What's the best way to enjoy this gorgeous summer weather? A girl's night on the deck of course! So grab your best girlfriends and enjoy this Summer Antipasto Platter!
Using a very sharp knife, slice off the top of each baby artichoke.
Remove the outer leaves until you get to the more tender, lighter green leaves.
Gently shave off the outer layer of the stem and trim the tip.
Cut each baby artichoke in half and keep in a bowl of cold water with lemon juice and put the artichoke halves in it (to keep them from turning brown while you trim the others, which can happen quickly)
Boil the artichoke halves and lemon for 10-15 minutes prior to grilling.
Prepping the eggplant
Slice the eggplant to around ⅓ of an inch length-wise.
Sprinkle with kosher salt and let them sit for 10-15 minutes on a paper towel lined plate (to pull out the moisture).
Use more paper towel to blot the extra water off the eggplant.
Grilled vegetables- mushrooms (on skewers), zucchini (sliced length-wise to about ¼ inch thick), bell peppers (cut into thick slices), eggplant (see above) and baby artichokes (see above)
Preheat the grill to medium high and spray with olive oil.
Drizzle all veggies with olive oil and season to taste with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Grill on each side until you have some nice grill marks and the veggies are tender (see note for link to asparagus recipe and whipped ricotta recipe)
Assembling the antipasto plate
Place the ingredients onto a large platter or cutting board, sectioned off by ingredient. I used bowls for the olives and whipped ricotta to add visual interest and keep them together.