Day 13 : Vegetable Napoleon – Grilled Layers of Flavor & Technique

Hello and welcome to Day 13 of Culinary School.

This week’s all about vegetables, which, to be honest, sounded like a bit of a comedown after smoking hogs and tasting sausages at Banger’s yesterday. But turns out, vegetables can be just as bold and beautiful, which is a big statement coming from me, since I fucking hate veggies… unless they are root vegtables and crispy, or mashed.

Today, I made something I’d never even heard of before: a Vegetable Napoleon.And before you ask, no, it’s not a tiny French bloke made out of aubergine or eggplant for the Americans.

It’s a beautiful, layered tower of grilled vegetables, basil, mozzarella, and tomato, simple, elegant, and packed with flavor when you give it the care it deserves.

The Process

I started by slicing eggplant, zucchini, squash, and tomatoes.Salted the eggplant to draw out the bitterness, then brushed everything with olive oil until they glistened like they were ready for a photoshoot.

Onto the grill they went, that’s where the magic happened. The hiss of the oil, the smell of the smoke, those char marks forming slowly, there’s something grounding about standing over a grill, just watching nature transform under fire.

Then came the layering, eggplant at the bottom, a slice of tomato, a bit of fresh mozzarella, a leaf or two of basil, and then zucchini and squash on top.Three layers high, like a wee edible skyscraper of color and love.

Into the oven for ten minutes, just long enough for the mozzarella to melt and everything to settle together into one perfect bite.

The Chef’s Reaction

Chef tasted it and smiled. Said the flavour was great, seasoning spot-on, garlic a touch bold (fair, I’m Scottish, we don’t do subtle or a whole lot of flavour so ill take both as a win).He said it looked beautiful, tender, and easy to cut. I’ll take that any day.

Ended up scoring 100 % for taste, execution, and appearance. But honestly, that number wasn’t what mattered.

But honestly, that wasn’t the best part.

The best part was realising how far I’ve come, from the guy who used to serve unwashed potatoes back in the day, to standing in a kitchen crafting something beautiful and balanced out of a handful of vegetables and a bit of patience and these veggies were absolutely beautiful.

I used to think cooking was about recipes.

Now I’m learning it’s about rhythm.

Salt, fire, patience, and a bit of love, every time.

Cheers

Andy

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