Grilled Antipasto Piadinas With Roasted Garlic And Recipes

GRILLED VEGETABLE ANTIPASTI

Steps:

• Mix olive oil, vinegar, garlic, sugar, salt and black pepper. Place vegetables in a large non-reactive baking dish. Cover with marinade and let sit for 1 hour, turning vegetables every 15 minutes.
• Heat grill on high. Grill vegetables until all are marked and cooked through. Remove once browned; do not let vegetables burn. Arrange the vegetables on a platter.

PIADINE WITH CAESAR SALAD AND ROASTED GARLIC PASTE

Steps:

• Preheat a grill to high.
• Put the lettuce in a bowl. Pour the dressing over and toss well.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal balls. On a floured board, stretch and roll the dough into thin discs with a rolling pin. The dough may also be stretched by hand, but rolling will give you a thinner crust.
• Coat the rolled out dough with olive oil and place, oiled side down, on a very hot grill. This can be done indoors on a cast-iron stovetop grill pan that has been preheated over medium-medium high. When you start to see bubbles on the surface of the dough, turn it over. It should be slightly browned on the bottom. Brush each round with a generous tablespoon of the garlic paste and sprinkle with the thyme. Remove from the grill with tongs and top with the Caesar salad. Grate parmesan cheese on top, fold in half, and eat.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Peel the outermost layers of skin off the heads of garlic. Cut off the top 1/3 of the heads to open the cloves. Save the small pieces of garlic for another use (see Chef's Note). Put the heads, cut sides up, in a small baking dish and pour the olive oil over them. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cover tightly, place in the oven, and roast until about 3/4 cooked, about 45 minutes. Uncover and return to the oven until the cloves begin to pop out of their skins and brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool.
• When cool enough to handle easily, squeeze the roasted garlic into a small bowl. Press against the skins very well to get out all the sweet roasted garlic you can. Add the oil from the baking dish and mix well until a paste forms. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator, for up to 1 week.
• Chef's Note:
• It is hard to have too much roasted garlic around. You can roast the little bits from the tips of the garlic heads. Put them in a separate small baking container, such as an individual custard cup. Season with salt and pepper, douse with olive oil, cover, and place in the oven to bake along with the whole garlic heads. Depending on their size, they will be soft and browned in about 1/2 the time needed for the whole heads. The little pieces make a good "cook's snack" while preparing dinner, or can be squeezed into tomato sauce or onto pasta.

ANTIPASTO PLATTER WITH GRILLED VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Prepare the artichokes: Fill a saucepan with water; squeeze in the lemon juice. Add the squeezed lemon halves to the water and season with salt.
• Cut off and discard the top one-quarter of each artichoke with a serrated knife. Snap off the tough outer leaves. Peel the stem and base with a paring knife. Halve the artichokes lengthwise and drop into the saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil, then uncover, reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the artichokes sit in the hot liquid until just tender, 5 to 10 minutes; drain.
• Whisk the olive oil, both vinegars, the sugar, herbs, garlic and tomato juice in a bowl. Put the artichokes and bell peppers in another bowl; drizzle with the vinegar mixture and let marinate 10 to 20 minutes.
• Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium high. Grill the artichokes and peppers, turning, until browned, about 8 minutes. (Or, roast on a rimmed baking sheet in a 400 degrees F oven, 10 to 15 minutes.)
• Assemble the platter: Arrange the cheeses, cured meats, tapenade, artichokes and bell peppers on a board or platter. Serve with the bread.

PIADINA FILLED WITH GRILLED CHICKEN AND ROASTED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat grill. You want direct and indirect heat. (Heat one side to high and one side to low, or move coals to one side).
• Shape and form dough into about a 6-inch circle on a lightly oiled work surface.
• Place the dough circles on the back of a lightly oiled cookie sheet.
• Brush top of dough with olive oil and place on the grill, over direct heat, oiled side down.
• Close the lid and let cook for about 2-3 minutes. Check to make sure it is not burning.
• When nice and browned, brush the top with olive oil and flip over.
• Let cook for about 1 min and start adding you fillings.
• Cheese should go first. This will be the "glue", so to speak, to hold the piadina together. So place cheese over entire thing.
• Next is the chicken and tomatoes. Place these on half (one side) of the circle.
• Top with basil and arugula and fold in half. Top the chicken with the cheese half.
• Move the piadina over to the indirect heat or low side and close lid.
• Let cook for about 2 min or until the cheese melts.

GRILLED ANTIPASTO

Steps:

• In a bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper flakes to make the marinade.
• Place the zucchini, asparagus, onions, and bell peppers in a large bowl and toss with the marinade, to coat. Let marinate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.
• Preheat the grill to very high heat (alternately, preheat the broiler).
• Remove the vegetables from the marinade and lay on the grill, in batches if necessary. Grill over very high heat until marked, about 1 minute per side.
• Remove with tongs and place on a platter to cool slightly.
• (Alternately, arrange in 1 layer on a large baking sheet and broil until beginning to char, 2 to 3 minutes per side.).
• Sprinkle the vegetables with the cheese, pine nuts, and basil. Serve with the bruschetta or as a salad.
• Use whatever vegetables you prefer.