Shitake Mushrooms, Roasted Red Peppers, Chick Peas & Basil

It's hot.
Really hot.
Too hot to cook.

But, in the midst of this hot weather, I had to bring a side dish to a potluck dinner. So, I needed an attractive side dish that wouldn't require a whole lot of cooking.  Luckily, even though I don't like hot weather, the basil in my garden does. I trimmed a few stalks from one of the basil plants, and searched through my kitchen for what might go well with it.

Recipe

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. shitake mushrooms
2  12oz. jars roasted red peppers, drained & chopped
2 cups cooked or canned chick peas
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Basil or arugula, or a mix

1) Slice the shitake mushrooms and sautee them in olive oil for 3-4 minutes until tender. (I also added some chopped oregano).  They'll reduce very quickly.

2) Mix the mushrooms, red peppers, chick peas, and balsamic vinegar, and add pepper to taste.

3) Now the dilemma - should I tear the basil into small pieces and mix it in with the vegetables, or serve the vegetables on a bed of basil?  I went for the bed of basil:

Easy, colorful, and I only had to have the stove on for a couple of minutes. Next time I think I'll use a basil-arugula mix, and mix it in with the vegetables instead of just having it underneath.  Or use this as topping for crostini - a piece of toasted bread, topped with a basil leaf and the mushroom/pepper/chick peas on top of that.