When the summer garden starts to produce an abundance of delicious vegetables, it can be hard to find ways to use them all.

Slice the vegetables thinly, so that they cook through while the backstrap cooks.

When a buddy posted a photo of a fresh ratatouille the other day, it made me think about ways to incorporate it with venison. The result is a marinated backstrap cooked on top of a skillet full of fresh garden vegetables and topped with shredded Parmesan cheese.

The smoke flavor and toasted cheese go perfectly with the backstrap and vegetables.

We marinated the backstrap and drizzled the vegetables with zesty Italian dressing, then seasoned it up with an Italian herb blend. Cook the dish on the grill. We set our Traeger at 350 degrees. The backstrap took about 45 minutes to reach 135 degrees, plenty of time for the vegetables to cook through without overcooking.

The vegetables cook in the same time as the venison takes to reach medium-rare.

Ingredients

2-3 pounds venison
marinated 6-8 hours in Zesty Italian dressing

1 yellow squash
sliced

1 zucchini
sliced

1 cucumber
sliced

1 eggplant
sliced

1 red onion
sliced

16 ounces cherry or plum tomatoes

1 cup Zesty Italian dressing

2 tablespoons Italian herb blend

Parmesan cheese
preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano

Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions

In a 12-inch cast iron skillet, layer the sliced vegetables in a circular pattern around skillet. Drop the cherry tomatoes evenly over the vegetables. Drizzle on the dressing. Season well with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.

Marinate the backstrap, then place it on top of the vegetables to grill.

Lay the backstrap over the center of the vegetables. Grate Parmesan cheese over the entire dish. Grill at 350 for 45 minutes, or until the backstrap reaches about 135 degrees internal for a nice medium-rare. Let the backstrap rest a few minutes, then slice and serve over vegetables.

Grate good Parmigiano-Reggiano over the meat and vegetables.