Here’s a Great New ‘Summer’ Way to Enjoy Your Veggies

Merritt Bates-Thomas, from Instagram's Kitchen Transition, has come up with a creative and unique way to enjoy your summer vegetables. Here's how to make a Summer Vegetable Bake with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. Merritt, who was recently published in The Hendersonian, promises, "It's going to be delicious."

I sampled it shortly after Merritt made a batch for the What's Cookin'? segment on my morning radio show. Let me be the first to tell you that you simply MUST try that sauce. It's the star of this show.

SUMMER VEGETABLE BAKE w/ ROASTED RED PEPPER SAUCE

2 red peppers, seeded and halved

1 medium shallot, peeled and sliced lengthwise 

2 small zucchini squash (2to 3 zucchini), thinly sliced into rounds 

2 small yellow summer squash, thinly sliced into rounds 

1 small eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds 

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced, or garlic powder to taste

1 teaspoon dried Greek seasoning

Dash of salt 

Pepper to taste 

Water

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumb topping, if desired

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DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a rack in the middle.

Slice in half and seed red pepper and place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Add sliced shallots and drizzle with olive oil and a small amount of salt and pepper.  Roast in oven for about 20 minutes until peppers and shallots are softened and a bit caramelized.  Remove from oven and let cool.  

In a small bowl, drizzle sun dried tomatoes with olive oil and stir in garlic then set aside.

While peppers and shallots roast, slice zucchini and squash.  Peel and slice eggplant.  Lightly coat an 8 x 8 baking dish with olive oil.  Arrange1/2 the zucchini, squash, and eggplant in a layer.  Arrange sun dried tomatoes over mixture.  Repeat vegetable layer.

Place peppers, shallots, and 1 tablespoon of water in a small food processor and pulse until the peppers and shallots are liquefied.

Add 2 tablespoons of water over the vegetables.  Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over vegetable mixture.  Sprinkle Greek seasoning over vegetables, breaking with your fingers as you add it to the dish.  Add a dash of salt and pepper.  Pour red pepper sauce over the vegetables and cover with foil.  Place in oven to cook for 25 minutes.  Remove foil, add bread crumb topping if desired, and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes until mixture is bubbling and red pepper sauce topping is lightly browned.

This dish is healthy, spicy and delicious. The recipe will easily serve between four and six people.