear. (Mushrooms will not show grill mark. If bell pepper has blackened blisters you can simply peel off blackened skin). Pile cooked veggies in stacks on a platter and cover with foil and keep warm.
  • 3
    Make the sautéed spinach: In a large frying pan over medium heat add 1 TBL olive oil. Add 1 remaining clove of minced garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add spinach leaves and lemon zest and stir until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide into 6 equal portions.
  • 4
    Assemble: Use a large platter or baking sheet. Place one mushroom cap on bottom. Top with an eggplant, 2 bell pepper slices, eggplant, 1/6th of reserved sautéed spinach, eggplant, mozzarella cheese, 2-3 basil leaves, eggplant. The residual heat will melt the thin slice of mozzarella. Repeat to make 5 more towers.
  • 5
    Skewers: Using your fingers, pull off, remove and discard all except about 1 inch of rosemary needles so you have a stick and use as a skewer for all 6 veggie towers.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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