Whenever we think of Asian ingredients like bok choy, we tend to think of Asian recipes. But I was actually interested in something quite different. I had two goals in mind – to create a completely original main course with bok choy, and to see what would happen if I grilled this lovely green veggie. That’s how this main course came to be.
Red peppers, zucchinis, balsamic-glazed tofu, shiitake mushrooms and baby bok choy are grilled before being assembled in cheerful napoléons. The succulent morsels are then drizzled with a spicy scallion vinaigrette, adding a dose of heat as well as zingy, green scallion flavors.
A hearty and protein-filled main course, these grilled vegetable napoléons pack a lot of flavor in every bite – smoky, deep, spicy, robust, crunchy, it’s a carnival for the taste buds. Best of all, it’s a super healthy dish… Time to fire up the grill!
Food & wine pairing: Languedoc, Cinsault with grilled vegetable napoléons
Here I suggest serving a Cinsault (also spelled Cinsaut) from Languedoc, southern Rhône (France) or from California. And if you can find a Cinsault made with old vines, even better! (For an in-depth article I wrote on pairing Bonny Doon Vineyard’s 2009 Cinsault with this dish, click here.) Otherwise, a Grenache would be a good alternative.
Grilled vegetable napoléons with spicy scallion vinaigrette
serves 4
active time: 45 min
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 28 oz (795 g) (2 packages) extra firm organic tofu – drained, cut in twelve 3/4″ slices and drained on paper towels
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3 large red bell peppers – quartered, stemmed and seeded
- 2 baby zucchinis (8″ long) – cut lengthwise in twelve 1/4″ x 4″ slices
- 24 small shiitake mushrooms – stems removed at the base of the cap and brushed clean
- 6 baby bok choy – thoroughly rinsed, patted dry and cut in half lengthwise through the core
- sea salt to taste
- 1/2 recipe spicy scallion vinaigrette
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 large jelly roll pans
- 1 pastry brush
- Step 1: Place the vinegar in a small saucepan and heat at medium-high heat. When the vinegar starts to bubble at the sides of the pan, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 6 to 7 minutes until reduced by a third. The vinegar will look dark and syrupy and there should be 1 1/2 tablespoons of vinegar left in the pan. Remove pan from heat, transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- Step 2: Place the tofu slices on a jelly roll pan, in a single layer. Brush both sides with the reduced balsamic. Then lightly brush with olive oil. Set aside.
- Step 3: Place all the vegetables on the jelly roll pans. Lightly brush on both sides with the balance of the olive oil. Set aside.
- Step 4: Preheat gas grill to high heat or fire up a charcoal grill. Your grill surface will probably not be large enough to grill all the vegetables at one time. So start grilling the peppers, then the zucchinis, mushrooms and tofu. Grill the bok choy last. Grill all the vegetables and tofu until well charred on both sides. This will take from 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of your grill and the intensity of the heat. For the mushrooms, start grilling them cap-side-down. For the bok choy, the edges of the leaves will get charred before the rest. (Don’t worry about it, you’ll trim these before serving.) Grill the bok choy on each side so that grill marks appear on the heart of the plant. Once grilled, lay the vegetables and tofu back on the jelly roll pans in a single layer and sprinkle with salt as they come off the grill.
- Step 5: To serve – Place the bok choy on a cutting board, trim off the charred leaves and discard. Slice the bok choy crosswise in 1/4″ slices. Place 3 slices of the red peppers, skin-side-down, in the center of each plate. Top each pepper slice with a slice of zucchini, then a slice of tofu. Drizzle with half the vinaigrette. Top each tofu slice with 2 mushrooms and finish with a little mound of the chopped bok choy. Drizzle with the balance of the vinaigrette. Garnish with plenty of black pepper and serve immediately.
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OH I love these! What a great vegetarian option for my weekend guests! Thanks Viviane and have a marvelous weekend!
Thank you, Mj! I hope you had a marvelous Memorial Day weekend too, my dear!
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Wow! These sound interesting.. Will try them for sure.. Tasty yummy!
Thank you Jeanette! They are indeed “tasty”… My husband devoured them in a flash this weekend!
Gorgeous Viviane! Full of color & flavor, and spicy scallion vinaigrette sounds great!
Wow, so healthy and delicious! And don’t let me forget GORGEOUS!!! Love these veggies!
These are so beautiful! I love all the color and the scallion vinaigrette as well! Wish I had this with my dinner tonight!
This is such a delicious apetiser, with wonderful Asian veges 😀
Cheers
CCU
Love this outside-the-box idea of using the Asian ingredients! Brilliant!
Looks beautiful Viviane. I’d sure like a big bite! 🙂
Thank you so much Mimi! I am so thrilled you enjoyed the grilled veggie napoleons!
I made these on Sunday and the flavor combo is excellent. Great recipe. Thx you!
All I can say is WOW!
Adelina, Gourmantine, Chef Dennis, Jennifer! Thank you so much for your comments… You all made my day!
How pretty!
what a beautiful napoleon! It would make a delicious sandwich to run at school for my vegetarians!
These look absolute perfection! The presentation is impeccable, I’m trying to cook more with tofu these days, and this is definitely going on the todo list.
This is beautiful in every way!
I made this last night and it was fantastic! The flavors blended together so nicely and the colors made for a very attractive plate. It was a big hit and will be certain to make another appearance the next time I look to impress some folks with grilled/healthy cuisine. Thank you!
John! Thank you so much for taking the time to write about your experience with this recipe. I am so, so glad you enjoyed it and that it turned out well! Happy grilling and happy eating too!
It looks super duper delicious!!!
Oh goodness gracious, those are just gorgeous!!
This looks beautiful!
Oh, MY! These look amazing! My husband was just saying he wanted to try tofu…
Looks lovely! so fresh and perfect for the summer!
This is such an awesome idea! I love tofu (well, everything you’ve got going on here, really) and this is such a creative way to enjoy it.
Thank you so much Parsley Sage!
Very cool with awesome presentation. And I like that you mixed up Asian ingredients to get a cool fusion dish. Buzzed!
Caroline, Adora, “Tasty” is a good word to describe this dish… My hubby didn’t mind all the trials before I published the recipe. He devoured it each time.
Kankana, This recipe got my husband to eat tofu!
Thank you everyone for stopping by.
What an exciting dish. Grilling must have added a whole lot of flavours on the tofu and vegetables. I’ve said already that i like that vinaigrette. I can imagine how tasty the whole dish is.
That looks very tasty, nicely presented.
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wow grilling Tofu .. that might inspire the husband to eat Tofu. This is going in my wish list .. i have to try this recipe.
I’m a big fan of shiitake mushrooms. Very medicinal food. This looks absolutely fabulous. I love the arrangement.
Thank you so much Nick… I cannot imagine life without shiitake mushrooms! I’ve even been dreaming about growing them in the back yard.
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