Roasted Veggies with Mozzarella

Oh wow! This was so simple and good. I made it for lunch the other day, but you could easily serve this for dinner along side a roast of pork or chicken. I got some nice little Italian eggplants from Whole Foods that were the perfect size, but you can cut down a normal sized eggplant too. I used my handy little Japanese mandolin on the zucchini and eggplant, but if you are good with a knife and have a sharp blade that will also work. I'm not going to give exact measurements of the veggies here. Just think about how much you want and buy and slice accordingly.

Small (think yellow squash sized) Italian Eggplants

Small Zucchinis

cherry tomatoes (I got the "gourmet/heirloom" mix)

Asparagus

Olive Oil

Garlic clove

Italian Herbs Blend (I use a McCormick's Grinder Italian Blend and I love it! It includes herbs, fennel seed, garlic, and red pepper flakes)

Fresh Mozzarella

Salt and pepper

In a small sauce pan heat a few tablespoons of olive oil, a few grindings of the herb blend, and the clove of garlic either grated on a microplane (i am lazy) or minced.

Slice eggplant and zucchini longways using mandolin or sharp knife and lay on baking sheet

trim asparagus and add to baking sheet

Brush vegetables with warm olive oil mixture

once you have coated the vegetables on the sheet, add the tomatoes to the remaining seasoned oil and toss around to coat

then add the seasoned tomatoes to the baking sheet

salt and pepper everything

broil the vegetables, monitoring closely to prevent burning - because everything is sliced so thinly it should cook very quickly

To serve place vegetables on a bowl or plate and add torn up pieces of cheese, drizzle with some more olive oil, and season with a little more salt and pepper.

Torn up basil would be nice too if you had it on hand, but it was awesome with out.