Grilled Eggplant & Zucchini Salad Recipe with Feta, Chickpeas & Mint
"What are you going to write for your post?" my husband asked last night. "I have no idea," I responded. But maybe that's okay, because yesterday was a day when I just soaked in the sights and sounds of my family. It was Mother's Day, so there was some pampering involved. A perfectly sweetened cup of tea, thoughtfully prepared lunch and dinner, homemade cards and hand-written poems, and moments of peace in the backyard while sipping on Prosecco.
Okay, so there was some bickering between my boys, too. After all, no one has the "Leave It To Beaver" existence. If they tell you they do...well, all I have to say is, "Liar, liar, pants on fire." But sometimes those moments of tension turn into instances of plain silliness. Kids really do say the darndest things, and they usually pop out when they're hopping mad at their siblings.
I spent a good deal of the day sitting in a chair in the backyard, watching my husband (Steve) and eldest son (M) play soccer while our youngest son (T) curled up in the chair beside me. And that was perfect. Those simple moments are the ones that memories are made of, and ones that I hope that M and T will remember when they're older. Just being together. Just being a family.
Now, on to the recipe. If you're looking for a Meatless Monday meal, this one will do the trick. The grilled eggplant and zucchini fill your vegetable quota while the chickpeas offer a dose of protein. Serve this with rice or quinoa for a complete meal. Alternatively, serve this as a side salad to grilled chicken or flank steak. A squeeze of lemon, along with the fresh mint and creamy feta cheese, keep things light and refreshing.
The recipe:
Preheat the grill to medium heat.
Cut the eggplant into ¾-inch slices. Cut the zucchini in half crosswise. Cut each half into ½-inch slices.
Lay the eggplant and zucchini slices on a baking sheet. Brush on both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Grill until the vegetables are tender, but not overcooked, 4 to 5 minutes per side for the eggplant and 3 to 4 minutes per side for the zucchini.
Cut the eggplant and zucchini into bite-sized pieces. Place in a serving bowl.
Add the chickpeas, feta cheese and fresh mint to the eggplant and zucchini. Squeeze the lemon over the salad, and stir gently to combine.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Other eggplant recipes:
Cookin' Canuck's Grilled Zucchini & Eggplant Parmesan Recipe {Vegetarian}
Cookin' Canuck's Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad Recipe with Eggplant, Zucchini & Feta Cheese
Vikalinka's Eggplant & Mint Bruschetta
The Market Basket's Thai Red Curry with Prawns, Eggplant & Pineapple
Manu's Menu's Sausage & Smoked Scamorza Stuffed Eggplant
Printable Recipe
Grilled Eggplant & Zucchini Salad
Ingredients
- 1 1 ½ pound eggplant
- 2 large zucchini
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 14 ounce can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
- 5 large mint leaves thinly sliced
- juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium heat.
- Cut the eggplant into ¾-inch slices. Cut the zucchini in half crosswise. Cut each half into ½-inch slices.
- Lay the eggplant and zucchini slices on a baking sheet. Brush on both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Grill until the vegetables are tender, but not overcooked, 4 to 5 minutes per side for the eggplant and 3 to 4 minutes per side for the zucchini.
- Cut the eggplant and zucchini into bite-sized pieces. Place in a serving bowl.
- Add the chickpeas, feta cheese and fresh mint to the eggplant and zucchini. Squeeze the lemon over the salad, and stir gently to combine.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com
Grilling season is on! This looks like a perfect start & a delicious meal, Dara 🙂
ashley - baker by nature
This salad is perfect for the warm days about to roll in!!! Love it, Dara!
Sommer @ ASpicyPerspective
Lovely salad, Dara!
Carla @ Carlas Confections
Grilling is the best! And this looks so gorgeous!
sippitysup
WHat a view.I'm surprised you posted at all. GREG
nessa
Yum! Glad you had a great Mother's Day!
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)
Saving this recipe for the zucchini glut in August!
Daniela
I love mint and this salad just looks perfect!
I am also new to your blog and very excited to go through all yummy recipes... 🙂
Sarah | The Cyclist's Wife
Wow, this looks amazing as does the view from your backyard!!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking
Sounds like you had a lovely mother's day! Thanks for sharing this delicious looking, wholesome salad!
kirsten@FarmFreshFeasts
Dara,
Sounds like your Mother's day was just about perfect.
I'm so glad my mint plant has established itself nicely on the corner outside my kitchen--it's not gigantic yet, but I can nip out for a bit of mint often enough that I'm not worried about using it all up.
The flavor combination of this salad sounds so refreshing--and I can see it on a pizza, too!
Thanks!
Kari
THAT is the view from your backyard?!?!!! WOW! I've never been to Utah and live in Mpls so you'll have to excuse my jealousy 🙂
BTW, I love your healthy recipes (so original!) and motivation to help me stay active and feed my family healthy food. Thank you.
Gerry @ Foodness Gracious
Sounds like you had the perfect day! Great looking veggies 🙂
addie | culicurious
Oh this is the perfect summertime meal 🙂 I can just taste the smoky grilled flavor on the veggies and that light, refreshing mint contrast. YUM!!
Julia @Vikalinka
Looks delicious and only 4 points! Just came home with more eggplant, I will definitely make this salad in the next couple of days.
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
I love grilled veggies, this is salad perfection!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet
I love grilled eggplant! This salad looks fabulous!
Maria
Yum! Josh made me grilled zucchini and sweet potatoes for dinner last night. So happy to be outside grilling again!
Tieghan
Sounds like a perfect mothers day and this this so good! Perfect for summer!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
This looks sooo fabulous!!