Veggies On The Grill

There’s no reason to get into a vegetable "rut." With the variety and abundance of vegetables available to us, we have a wonderful opportunity to increase the percentage of vegetables we eat.

We’re all aware of the importance of adding more fruits and vegetables to our daily diets. But let’s face it, steamed and boiled and sautéed veggies just get boring after awhile.
For some variety, try grilling your vegetables. Zucchini, squash, all of the root vegetables (beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips, and onions) are all delicious when grilled. I think that grilling brings out more of the natural, sweet flavor of the vegetable.

For larger pieces, slit length-wise, into ¼ inch thickness. A porcelain coated "grill topper" can help keep the veggie pieces from falling through your cooking grids. A piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil can be used satisfactorily as well.

Vegetables are best cooked over direct flame or fire source. (Or on high for pellet grill owners). I’ve found that you want to sear them on both sides and cook only until they just begin to soften. You want to leave some "crunch" in them. This also will help to retain most of the nutrients in vegetables-the reason we’re eating them in the first place.

Jan Robert’s Vegetable Marinade.
Give it a try, it’s a good one.
In a large zip-lock bag, combine:
1/3 cup red (or white) wine vinegar
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup vegetable oil
Add prepared vegetables (as described below) to the bag, close, and marinate at least 1 hour, or up to several hours or overnight.
When ready to grill the vegetables, drain off the marinade before grilling.
Vegetables that taste great:
Sweet onion slices (such as OSO Sweet, Walla Walla, or Texas 1015 sweet onions) halved mushrooms
seeded and sliced red, yellow, and green sweet bell peppers
Summer squash, such as zucchini (cut into sticks or rounds)

Mr. Barbecue’s Veggie Baste:
½ cup olive oil
6 fresh Basil leaves
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Black pepper
Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor and mix until the ingredients become semi-thick in viscosity. Put your veggie pieces on the grill and then take a pastry brush and brush over each side of the vegetable, turning them frequently. Hold back some of the baste as a dipping sauce.

You can also try smoking vegetables like onions. We like grilling/smoking the onions whole, then slice them up and use the slices on hamburgers. WOW!


Don’t forget that grilled veggies can be added to soup, stews and as pizza toppings