Grilled Vegetables with Lemon Caper Dressing

Grilled vegetables are a favorite of mine in the summer. There’s only a limited amount of time where summer produce is at its peak, and that time is now.

While grilled vegetables are delicious on their own, they’re better with a delectable lemon caper dressing. Then finished with toasted walnuts? It’s almost like you’re not even eating vegetables.

The best part of this recipe is that you can literally use whatever vegetables you have. I used zucchini, summer squash, red onions, peppers, and tomatoes. But eggplant, mushrooms, or even Brussels sprouts would be amazing here.

How you grill them depends on the size of your veggies. Since I usually try to go with produce on the smaller side (seriously — it tastes way better!) that means putting them on skewers. Or you can line your grill with foil for super easy cleanup.

While the veggies are on the grill, it’s time to make the dressing. It’s a simple vinaigrette made of olive oil, lemon, and garlic. But it gets a pungent, savory flavor from capers and their juice. Capers give these veggies a dose of salty flavor that brings everything all together perfectly. It balances the sweetness of the charred vegetables in a way that nothing else can. Toasted walnuts and a generous pinch of coarse sea salt turn these into something you’d swear you paid a fortune for at a local restaurant. Definitely not something you made in your own kitchen.

These are perfect on a weeknight when you want to eat a side of vegetables, but you want something more. You know what I’m talking about. When plain old steamed broccoli just won’t do. Perfect with grilled fish or chicken, or even a burger. Or dare I say, served over a bed of greens to make a hot and cold veggie salad? You decide.