Description

This Grilled Fall Vegetable Bread Boat with Pumpkin Seed Pesto is a flavorful and savory dish combining grilled seasonal vegetables and a creamy, nutty pesto packed inside a hollowed sourdough loaf. Perfect for fall gatherings, it features layers of grilled zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant with a vibrant white bean and pumpkin seed pesto, baked until crispy on the outside and soft inside.

Ingredients

Scale

Bread and Vegetables

1 large loaf sourdough bread
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium Italian eggplant
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Oil-Free White Bean & Pumpkin Seed Pesto

1 (15.5 oz.) can cannellini beans (or 1 1/2 cups cooked cannellini beans)
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons water (or as needed to blend)
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon green onions
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt, to taste

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Instructions

Prepare the bread: Carve out a wide and deep piece from the top of the sourdough loaf to create a hollow bread boat with thin walls. Cut the excess top piece to fashion a lid. Set the hollowed bread and lid aside.
Preheat oven: Set your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and position a large baking pan for later use.
Slice vegetables: Using a mandolin or sharp knife, thinly slice the zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant into long strips, using approximately one medium zucchini, one medium yellow squash, and one medium eggplant depending on bread size.
Grill vegetables: Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a grill pan over medium heat. Grill zucchini strips until grill marks form, then set aside. Repeat grilling with yellow squash and eggplant slices, placing each grilled vegetable on separate plates.
Make pesto: In a food processor, combine cannellini beans, fresh basil, pumpkin seeds, water, garlic, green onions, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and salt. Blend until slightly chunky but well combined. Set aside.
Assemble bread boat: Spread a layer of pumpkin seed pesto inside the hollowed bread. Layer one type of grilled vegetable over the pesto. Alternate layers of pesto and grilled vegetables, filling the bread boat but leaving room for the lid on top.
Bake: Place the filled bread boat onto the baking pan and bake for 15 minutes until the bread is crispy and warmed through.
Serve: Allow the bread boat to cool until it can be handled easily, then slice and serve.

Notes

Use leftover bread pieces to make homemade croutons for salads or soups.
Adjust the amount of olive oil for grilling vegetables according to preference for a lighter or richer result.
The pesto can be prepared in advance and refrigerated to enhance flavors.
Rotate vegetable layers evenly for a balanced flavor in every bite.
For a gluten-free option, substitute sourdough bread with gluten-free bread bowls.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 slice (1/6 of bread boat)
Calories: 320 kcal
Sugar: 4 g
Sodium: 350 mg
Fat: 10 g
Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 45 g
Fiber: 7 g
Protein: 12 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg