Veggies, goat cheese dress up fettuccine

It means simple preparations, such as green beans sauteed quickly in olive oil and garlic, then quickly finished with a splash of cider vinegar and brown sugar in the hot pan.

Or oversized tomatoes cut into thick, meaty slices, then drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. What more is needed?

And tomatillos, those tart, husk-covered little green tomato look-alikes, tossed into a food processor with onion, hot pepper, cilantro, garlic, basil and white vinegar. Now that is salsa.

This dish is simple to make. Grill lots of vegetables with no dressings save for a bit of olive oil cooking spray. Once they are cooked, crumble or cut these now tender veggies into chunks and toss with fettuccine.

Finish the dish with olive oil, fresh crushed garlic, salt, freshly ground black pepper and chunks of goat cheese. Incredible. It's that simple and that fresh.

Fettuccine with Grilled Vegetables and Goat Cheese

(Start to finish 20 minutes)

1 medium eggplant, ends trimmed, cut in half lengthwise

4 to 6 baby zucchini

2 to 3 medium tomatoes

9-ounce package fresh fettuccine

Olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

4-ounce package goat cheese

Preheat a well-oiled grill on high. Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil.

Lower the grill to medium heat. Place the eggplant halves, cut side down, on the grill and close the lid. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until cut side is lightly browned. Use tongs to flip the eggplant halves.

Place whole zucchini and tomatoes on the grill and close the lid. Grill 5 minutes, or until zucchini are soft and tomatoes are lightly browned. Remove all vegetables from the grill and set aside.

Cook the fettuccine according to package directions, then drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Toss with olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper, to taste. Use your hands to crush the tomatoes over the pasta. Cut the eggplant and zucchini into medium chunks and add to the pasta. Toss lightly, then crumble goat cheese over the pasta and vegetables. Makes 4 servings.