This is a good way of using up a mix of vegetables in your fridge. They look wonderful served on a big oval vintage platter. If you prefer to make your own hollandaise sauce follow this link for an easy foolproof technique.

Recipe for Roast or Grilled Vegetables

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 3 peppers (any colour)
• 3 courgettes
• 3 aubergines (the Japanese type are less bitter)
• 16 shitake mushrooms
• 2 sticks of celery
• 500g (just under a pound) baby asparagus
• 4 large plum tomatoes
• 80 ml/⅓ cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 4 or 5 garlic cloves, squashed, still in their skin
• generous amount, chopped, of whatever fresh herbs you have to hand
• smoked salt and Indonesian long black pepper
• 400g/14 oz fresh ready-made hollandaise sauce (or you can make it – follow this link)

Method

1. Preheat the oven if you are roasting to 210°C, or get your grill going. You can also do this on a ribbed griddle pan over the hob, or, of course on a barbeque.
2. Slice the peppers having deseeded them, brushed them with olive oil and seasoned them and get them cooking.
3. Slice the courgettes and the aubergines, clean and trim the mushrooms, de-string and chop the celery, oil and season the lot and add them to the cooking tray, remembering to turn the vegetables already cooking.
4. Break off the asparagus (it ‘snaps’ at just the right place on the stem in the most miraculous way), de-core and quarter the tomatoes lengthways, oil and season and add to the rest.
5. Throw in the garlic cloves and the herbs and continue to cook for about seven minutes.
6. Serve with the gently warmed hollandaise sauce.

Vegetable Attack, by the Tofu Love Frogs