Grilled Red Peppers with Balsamic and Goat Cheese

A couple of weekends ago Brad and I had our parents over for supper.  A 'just cuz' kind of gathering.  We wanted to enjoy these last few weeks of summer with a big grilled meal complete with corn on the cob. You aren't done eating corn on the cob until you have corn bits between all of your teeth.  That's my rule anyway.

The day before the supper I had picked up two baskets of red peppers from our local farmer's market (I had used some of these red peppers to make red pepper jelly that weekend - see my review of The Canning Kitchen for more about that endeavour! I went out of my comfort zone on that one but it worked out big time.)

These red peppers were a great addition to the Easy Porchetta Pork Tenderloin and the salmon that Brad caught last week on Lake Ontario.  Yup, m'man brought home a 16lb salmon!  Yummo!  These red peppers and the balsamic, thyme and goat cheese are always great to pair together and this was no exception.  A simple side dish with only a few really good ingredients can often take a meal from good to great.  We had a couple of red pepper halves left over so eagerly used them in a pasta dish the next day for lunch!

2 red peppers - stem and seeds removed
2 tsp grapeseed oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp grapeseed oil (or your oil of choice)
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
to taste - black pepper

Garnish - 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

Slice red pepper into quarters.  Toss with 2 tsp of oil and set aside.

Heat BBQ to medium heat.

Meanwhile, combine balsamic vinegar, oil, thyme and black pepper in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Grill red pepper slices, skin side down, for approximately 8-10 minutes or until al dente. 

Remove from heat and place in a serving dish.  Drizzle balsamic mixture over each red pepper and dot each red pepper with small bits of goat cheese.  Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Source: The Baking Bookworm