TIP OF THE DAY: Veggie Skewers, Veggie Grilling Tips

July 24, 2014 at 8:13 am · Filed under Cooking, Recipes, Vegetables-Salads-Herbs

We discovered these nifty grill combs from Fusion Brands at Sur La Table. What better way to get everyone to eat more veggies than to skewer and grill them?

Americans are woefully behind when it comes to eating the recommended 3-5 servings of vegetables a day; and no, spaghetti sauce and ketchup don’t count.

So make it fun by grilling skewers of veggies while you’re cooking your proteins. Aim to build skewers of 70% veggies, 30% protein; or make all-veggie skewers.

BEST VEGETABLES FOR GRILLING

Many different types of vegetables can be grilled, but start with a selection from these:

Asparagus: If you loose them between the spokes of the grill, get a grilling basket or a shaker basket.

Bell peppers: Grill whole, char and peel, or cut into chunks and grill until just charred around the edges.

Corn: Some people leave corn in the husks for grilling. Others like the char that comes from grilling the husked corn. Try both and decide.

A fun way to cook and eat veggies. Photo courtesy Sur La Table.

Eggplant: Slice then into 1/4” pieces and briefly marinate in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic and basil.

Green beans: Few people think to grill these. All you need is a grilling basket/shaker basket.

Mushrooms: Marinate whole portabellas in balsamic vinaigrette for 1 hour; grill over high heat for 10 minutes. Smaller mushrooms can be skewered or grilled in a basket.

Onions: Cut crosswise into half-inch slices, skewer and grill over medium heat.

Potatoes: Parboil fingerling or new potatoes until they are al dente thread and finish them on the grill.

Radicchio or Endive: Quarter, leaving the core in, and serve warm with a vinaigrette.

Tomatoes: Cut in half and grill cut-side down; flip halfway through (3-4 minutes), top with pesto and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Zucchini And/Or Summer Squash: Use the eggplant marinade above.

GENERAL GRILLING

Karen Schultz and Maren Jahnke note in their book, Vegetarian Grilling, that vegetables contain far less fat than proteins. They thus require added fat so that they don’t dry out.

This is done both by marinating and by brushing often with olive oil or other oil. “Be heavy on the brush,” they recommend.

For more on how to grill vegetables, John Kennedy, in an article on SteakBytes, the blog of Omaha Steaks, offers these tips:

How to keep small veggies from slipping
through the grill: Use a grilling basket. Photo
courtesy Mr. Bar-B-Q.

VEGGIE GRILLING TIPS

1. USE skewers. Skewers are the best way to keep vegetables from rolling around on the grill, and to easily flip to ensure that each side is getting equal contact with the heat. If you don’t want to invest in skewers, you can wrap the vegetables in a sheet of foil, then place the packet on the grill. Use nonstick cooking spray on the foil before adding the vegetables to help prevent sticking.

2. BRUSH the vegetables with olive oil or canola oil to prevent them from sticking to the grill. Avoid the temptation of butter, to keep the cholesterol/saturated fat levels low.

3. SEASON with dried or fresh herbs instead of salt. You’ll add great flavor without increasing sodium levels.

4. SLICE the vegetables thickly since they will cook fast (unless you want thin, crisp slices). However, denser vegetables take longer to cook: Potato slices require a lot more time than zucchini slices, for example.

5. COOK vegetables directly on the grill at medium-high heat and turn over halfway through cooking.

Do this often, and you’ll eat better while enjoying the superior flavor of grilled vegetables.

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