On va tous les griller – Salade de fenouils grillés, oignons rouges, tomates romaines naines – vinaigrette de moutarde et câpres

I am just wondering when allergy season will end, I think this year it’s been a bad year and I have to chose between allergy pills that will stop the itchy eyes, sneezes and runny nose but make me so sleepy and drowsy or continue life being congested and still drowsy. At this point, I don’t know, I just want to function normally. I understand that complaining about something so minor is silly when half of the planet is dealing with life and death situations, so I will just focus on simple food that is easy to make and that remind me that delicious food can help alleviate some minor discomfort.

I usually serve this flavorful salad just simply the way it is, as a salad, or with melting potato bouchées or grilled fish. All the vegetables have been grilled and they blend together beautifully, they remain crunchy, and have their natural flavors enhanced by the hot grill.

It takes about 15 minutes to make including the chopping of the vegetables and grilling, so I consider this a “fast food” dish. Fast food literally meaning food that is prepared fast, in my kitchen, I don’t associate it with unhealthy and processed food.

Now if you want simple, quick and delicious, this is the one, but it’s also peu calorique! (low in calories) so even better. I noticed a lot of people are on a diet or trying to lose weight, I guess that’s a sign summer is on its way and that swim suits and light revealing clothes too. As far as San Francisco and its beaches are concerned, you might need a scarf and wind jacket instead of a swim suit…I just want to dream of a swim suit…and thinking about it, I don’t remember when was last time I wore one of those.

I love cuisine sur le grill, the beauty of it is that you can grill anything, vegetables, fruits, potatoes, just about anything you want while keeping all the flavors, the colors and shapes of your ingredients.

Baby roma tomatoes are perfect for grilling because they’re firm and slightly bigger than cherry tomatoes and a lot sweeter, so you can grill them easily, they will remain firm but need to grill them quickly at high heat so they won’t get mushy.

Ingredients for 3-4 as a side dish

  • 2 fennel bulbs, sliced
  • 1 red onion, sliced
  • about 10-12 baby roma tomatoes, cut lengthwise
  • 1 tbs capers, chopped
  • 1 tsp strong Dijon mustard
  • juice of one Meyer lemon
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

For the vinaigrette

Combine oil, mustard, lemon juice, capers, salt and pepper. Stir well all ingredients together.

Using a grill pan, grill all vegetables, starting with the fennel, the onions and tomatoes. Place them in a mixing bowl.

Add vinaigrette on grilled vegetables and serve with favorite fish or savory galettes.