zucchini melts

What does this plate say to you?

To me – it screams SUMMER! All those bright and colorful veggies, grilled to perfection!

You can use your outdoor grill or a grill pan to make it. I chose the grill pan … for obvious reasons.

After looking over the post, you almost don’t need a recipe. I took so many photos of each step – so as long as you know that you need enough olive oil, salt, and pepper to coat everything, you might want to skip the reading and just use this as pictorial instructions. Enjoy.

Zucchini Melts with Grilled Asparagus and Tomatoes

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for brushing bread
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise
1 pound asparagus, tough ends snapped off
1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on size
4 thick slices country bread
1 tablespoon red wine or Sherry vinegar
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
6 ounces Fontina cheese, sliced
1 cup cubed fresh mozzarella cheese

Place 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large bowl, and season with salt and pepper.

Toss the sliced zucchini in the oil to coat. Once the zucchini is removed, be sure to reserve the oil left in the bottom of the bowl, it will be used several times.

Preheat the grill or a grill pan to high heat and bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Blanch the asparagus for 2 minutes, remove with a strainer, and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain on paper towels.

Grill the zucchini slices on both sides until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Place the drained asparagus in the bowl with the oil and toss to coat.

Grill the asparagus on all sides until well-marked, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to plate with zucchini.

Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the bowl and season with more salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and toss to coat.

Gently remove with a slotted spoon and place on the grill pan (or on an outdoor grill tray) and grill for 1 minute, just to color lightly. Transfer to a plate.

Lightly brush both sides of the bread with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, grill ONLY one side of the bread until marked and crisp, about 3 minutes.

Remove from grill pan and turn the heat to low.

Spread 1 tablespoon of tapenade on the grilled side of each slice of bread, and top with slices of Fontina.

Return bread to grill, cheese side up.

Cover with a large skillet until the cheese melts, about 2 to 3 minutes.

While the cheese is melting, return your attention to the bowl with oil, it now has a collection of tomato juice too.

Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the vinegar to make a vinaigrette.

Taste and season as needed. Toss in the torn basil leaves.

Transfer the bread slices to four dinner plates. Top each with the grilled zucchini. Place the grilled asparagus in the center of the plate.

Add the cubed mozzarella to the bowl of tomatoes and toss lightly, then spoon the tomatoes on the plate, next to the asparagus. Drizzle the tomatoes with about a tablespoon of the vinaigrette for each plate.

Serves 4