Snail Shell Spiral Dish - Orchard Flint

# What You’ll Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 1 small eggplant, thinly sliced lengthwise

02 - 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise

03 - 1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

04 - 1 yellow squash, thinly sliced lengthwise

05 - 1 small carrot, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise

→ Cheese & Dairy

06 - 3.5 oz goat cheese, softened

07 - 2 tbsp crème fraîche

→ Herbs & Seasonings

08 - 2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

09 - 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

10 - 2 tbsp olive oil

11 - ½ tsp sea salt

12 - ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

→ Garnish

13 - 1 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted

14 - Microgreens, for garnish (optional)

# Step-by-Step Guide:

01 - Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

02 - Lightly brush all vegetable slices with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

03 - Arrange the slices in a single layer on the prepared tray and roast for 10 to 12 minutes until pliable but not browned. Allow to cool slightly.

04 - Combine the goat cheese, crème fraîche, chopped basil, and thyme leaves in a small bowl, mixing until smooth and creamy.

05 - On a large serving plate, spread a thin layer of the cheese mixture starting at the center, creating a continuous spiral working outward.

06 - Place the roasted vegetable slices over the cheese spiral, overlapping slightly and alternating colors to form a continuous spiral pattern.

07 - Sprinkle toasted pine nuts over the spiral and add microgreens as desired. Serve at room temperature as an appetizer or light meal.

# Expert Tips:

01 -

It's a showstopper that looks like you spent hours in the kitchen, but comes together in less than an hour with minimal fuss.
Every bite is a symphony of textures and colors—you get the tender sweetness of roasted vegetables mingling with tangy goat cheese and fresh herbs that sing on your palate.
It's naturally vegetarian and feels elegant enough for guests, yet simple enough for a quiet dinner when you want to impress yourself.

02 -

The thickness of your vegetable slices makes or breaks this dish—they must be thin enough to spiral, so a mandoline is genuinely worth the investment, not a luxury. I learned this the hard way with a knife that couldn't quite achieve the delicate thinness needed.
Roasting the vegetables first is essential. Raw vegetables will be too rigid to spiral, and fully cooked vegetables will fall apart. That 10-12 minute window transforms them into the perfect texture—a lesson learned after ruining the first three attempts by either under or over-roasting.
The cheese layer must be thin. Too much cheese overwhelms the delicate vegetables; the thin base acts as a binding agent and flavor accent, not the main attraction. I discovered this when I accidentally made it too thick and the spiral became heavy and one-dimensional.

03 -

A mandoline slicer is genuinely transformative for this recipe—it creates uniform, delicate slices that would take 20 minutes with a knife and would likely look less professional. If you don't own one, this is the moment to invest.
Taste a small piece of cooled vegetable before you roast the whole tray—this tells you exactly when they'll be at peak pliability and prevents over or under-roasting, which is the most common reason spirals don't work as intended.