Lesson no 19
I’m not much for grilling gadgets, but there’s one piece of equipment that can be a game-changer: the grill basket. This simple tool lets you bring so much more to the grill, including small or skinny ingredients—green beans, Brussels sprouts, diced vegetables, shrimp, and so on—that would otherwise slip between the grates and perish in the fire below.
Grill baskets come in an array of shapes and sizes, but my workhorse basket looks like a skillet made of wire mesh, which allows for the most contact between the food and the grill (and exposure to grill smoke). It has a long handle, which allows me to effectively sauté over a live fire. Some grill baskets are made of metal punched with holes or slits, but these don’t allow maximum charring.
Other grill baskets are designated specifically for whole fish. These make grilling fish easier by preventing the skin from sticking to the grates, but you’ll lose some of that flavorful char, and a properly oiled grill (see Lesson #12) should never fail you. There is one style of grill basket that I love using for seafood, however: a lidded rectangular basket. It can hold a lot of shellfish for an easy mixed grill (see page 247).
Grill baskets are also an excellent tool for cooking over a camp fire or in your fireplace. You can use them like a portable grill grate to cook just about anything over a fire.
One of my favorite childhood smells was the earthy, smoky scent of bell peppers being roasted over an open stovetop flame. My grandparents always had strips of roasted peppers marinating in olive oil and vinegar, ready to serve with just about anything. When grilled, shishito peppers—the Japanese cousin of the Spanish Padrón pepper—acquire that same lovely flavor, though eating them can be a game of chance: most shishitos are mild, but about one in ten will smack you in the mouth with a spicy surprise.
Makes 4 appetizer servings
20 shishito peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
Lime wedges, for serving
1 Prepare a hot single-level fire in a grill (see page 149).
2 In a bowl, toss the peppers with the olive oil until well coated. Season with kosher salt and pepper.
3 Place a grill basket on the grill and add the peppers. Grill, tossing frequently, until blistered all over and charred in a few spots, 2 to 3 minutes.
4 Transfer the peppers to a platter and sprinkle with flaky salt. Serve with lime wedges.
Grilled Fiddlehead Ferns with Cured Ham
Fiddleheads—the unfurled shoots of new ferns—are one of the first announcements of spring. With an earthy, asparagus-like flavor and a crunchy texture, they are a delicacy that can only be enjoyed for a few weeks each year, right around the time it’s finally warm enough to fire up the grill. Look for them at your local farmers’ market or a gourmet grocery store.
Makes 4 side-dish servings
1 pound fiddlehead ferns
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons melted Garlic Butter
8 thin slices prosciutto, speck, or other cured ham, diced
2 tablespoons finely chopped mixed tarragon, chives, and parsley
1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath. Add the fiddleheads to the boiling water and blanch for 1 minute, then shock in the ice water until cool. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
2 Prepare a hot single-level fire in a grill (see page 149).
3 In a bowl, toss the fiddleheads with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
4 Transfer the fiddleheads to a grill basket and grill, tossing frequently, until charred all over, about 4 minutes.
5 Transfer the fiddleheads to a serving bowl and drizzle with the garlic butter. Add the diced prosciutto and herbs, toss well, and serve.
Grilled Artichoke Hearts with Aioli
Grilling jarred artichokes is about as quick and simple as an appetizer/side dish can get. Just make sure to use oil-packed artichokes, not the ones in brine, which have too much water to benefit from the grill. If you don’t feel like making aioli, squeeze a lemon over the grilled artichokes and call it a day.
Makes 4 appetizer or side-dish servings
12 jarred marinated artichoke hearts (packed in oil), drained and cut lengthwise in half
½ cup Garlic Aioli
1 lemon
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Coarsely ground black pepper
1 Prepare a medium-hot single-level fire in a grill (see page 149).
2 Place the artichokes, cut side down, in a grill basket. Grill until charred on the first side, about 2 minutes, then flip and char the other side, about 2 minutes longer.
3 Transfer the grilled artichokes to plates and spoon some of the aioli over them. Finely grate some lemon zest over the top and sprinkle with the parsley and pepper. Serve immediately.
This recipe requires a box-like grill basket fitted with a lid, which is something you should own if you like to grill a lot of seafood. It is my favorite way to grill seafood for a crowd: everything cooks together rather quickly in the basket and then, once dumped onto a platter, forms a spectacular sauce as the juices mingle with olive oil and lemon. Treat this recipe as a template: you can mix and match the fish and shellfish you want to use, but just make sure to choose seafood that will cook in roughly the same amount of time. And have plenty of bread on hand for sopping up the sauce.
Makes 4 servings
2 pounds assorted shellfish (such as U16 shrimp, dry-packed diver scallops, langoustines, and/or mussels) and firm white fish fillets (such as mullet, halibut, or tilapia), cut into 2-inch pieces
¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, thinly sliced, plus ½ lemon
A handful of mixed herb sprigs, such as tarragon, parsley, and chives, plus scallions
Crusty bread, for serving
1 Prepare a medium-hot single-level fire in a grill (see page 149).
2 In a bowl, toss the seafood with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3 Open a grill basket (see the headnote) and place it on the grill. Scatter the seafood evenly over the bottom of the basket. Lay the lemon slices over the seafood and scatter the herbs on top. Drizzle the herbs with olive oil. Grill, without moving the basket, for 4 minutes, then flip the basket over and squeeze the lemon half over the seafood. Continue cooking until the seafood is opaque and cooked through, about 4 minutes longer.
4 Carefully open the basket and pour the contents into a shallow bowl or onto a platter. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with crusty bread.
Any cruciferous vegetable tastes better with some char on it. Here, cauliflower’s natural sweetness is boosted by dousing it in a quick salty-sweet marinade. This technique works equally well with broccoli, but be sure to cook either vegetable until just crisp-tender, with a little bit of bite.
Makes 4 appetizer or side-dish servings
3 tablespoons tamari
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cored and cut into 1-inch florets
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
1 Prepare a hot single-level fire in a grill (see page 149).
2 In a large bowl, whisk together the tamari and vinegar. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Add the cauliflower and toss until well coated. Season lightly with kosher salt.
3 Place a grill basket on the grill and add the cauliflower. (If your grill basket isn’t large enough to hold the cauliflower in a single layer, cook it in two batches.) Grill the cauliflower, tossing frequently, until crisp-tender and caramelized all over, 10 to 12 minutes.
4 Transfer the cauliflower to a platter. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with the parsley and flaky salt, and serve.