Faked-Fried Vegetables (Yalancı Sebze Kızartması)

Traditionally, all the vegetables in this recipe are fried when making this dish, however it is healthier to broil them this way and it tastes almost the same. Especially, after you add the garlic, parsley and lemon, it is very difficult to distinguish whether the veggies are fried of broiled.

5 medium zucchinis
2 large potatoes
2 green bell peppers
2 medium red onions
6 small ripe tomatoes
4 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
½ cup chopped parsley
1 lemon
2 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

Cut zucchinis in half lengthwise. Then slice each half lengthwise. If the slices are too wide, cut each wide slice in half lengthwise once more. Repeat the same process with the potatoes. The thickness of the final slices should be ½ inch for the zucchinis and potatoes. Slice the green peppers and the onions.

Prepare two Pyrex dishes or two trays for broiling the vegetables. Place the potatoes and the zucchinis in one tray and the peppers, onions and whole unpeeled tomatoes in the other tray. Add 2 tbsp olive oil in each of the vegetable trays. Sprinkle 1 ½ tsp salt to the tray that contains the potatoes and zucchinis and 1 tsp salt to the other. Sprinkle ½ tsp ground black pepper to each of the trays. Mix the ingredients in the trays with your hands to make sure the oil covers every single part of the vegetables. Place under the broiler oven. The peppers, tomatoes and onions will cook faster than the potatoes and zucchinis; therefore they need be broiled 8-9 minutes on each side. Depending on your oven broiler, this may vary. Before taking out the vegetables make sure they are soft. The skin of the tomatoes will separate from the flesh when it is ready. That is a good time to remove them from the broiler. Broil the potatoes and zucchinis 13-15 minutes on each side. Again, this may vary depending on your broiler. Make sure the colors of the potatoes and zucchinis are golden brown before removing from the broiler.

Once all the veggies are cooked, place together in a large bowl. Dice the tomatoes. I usually dice them in the bowl since all the juices will be wasted if I do that on a cut board. Add the chopped garlic and parsley. Squeeze the lemon on top and mix gently. The vegetables may break when mixing if you are not careful. Serve with plain yogurt or add yogurt on top of the vegetables.