In the early years of American grilling, outdoor cooks generally ignored vegetables. At most, Dad might bake foil-wrapped potatoes or ears of corn on the grill or ask Mom to throw together an iceberg-lettuce salad. That’s changed dramatically in the last couple of decades. Now everything from artichokes to zucchini gets a seat at the table, often as the guest of honor. People love vegetables for the variety they provide, for the dietary benefits they promise, and most of all, for the earthy pleasures of their taste.
Among the dishes we feature, some work best as entrees, others are strictly sides, but many do double duty in either role. If you’re looking primarily for vegetarian main dishes, we include a number of them here as well as other possibilities in the following chapter on salads and pastas. If you prefer your vegetables on the side of the plate, we’ve got plenty on these pages and more options later in “Classic Side Dishes from Inside.” However you reap the rewards, you’re going to relish this bountiful garden of delights
Popular throughout the Southwest, the large cheese-stuffed chiles known as rellenos deserve a broader audience across the country. They’re usually coated in an egg batter and fried, but we prefer to grill them, a two-step process that brings out the sweetness and zest of the chiles while giving the filling equal billing. We recommend wide-shouldered poblano chiles, considered mild to medium in heat.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 as a main course or hearty side dish
Sauce
1 cup Mexican crema, crème fraîche, or sour cream
½ cup crumbled queso fresco or rinsed feta cheese
About ¼ cup bottled green hot sauce or “taco” sauce
Filling
½ pound Chihuahua, mild Cheddar, or Muenster cheese, grated
6 ounces queso fresco or rinsed feta cheese, crumbled
2 red-ripe plum tomatoes, halved and watery liquid squeezed out and discarded, diced
3 tablespoons pine nuts, pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), or pistachios, toasted in a dry skillet
2 teaspoons minced roasted garlic Pinch or 2 of salt
1 large ear corn, husks and silks removed Vegetable oil spray
6 meaty medium to large poblano or other fresh fat mild green chiles such as New Mexican or Anaheim
Additional pine nuts, pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), or pistachios, toasted in a dry skillet
Additional plum tomatoes, halved and watery liquid squeezed out and discarded, diced
a Fiesta Supper
Margaritas
Smoky Spicy Mixed Nuls (page 104)
Chiles Rellenos or Black Bean and Vegetable Burritos (page 425) or both Salad of butter lettuce with avocado slices and toasted pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
Red Rice (page 491)
Sugar-Spangled Pineapple Spears and Mango Stars (page 503)
* Great seasonal vegetables, bursting with earthy sweetness, need no more than a brush of oil or butter and a sprinkle of salt for grilling. We occasionally augment that dressing with other compatible flavorings, but elemental is extraordinary in this case.
* Use a steady medium heat for grilling most vegetables. We note exceptions in the recipes.
* Cook the vegetables directly over the fire. Don’t wrap them in foil unless you want them steamed instead of grilled.
* We usually don’t grill cruciferous veggies such as cauliflower and broccoli, though they can work in some grill-wok preparations.
* Unlike with meat, fish, and poultry, a vegetable is done when you say it is. You can take them off sooner if you like them crisp-tender or keep them over the fire longer for a little more char and softer texture.
* Most grilled vegetables, unless they incorporate cheese in some fashion, are as good at room temperature as they are hot, giving you more flexibility about when to cook them and how you plan use of your grate space.
Prepare the sauce, combining the ingredients in a food processor until well blended. Refrigerate until serving time.
Prepare the filling, mixing the cheeses, tomatoes, pine nuts, garlic, and salt together in a medium bowl. Spray the corn with vegetable oil.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Grill the corn and chiles uncovered, turning them on all sides. Cook the chiles until the skin blackens and blisters and they soften somewhat, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chiles to a plastic bag to steam until they are cool enough to handle. Continue grilling the corn until soft with a few charred spots, about 8 to 10 minutes more. Leave the grill on if you plan to finish the dish shortly.
Peel the chiles, using rubber gloves if your skin is sensitive. Rinse off your hands instead of the chiles as you rid them of the blackened skin. Slit each pod down one side from the middle to the pointed end and remove any obvious loose seeds. Leave the seed pod itself and the stem in place. Slice the corn kernels off the cobs, holding the ears vertically and slicing down them, all around. (The chiles and corn can be prepared to this point a day ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat them before proceeding.)
Stir the corn into the cheese mixture. Stuff the cheese mixture into the chiles, pushing it up into the shoulders of the pods and down into the tip. Your fingers are the best tool. The chiles should be nicely full but not overstuffed. Bring the slit edges of each chile back together tightly. Arrange the chiles on a baking sheet. Spray the chiles with oil and place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Remove the stuffed chiles from the baking sheet and arrange them on the grill (still at medium heat), starting slit side down. Grill uncovered for 5 to 7 minutes, turning a couple of times and cooking until the cheese is quite soft and the chiles marked nicely by the grill.
To serve, spoon a couple of tablespoons of sauce on each plate, smearing it a bit so that it will show underneath the chiles. Arrange a chile, slit side down, over the sauce, repeating with the remaining pods. Scatter pine nuts and tomatoes over the plates and serve right away.
Grilled vegetable platters often steal the show at a party. For optimum impact, give the idea a theme, such as one of these:
* All-American, to accompany ribs, burgers, or brisket: Mix sections of corn on the cob with red onions, summer squash, and small potatoes, all dressed with Chile Butter (page 65), Old Bay Mayo (page 66), or Garlic-Orange Vinaigrette (page 63).
