Grilled Summer Bounty

Since we were headed out of town this weekend, I decided to grill up almost any vegetable that was still hanging around our kitchen. The simply grilled veggies made a great, easy dinner, and the kitchen remained cool and almost mess-free. I served this with some chicken, marinated in lemon juice and olive oil and grilled, and bread, toasted on the grll, with a melted farmhouse cheddar on top. A perfect meal for a hot evening, served best at room-temperature, and leftovers will not be frowned upon. (Grilled veggie omlets, anyone? Sandwiches with goat cheese and grilled vegetables? The list could go on and on.



I feel a little silly giving you a "recipe" to follow here. There are no measurements, and only approximate cooking times, as grills and personal taste will vary. I'd say, consider this a suggestion.

Recipe: Grilled Summer Bounty

I used:

2 baby zucchini, sliced lengthwise, 1/2 inch thick and then sliced in 1/2
2 baby squash, same as above
1 sweet red pepper, 1 yellow pepper, and 2 green bell peppers, quartered and seeded
1 onion, generously sliced, approx. 1/2 inch thick in rounds
3 tomatoes, tops sliced off
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil (I always use extra virigin)

Toss veggies in olive oil, pepper, and salt. I tossed the squash/zucchini in one bowl, peppers and onions (very delicately! you want the onion layers to remain intact) in another, and then after I stuck the squash/zucchini on the grill, I used the leftover oil mixture in the bowl to gently coat the tomatoes.

Grill veggies. (the longer they're grilled, the softer, more charred they'll get. Obviously.) Zucchini/Squash take about 5 minutes each side. I like to grill them until the grates of the grill produce perfect charred lines on the veggies. Beautiful. Onions take about the same time, or less. I like them still crunchy, but certainly warmed through and nice and sweet. Peppers take a little longer than the zucchini, but this depends on the thickness of the pepper, so make sure to watch!

I grilled the tomatoes as an experiment. My grill has a second tier, so I used that for grilling the tomatoes, and then at the last moment, stuck the tomatoes on the normal part. I'm not sure if this was the best way to handle the tomatoes, but they did come out tasty and not mushy.