Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:
8 to 10 medium or 6 to 8 large, fresh shiitake mushroom caps, stems removed
1 large or 2 small eggplants, stem ends removed, sliced horizontally into long flattish pieces, each the length of the whole eggplant and roughly 1/2 inch thick
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
Cilantro Vinaigrette (recipe to follow)
6 to 8 cups very fresh arugula and spinach leaves, well washed and very well dried (handle them tenderly as they bruise very easily)
1 bunch asparagus spears, tough ends removed (I used about 10 spears for 2 people)
2 large tomatoes for slicing
Preparation:
1. Preheat the grill to high (I used a stove top cast iron grill)
2. Lightly brush the shiitake caps and eggplant slices and asparagus with oil. Place them directly on the preheated grill. Grill the shiitakes and asparagus for 6 to 8 minutes and the eggplant for 8 to 12 minutes, turning once with tongs about halfway through. The mushrooms will be slightly softened with grill marks and the eggplant will be lightly browned, have grill marks, and will be very tender inside, the asparagus will still be crisp, but will have nice grill marks on them.
3. Remove the vegetables from the grill. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of the Cilantro Vinaigrette over the vegetables while they are still warm, slice the tomatoes into thick slices and then cut slices into large pieces, add to the other vegetables and toss well to combine and refrigerate until nearly ready to serve.
4. About 30 minutes before serving, remove the vegetables from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature. Slice each eggplant oval into three or four long vertical strips, cut the asparagus into about 1 1/2 inch pieces and cut the shiitakes into slices. When ready to serve, divide the arugula and spinach among chilled salad plates. Place equal portions of the grilled vegetables on top of each serving of greens. Pass the remaining vinaigrette at the table.
This salad would also be excellent with the vegetables served hot over the greens.
Cilantro Vinaigrette (makes about 1-3/4 cup) (Definitely not low-fat or fat-free, but I could sit and eat this with a spoon!)
Ingredients:
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2-1/2 cups of cilantro leaves
1 cup Italian parsley leaves
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup diced tomato
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Plenty of fresh ground black pepper
Dash Louisiana hot sauce
1 cup olive oil
Preparation:
Combine all of the ingredients except the oil in a food processor; process until smooth. You may need to scrape the processor sides down once or twice. Remove the processor plunger and gradually drip in the oil. Taste for seasoning and transfer the dressing to a refrigerator storage container.
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