Grilling vegetables: A Macho Man's Delight

When the summer sun is setting in the western sky, and the warmth of the day is fading into night, we like to fire up the grill on the back patio. My wife may cook up some form of charred flesh, but often she joins me in eating veggie hot dogs and hamburgers. They’ve come a long way from their tasteless beginnings. As you can see from the recipes below, there are endless ways to grill vegetables to round out your meal. You can even grill fruit.

Any grill will of course be suitable for vegetarian grilling. But if you will be grilling with carnivorous friends, then it’s nice to have a grill with ample space. Placing veggies around the perimeter creates a space free from meat drippings, which almost all vegetarians can appreciate. Vegetables like mushrooms, onions, peppers and zucchini do quite nicely there. You can skewer them together. The reduced heat lets them slowly roast to perfection. And it frees up space in the center for those that think meat should “hog” all the attention anyway. But if you will be grilling corn or potatoes, you will more than likely need to claim some hotter coals. Veggie burgers, veggie hot dogs, and buns should do nicely on lower heat.

There are so many options for vegetarian grilling. I can tell you a few things I like, and hopefully that will help the uninitiated get a few ideas. I am certainly no expert. If you look in cookbooks and on the Internet, you can find lots of great ideas for how to grill vegetables and how to pick good veggie burgers (and/or hot dogs). My suggestions will be for charcoal grills, because those are the ones that I know best. I don’t have experience with gas or electric grilling, though I have used a George Foreman grill. But that’s another article. Before we start talking about food, let me say that I use natural wood coals instead of briquettes. If you want to read about what is in each, and how to sensibly choose between them, here’s a good link.http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/charcoal.html

When you grill vegetables, you have three options: a basket, a foil wrap or cooking right on the grill itself. The recipes that I include here include one for cooking potatoes in foil wrap, and several for cooking right on the grill itself. This is a typical outdoor vegetarian meal: hot dogs, potatoes and onions, grilled asparagus spears, and corn on the cob.

Vegetarian Hot Dogs. I like Yves Veggie Dogs (not the Yves hot dogs made from tofu) http://www.yvesveggie.com/products/detail.php/meatless-hot-dog. But there are many brands available. You can brush them with olive oil and put them directly on the grill for three to four minutes. But I prefer to boil them for a minute or two first. They plump up nicely that way. Then brush them with oil and grill them over gentle heat for a few minutes. Watch them closely, because it is so easy to overcook them. Serve on toasted whole wheat buns with ketchup and mustard. Make an impromptu relish by chopping raw red onion and dill pick wedges.

Potatoes and Onions. Cut three to four red potatoes into quarter inch thick slices. Cut one small red onion in half. Then slice it into 1/8 inch circles. Pinch rings from the circles. Combine the potatoes and onions in a bowl. Add some halved white button mushrooms (about ten medium) if you like. Mix two tablespoons olive oil, one clove of crushed garlic, plus freshly grated pepper. Add the oil mixture to the potatoes and onions. Wait until you have finished cooking to add salt, since it tends to sweat the vegetables. Now cut three pieces of aluminum foil about 12 inches by 12 inches. Place the first two pieces of foil one on top the other to form a strong bottom surface. Add the potato and onion mixture. Then place the other piece of foil on top the mixture. Crimp the top and bottom together to form a secure vegetable pouch for grilling. Place the pouch on the grill over medium heat, and cook for about an hour. You should turn the pouch over once during cooking. Before you remove the pouch from the grill, open the foil pouch and test the potatoes to see that they are cooked through. If you have trouble getting potatoes cooked through this way, you can parboil them for a few minutes before adding them to the onion and oil mixture.

Grilled Asparagus. Choose asparagus spears that are plump and purplish toward the bottom. Wash the asparagus, dry thoroughly, and then baste with the garlic oil mixture that you used for the potato and onions. Put the asparagus directly on the grill. Turn frequently, and cook until the asparagus pieces can easily be pierced with a fork. Make sure to turn the asparagus before it chars.

Corn on the Cob. Shuck the ears of corn if you like, or just peel the husks back lightly. Soak the ears of corn in water for a couple hours before grilling them, especially if you intend to completely shuck each ear. With the shucks on, or partially on, the corn can cook in its own juice if it is still fresh. Place the ears directly on the grill and cook slowly. Turn frequently. Brown but don't burn each ear.