Grilled eggplant, zucchini, portobello and tofu with lemon-garlic dressing

This dish is such a hit with my family! I like to use a grill pan, which I find very convenient, but you could always cook the veggies on the barbecue, if you prefer. Try to get similar size eggplant and zucchini but if that is not possible, just cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, then slice it to 1/2" thickness, like I did. 

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

- 1 medium size eggplant, washed and cut into 1/2" slices

- 1 large zucchini, cut into 1/2" slices

- 1 large red/orange/yellow pepper, sliced

- 1 package 500g tofu, rinsed, patted dry and cut into 1/2" slices

- 2 portobello mushrooms, wiped clean

- 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

- sea salt and black pepper

Lemon-garlic dressing

- 1 lemon, juiced

- 5 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

- 3 garlic cloves, mashed

- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

- a handful a parsley, chopped (or 1 Tablespoon dry parsley)

To prepare the dressing, place the mashed garlic in a glass or ceramic bowl, season with plenty of sea salt and mix well with a spoon until you obtain a paste-like consistency, then gradually add in the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice. Season with black pepper. Keep any leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator.

Brush the eggplant slices with olive oil and grill them on medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side or until tender and a nice grill mark appears on both sides (I like to brush them on one side, place them oiled-side down on the grill and brush the other side as they sit in the grill pan). Do the same with the red pepper slices. To grill the zucchini, you do not need to oil them, simply place them on the grill until the grill marks appear (you can keep them longer if you prefer them softer). Lightly oil the grill and cook the tofu slices, again just until the grill marks appear. Brush the portobello mushrooms with olive oil and grill until softened (I find that it takes a bit longer than the other veggies).

To prepare the stack, start with the portobello mushroom, season it with salt and pepper, add a little bit of the dressing, then repeat with the eggplant, tofu, zucchini and pepper slices seasoning each with salt, pepper and a bit of dressing. Serve it with marinated hot peppers and olives and enjoy!