Grilled Vegetables – A Summer Staple

Summer demands simple food, and grilled vegetables fit the bill. I sometimes look at the prepared foods in the big glass case at a supermarket or pork store or deli and see piles of sad, limp grilled vegetables. They don’t look at all appetizing and I’m not sure who is buying them. Don’t get me wrong, I love grilled vegetables. Lightly charred in spots and brushed with olive oil, they are the perfect accompaniment to a bigger main course on a hot summer day. They are easy to make at home, and are far superior to buying them already prepared from the store.

The key is to know your vegetables. Pick the right ones, cut them correctly, and cook them separately from all the others so they cook in their own time and in their own way. For example, onions need to be cooked low and slow so they lose their sulfurous bite and become as sweet as candy, while asparagus demand a fast sear over direct heat so the tips are barely starting to crisp when the stalk is just cooked through.

When I grill vegetables, I do nothing fancy. Just olive oil, salt, and heat. That’s it. They cook to perfection, can be made before your guests arrive, and look great on the plate. Grilled vegetables are a welcome part of an antipasto platter, make a tasty side dish, or are wonderful piled on bread or focaccia or a roll to make a healthy summer sandwich. They have become a summer staple.

Grilled Vegetables

There is no real recipe for grilled vegetables. Before putting them on the grill, all I do is brush one side lightly with olive oil mixed with kosher salt – a ratio of about a half teaspoon of salt to a half cup of olive oil. I brush the other side lightly just before flipping. There are, however, a few rules to follow that will make your grilled vegetables more successful.

• Start with a clean grill, that way there are no flare ups and the vegetables won’t stick.
• Have long tongs available so you don’t burn your hands.
• Make sure the vegetables are dry. That means washing and drying them before you grill them. Wet vegetables will steam rather than sear, and you won’t get the delicious charred spots.
• Prepare your grill for two-zone cooking. One side should be ripping hot with direct heat, while the other side should be out of direct heat of the flame, so the vegetables can finish cooking inside if the outside cooks faster. If cooking over charcoal, bank the hot coals on one side of the grill. If using a gas grill, heat one or two burners on high, leaving one or two burners completely off or on low.
• Don’t move the vegetables around the grill too much, especially at first. You want them to sear for at least a few minutes – leaving beautiful grill marks. Moving them and flipping them too often will prevent this.
• However, move them when you need to so they don’t get too burned. Vegetables that are cut thin will cook relatively quickly, while those that are cut thicker, will need more time. Food with a completely charred exterior and underdone interior isn’t very good. Monitor closely and use the two zones as needed.
• Close the grill lid, but only if you have to. Closing the lid turns the grill into an oven. This will increase the temperature to cook the insides, but you can’t see how the exterior of the vegetables is progressing. If you close the lid, you may want to move the vegetables to the cooler side of the grill before you do. And don’t cook them so much with the lid closed that they are overcooked by the time you flip them to cook the other side.
• Taste the vegetables before you serve them. They made need an extra drizzle of olive oil or a sprinkling of coarse salt.
• Grilled vegetables can be served hot off the grill or at room temperature.

Suggested vegetables for grilling and relative cooking times:

• Onions peeled, cut into quarters with a little of the root end still attached (it holds them together), and skewered, or cut into ½-inch rounds
  • onions take the longest (up to a half hour) and should be the first vegetable on the grill
  • it’s okay to start or finish them over high heat so they char in spots, but the majority of the time, they should be cooked over low to medium heat
  • closing the grill lid will help onions cook through
• Whole plum (Roma) tomatoes
  • since whole tomatoes are large, they will take a relatively long time to grill – up to 20-30 minutes
  • they need to be rotated frequently to cook on all sides
  • closing the grill lid will help plum tomatoes cook through
  • overcooked grilled tomatoes get very sloppy, which is why I suggest grilling plum tomatoes, which contain less liquid
  • you can try quickly grilling cherry or grape tomatoes, but other varieties will be difficult
• Whole white button or portobello mushrooms
  • white button mushrooms will cook relatively quickly – about 5 minutes on each side
  • whole portobellos will take a little longer – 7-8 minutes on each side – and may benefit from a splash of balsamic vinegar
• Eggplant sliced into ¼-inch rounds
  • cooks moderately quickly – about 5-7 minutes on each side
  • eggplant will absorb a lot of oil and gets beautifully crisp in parts, so it’s okay to brush the olive oil on a little thicker
• Red, yellow, or orange peppers seeded and internal membranes removed, cut into 2-inch wide strips
  • cooks relatively quickly – about 5 minutes on each side
  • some people like their peppers lightly cooked, while I like some definite blistering of the skin
• Green or yellow zucchini or summer squash sliced into wedges, rounds, or planks slightly less than ¼-inch thick
  • cooks relatively quickly – about 4-5 minutes on each side
• Asparagus with the woody stem broken off
  • cooks very quickly – 2-3 minutes over high heat
  • make sure to rotate and flip if necessary to cook evenly all around

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