Divas on a Dime: Mezze Board

By Patti Diamond

Celebrate Labor Day with a late-summer mezze board

Labor Day weekend is summer's grand finale, the last big bash before we begin pretending we are ready for sweaters, schedules and pumpkin-spiced everything.

A colorful mezze board turns late-summer produce into an easy, elegant feast. PHOTO CREDIT: www.JasonCoblentz.com

Let's make a late-summer mezze board: a relaxed Mediterranean-style feast of smoky vegetables, creamy dips, warm pita and salty little nibbles. It looks lavish, but its principal players -- beans, bread and seasonal produce -- are happily inexpensive. And because Labor Day is supposed to be a holiday free from labor, nearly everything can be prepared ahead and the board assembled with fresh, no-cook ingredients.

The secret here is restraint. Otherwise, what starts as a casual graze board becomes 17 tiny bowls and a grocery receipt requiring smelling salts.

Build your board around a few contrasting elements: grilled zucchini, sweet peppers and red onion; baba ghanoush and hummus; sliced cucumber and tomatoes; olives, feta and toasted pita wedges. Fill any gaps with pepperoncini, grapes, watermelon, fresh herbs or whatever looks delicious and reasonably priced.

Arrange everything in generous, overlapping piles. Mezze should look invitingly abundant.

The smoky centerpiece is baba ghanoush, a creamy eggplant dip with variations found throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean. Grill the eggplant alongside the vegetables, and one cooking session accomplishes most of the meal. No grill? The oven will do nicely.

There is absolutely no shame in buying the hummus. Labor Day is, after all, a holiday devoted to avoiding labor.

GRILLED BABA GHANOUSH

Yield: about 2 cups or 6 servings

Total Time: 1 hour 40 mins.

• 2 small globe or Italian eggplants

• 1/4 cup tahini

• 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

• 1 large garlic clove, minced

• 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt

• 1/4 teaspoon each kosher salt and black pepper

• 1 teaspoon sumac

• 3/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional

• Extra-virgin olive oil and chopped parsley, for serving

To grill: Heat the grill to medium-high. Grill the whole eggplants, turning occasionally, for about 30 minutes, until deeply charred, collapsed and completely soft.

To oven-roast: Heat the oven to 425 F. Halve the eggplants lengthwise and place them cut side down on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Roast 35 to 40 minutes, until very tender.

Let the eggplant cool. Peel grilled eggplant and discard the stems; scoop roasted eggplant from its skin.

Place the flesh in a colander and drain for 15 minutes, pressing gently to release excess liquid. Transfer to a bowl and mash with a fork. Stir in the tahini, lemon juice and zest, garlic, yogurt, salt, pepper, sumac and Aleppo pepper.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Spoon into a shallow bowl, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with parsley. Serve with pita and vegetables. Refrigerate leftovers for up to four days.

Prepare the dip a day ahead, grill the vegetables at the same time, and add fresh produce and herbs shortly before serving. For outdoor gatherings, bring out smaller portions of dips and cheese as needed. Perishable foods should not remain unrefrigerated longer than two hours, or one hour when the temperature exceeds 90 F.

To turn the board into dinner, keep the grill working and add chicken or pork kabobs, sausages or a steak cut into bite-size pieces, an economical way to share steak with a crowd. Round out the meal with herbed couscous or lemony orzo, both inexpensive and delicious served at room temperature.

Then gather everyone around, pour something cold and toast the last long, golden days of summer. They deserve a proper farewell.

Lifestyle expert Patti Diamond is the penny-pinching, party-planning, recipe developer and content creator of the website Divas On A Dime -- Where Frugal, Meets Fabulous! Visit Patti at www.divasonadime.com and join the conversation on Facebook at DivasOnADimeDotCom. Email Patti at divapatti@divasonadime.com

(c) 2026 King Features Synd., Inc.