Grilled Salad with Camembert and Herbes de Province — Plus CONTEST! *Contest now closed*

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Wow, things have been a little quiet around here…sorry about that! I’d been overseas, away from my kitchen and out of the studio, which made it a little difficult to cook and draw. But now I’m back, and ready for action. The lovely spring weather we’ve suddenly been gifted with is really inspiring in so many ways! Though we Canadians never stop barbecuing, I’m sure that the change in temperature has inspired many people to dust off their grills. Today I have for you a grilled salad that takes advantage of this outdoorsy cooking contraption!

This contest is now closed! Thank you for entering!
But first I’d like to announce a contest! It’s my first contest, in fact, so I’m pretty excited. Here’s what you can win!

The Grand Prize: A Recipe and Illustration developed and created by me, featuring your favourite fruit or vegetable. You’ll be mailed a poster of the Illustration, signed by myself!

Here’s how to enter!
Comment on this post with your favourite fruit or vegetable AND either:

  • Follow Alex Boake – Illustration on Facebook or Twitter, AND/OR;
  • Draw me a doodle of your favourite fruit or vegetable, and link to it in the post.

Want additional entries?
Share this post on Facebook or Tweet about the contest!

You can get up to 5 entries, one each for the social media follows, one for your drawing, and one for each share or tweet. Just let me know in the comment what you did, and you will be entered accordingly. If you’re already a follower on Facebook or Twitter, awesome! You can still enter, just let me know when you comment with your fruit or vegetable.

The contest closes on April 12th at 12:00 AM EDT. I’ll get in touch with the winner, and the recipe will be posted about two weeks from the end of the contest. The poster will be mailed to the winner after the post goes live!
I look forward to hearing everyones’ favourite fruits and vegetables, and seeing peoples’ doodles!
This contest is now closed! Thank you for entering!

Now, how about that salad?


Grilled Salad with Camembert and Herbes de Province
Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 Large Round of Soft Cheese with a rind, such as Camembert or Brie (You won’t use all of the cheese in this recipe)
  • 4 Portobello Mushrooms
  • 4 Small Zucchini
  • 2 Large Sweet Red Peppers
  • 2 Chinese Eggplants
  • Herbes de Province
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Olive Oil

Directions

Wash all of your vegetables well. Rinse the Mushrooms and pat them dry. Cut the Zucchini in half. Take the halves and then make cuts along the length, from bottom to stem but stopping before you reach the end, essentially creating a Zucchini ‘fan’. This allows for quicker cooking on the grill, and creates a nice presentation. Lightly brush the Zucchini fans with Olive Oil, and sprinkle with Herbes de Province. Cut the tops off of the Red Peppers, and cut them into quarters, removing the seeds. Slice the Chinese Eggplants into 1 cm thick slices, on a slight diagonal.

Depending how quickly you prepare your vegetables, you can preheat your grill to medium high while you work. Grill the Mushrooms and Zucchini for 4 minutes per side, and the Eggplants and Peppers for 3 minutes per side–keep an eye on them, if your grill runs hot you don’t want to run the risk of incinerating them!

While the vegetables are grilling, you can begin to plate the Camembert. Take the wheel and cut it in half. Cut 4 slices and plate them on oven-safe stoneware plates. You want there to be rind all the way around each slice. If you love Cheese, then cut those slices thick! It’s best to place the Cheese in the middle of the plate, and then arrange the grilled vegetables around it.

When your vegetables are just about done, turn on your broiler to high. Divide the vegetables evenly between the 4 plates. Sprinkle generously with Herbes de Province, and drizzle with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. Put the plates under the broiler, and broil until the Camembert is melted and bubbly. Ensure you have some heat-safe placemats so you don’t melt anything, or singe your table–then serve immediately! Make sure you get some of that delicious Cheese in every bite! To make this for more people, just add more vegetables and cut more slices of Cheese.

Make this salad, you won’t regret it! …and also enter my contest, you surely won’t regret that either!

 

23 thoughts on “Grilled Salad with Camembert and Herbes de Province — Plus CONTEST! *Contest now closed*”

  1. Holy cow – that salad looks good! And I bet it would be just wonderful with some bucheron (a soft goat cheese with a rind…it is To. Die. For).

    I didn’t realize I wasn’t following you on Twitter – I remedied that immediately (of course, I already stalk you on Facebook). I haven’t doodled in a long time, but first I’ll have to decide what my favorite vegetable is. Do meatloaf cupcakes count? :P

    • Goodness me, I think goat cheese would elevate this salad to a level of near perfection. That sounds incredible. I’m such a goat cheese fan, it’s seriously superior to any other kind of cheese.

      Silly Jan, meat isn’t a vegetable! It’s difficult to pick a favourite though, I admit! I want to see your doodle when you do decide. : D

    • Damn Russ, you’re going to put me out of business! Thanks for posting about the contest on your page–I’m hoping to get a few more entries…!

  7. Alex, I’ve spent several hours attempting to draw something recognizable for you, still working on it! Even if I can’t perform, perhaps we have some fans who can!

  8. My favorite vegetable is a toughie… Love so many. I’m going to go with Asparagus!

    Also, I’m now following on Facebook!

    • Asparagus is a great choice! Usually I steam them, and then top with butter and a little salt and pepper. Yum!
      Good luck in the draw, thanks for following!

  9. Wow! I love finding new folks who know how to eat….and illustrate! I did all those wonderful things, following, tweeting, but need to find an illustration tool on my iPad. Anyway, my favorite? Homegrown tomatoes.

  10. I’m following you on twitter now, just liked your facebook too. My favorite fruit is strawberries and I can’t wait to pick a ton of them in a few weeks. My favorite veggie is the chapeau de frade hot pepper (I know scientifically peppers are fruits, but in the culinary world they are treated as veggies!). This pepper tastes a lot like a red bell pepper but has heat close to an orange habanero. That, my friend, is what you call the perfect veggie.

  11. I won’t even attempt an illustration…my talents don’t extend that far past creative cooking :) Picking a favorite vegetable is almost as difficult – but I LOVE sweet potatoes (and yams) so I’ll go with that :)

  12. Wow – this has to be the perfect salad. I hate to pick my favorite vegetable, but I am certain that it is found right here in this recipe! Hmmm…zucchini, eggplant, or sweet red peppers….(Jeopardy music plays)…I’ll go with eggplant, Alex. :-)

    Great idea for a contest!

  13. Oooh, that salad looks scrumptious!
    I was already following you on twitter; didn’t realize hadn’t liked on FB yet, so just did that.

    Favorite fruit: Avocado. I grew up on an avocado orchard in So Cal, so it would have been bad if I didn’t love them so much! They’re pretty expensive where I live now, but I buy them anyway. Super-tasty + nutrient dense + versatile = avocado awesomeness.