Roasted Summer Vegetables with Goat Cheese

     For a light and easy dinner or lunch, give this Roasted Summer Vegetables with Goat Cheese salad a try.  From Williams Sonoma, your dutch oven serves as the perfect vessel for roasting the vegetables and keeping your kitchen cool in the summer heat.  In my 10 inch dutch oven the vegetables roasted for a total of 35 minutes with 10 coals in a ring around the base of the oven and the lid completely covered with 24 briquettes.  The crispy lettuce combined with the warm vegetables and creamy goat cheese creates a culinary match made in heaven and is a great way to use up your bumper crop of garden vegetables.

Roasted Summer Vegetables with Goat Cheese
4 Tblsp olive oil, divided
1 lb red or orange bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 red onion, cut into slices
1 lb slender eggplant, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 lb zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
3 Tblsp sherry OR red wine vinegar, divided
1 romaine lettuce head, separated into leaves
4 oz fresh goat cheese, crumbled

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
     Pour 2 Tblsp olive oil into prepared oven.
     Add the bell peppers, onion, eggplant and zucchini.
     Sprinkle with garlic, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper.
     Stir until well combined.
     Roast at 400 degrees, stirring halfway, for 35-40 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
     Drizzle vegetables with 1 Tblsp vinegar.
     In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 Tblsp olive oil and 2 Tblsp vinegar.
     Add the lettuce and toss to coat.
     Divide the lettuce among 4 plates, stacking the leaves slightly to make a bed for the vegetables.
     Spoon the warm vegetables evenly over the lettuce.
     Sprinkle 2 Tblsp goat cheese over each salad.
     Serve immediately, makes 4 servings.

Toss vegetables with olive oil, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper

Roast at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes

Tender summer veggies on crispy greens, a perfect combination