basics365: Grilled Vegetables

June 16, 20133 Comments

Grilled vegetables are the summer equivalent to roasted vegetables.  Healthy and delicious, they can serve as a main course or side dish for any meal. Grilled vegetables taste good at any temperature, which makes them easy to make during a meal, or ahead of time.  If you have the grill already going to cook meat, chicken, or fish just cook the veggies afterwards while those proteins rest. If you grill over charcoal, you can cook up a whole mess of vegetables with the residual heat of the hot coals, and use them in various meals throughout the week.

10 Ways to Feed Your Family with Grilled Vegetables

1. Grill vegetable kabobs.
2. Serve a platter of grilled vegetables, salami, and breads for an appetizer.
3. Add cold grilled vegetables to pasta or quinoa for a salad.
4. Use grilled peppers, onions, squash, or eggplant for sandwich filling.
5. Dice and toss grilled vegetables with olive oil and freshly grated parmesan to use as a pasta sauce.
6. Serve grilled potatoes, onions, and peppers with scrambled eggs.
7. Grill corn-on-the-cob, and top with your favorite seasonings.
8. Grill red onions and layer with sliced beefsteak tomatoes.
9. Dice grilled vegetables and serve on top of warm garlic crostini.
10. Puree grilled vegetables for a summer soup.

Grilled Vegetable Kabob
(as pictured above) – makes 4 kabobs

• 2 small zucchini
• 2 small yellow summer squash
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 1 red bell pepper
• 12 button mushrooms
• 1/2 red onion
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of each: dried basil, rosemary, thyme, and minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper

Cut squash into equal-sized slices, cut bell pepper into chunks, and cut onion into chunks.  Gently toss all vegetables with the olive oil and seasonings.  Skewer the vegetable pieces onto the kabob.  Grill over medium heat, turning the skewers during the cooking, until the vegetables are cooked through, about 7-9 minutes.  Enjoy!

Variation:  Almost any vegetable can be grilled with olive oil and salt and pepper.  A grill basket is also a good way to grill vegetables, especially smaller pieces. Add extra flavor by coating vegetables with a flavored olive oil, along with salt and pepper, before grilling.

Speedy: Buy a pre-made kabob from the produce section, or use pre-cut vegetables to create a kabob.