Recipe For Outdoor Grilled Vegetables | Luv Veggies!
0 comment Thursday, April 17, 2014 |

I have many vegan friends. And, I don't like to disappoint them. Grilled vegetables are at the top of the chart for them, and for my family. Cooking vegetables outdoors brings in a taste that cannot be duplicated, and a simple recipe is hard to beat.
Many BBQ sites feature only ways to barbecue meat. Hey, that's fine. But, how about considering the total meal experience. Grilling vegetables, fruits and desserts is part of that experience.
I have mentioned Chef George Hirsch in other blog posts. He was grilling vegetables, and was involved in the total meal experience, long before it was fashionable on the food channels, and before many of them hit puberty.
He grilled on a Charbroil Gas BBQ, with a modified cast iron grill, every Saturday on Public TV. Pretty sure it was the late eighties or early nineties. Now days, he publishes a free newsletter that I subscribe to and you should look into it, too.
Anyway for this post, I grilled a combination of fresh Roma tomatoes, zucchini, red and yellow peppers, asparagus and mushrooms. Get a whole bunch of each. The basic recipe is out of an old Family Circle magazine, and I will admit I took a whole lot of liberties with the recipe.
Number one: they wanted you to make a Marinara-based dipping sauce, adding onion, vinegar, Italian Seasoning and sweet roasted red peppers. I didn't bother with it.
I like the taste of grilled veggies just the way they come off the grill. You don't need to plunk anything on top of them, or dip them into anything. But, your tastes may be different than mine.
Get yourself a great big bowl...."Martha Stewart-recommended size". Cut up the peppers and zucchini length-wise. Halve or quarter up the tomatoes. Slice up the mushrooms. Remove stems from the asparagus.
Pour on, and toss all the veggies in Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I also drizzled on a Balsamic Vinegar. It's a super marinade and adds an awesome taste. Marinate things for about an hour or so.
I brought the gas grill up to about 400 degrees. I grilled the asparagus and zucchini on one side of the grill and put the remaining vegetables into a grill-top chef's pan. This way I don't lose any veggies through the grill.
The asparagus and zucchini should take only about five, six minutes per side. Put everything else in the basket except the tomatoes. Put them in at the last minute or they will turn to mush.

Toss the pan of veggies until done. It's an eyeball thing.
The first night we ate the grilled vegetables by themselves. The second time we put them into a wrap. Both experiences were, well, just outstanding. My wife told me that the wrap thing was a notch up, though. Are you catching on?
And, hey, you can always add something to the mixed veggies for the next meal. For the meat eaters, you could add thinly-sliced steak one day, chicken the next. Use your noggin!
Ok! You have no excuse now but to fire up the barbie and fix this simple recipe for grilled vegetables outdoors.

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