* Far Eastern Flavors: Opt for Japanese eggplant, baby bok choy, asparagus, and scallions, laid out for dunking in Wasabi-Scallion Mayonnaise (page 66).
* Sun-Drenched Mediterranean Platter: Combine brilliant red peppers and plum tomatoes with slices of eggplant zucchini, and fennel. Bathe them in olive oil and red wine or balsamic vinegar and tuck in capers, caper berries, green or black olives, chopped tomatoes, Parmesan curls, ricotta salata crumbles, or thin provolone cheese slices rolled into tiny cornucopias.
* Antipasto Supper for Everyone: Start with the Mediterranean Platter and add a second platter with canned high-quality oil-packed tuna, quartered hard-boiled eggs, and pieces of salami, pepperoni, or other Italian meats. Tuck in some greens and add a few of the Mediterranean garnishes to the meat platter, too.
We grill peppers more often than any other vegetable, partially because of their beauty and versatility. Change out the topping with a range of favorites and you’ve got a different dish. We dress the peppers here with exotic tangy-sweet pomegranate molasses, well worth seeking out for this recipe and for use as a base in other glazes or sauces. If you don’t find it in a specialty food store or Middle Eastern market near you, order by mail from Kalustyan’s (kalustyan.com, 212-685-3451). It keeps well almost forever.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 or more as a side dish or part of a light main course
4 large red bell peppers
2 large yellow or orange bell peppers
¾ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Fresh mint leaves
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Grill the peppers uncovered until soft, blackened, and blistered on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plastic bag to steam until they are cool enough to handle.
When the peppers are cool, peel them. Rinse off your hands instead of the peppers as you rid them of the blackened skin. Slit each pepper down one side and remove the seeds and stems.
Chop two of the red peppers in a food processor with the walnuts until you have a rough puree. Add the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, cayenne, cumin, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the oil and pulse to combine.
Slice the yellow peppers and other red peppers into neat strips, toss them with the remaining tablespoon of oil, and mound them on a platter, their colors interspersed. Scatter mint around and top with a large spoonful of the sauce. Spoon the rest of the sauce into a small bowl and pass with the peppers.
Peppers with Romesco Sauce With a different sauce, move the meal to sunny Spain. Grill the peppers as directed, but top them with Romesco Sauce (page 60). If you want, make the sauce from a couple of the peppers at the same time.
Peppers Mojo We’ve never seen Latin American Mojo (page 60) used this way before, but it tastes great and adds color and fragrance to the plate. You’ll have 2 additional peppers to slice and add to the plate.
An American classic, transformed in this case from a sometimes-lackluster indoor preparation to a robust outdoor specialty full of color and verve. Choose peppers that are heavy for their size and well formed so that they’ll stand on the grill while cooking.
COOKING METHOD | COVERED GRILL ROASTING
Serves 6 as a main course or hearty side dish
6 large red, orange, or yellow bell peppers or a combination
Vegetable oil spray
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, preferably unsalted
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large plum tomato, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 large jalapeño or serrano chile, minced
2 cups corn kernels
2 cups cooked brown or white rice or dry corn bread crumbs
About 1 cup beer or chicken stock
Slice the tops off the peppers, about ½ inch down from their stems. Remove the seeds and cores from the peppers using a small knife or melon bailer. If any won’t stand upright, slice a tiny bit from the bottom as needed, being careful not to cut into the pepper’s cavity. Spray the inside of each pepper with oil. Holding a pepper on its side, sprinkle lightly with salt inside, rolling it around on all sides to season evenly.
Prepare the filling, first melting the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion, tomato, green bell pepper, and jalapeño and cook for about 5 minutes, until somewhat tender. Stir in the corn and cook just until it softens, about 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the rice and then 1 cup beer. The filling should be moist but not dripping. If the mixture is soupy, return it to the stove to reduce the liquid a bit. If it’s dry, add a little more beer.
Prepare the grill for covered grill roasting, creating a medium-hot fire in about half of the grill and leaving the other half unheated. In case you’re working with a gas grill with 3 burners, turn 2 burners to hot and leave the third off. If your gas grill has 2 burners, one in front, one in back, make the fire in the back portion of the grill. In a charcoal grill, build a medium-hot fire under one side of the grate and leave the other half unheated.
Place an inexpensive portable oven thermometer (available from any kitchen supply store) on the unheated portion of the cooking grate, close enough to the front that you will be able to read it Don’t rely on your grill’s built-in lid thermometer, because you want to measure the temperature only on the unheated side. Close the grill and bring the temperature to about 375°F. (Some low-powered gas grills may not reach the ideal 375°F. If you have waited an appropriate amount of time for your grill to heat fully, and the temperature has stopped climbing, note the temperature. For every 25 degrees under 375°F, plan to add at least 5 minutes to the overall cooking time of 40 to 50 minutes.)
Spoon the filling into each pepper, packing it in lightly. Replace the tops of the peppers, securing with toothpicks if needed.
Place the peppers directly on the cooking grate just behind the thermometer. Close the cover. Cook for about 30 minutes, then remove the tops from the peppers and take them from the grill, setting them on a platter. Using tongs, shift the peppers around and rotate a half turn so that they cook evenly. Continue cooking for 10 to 20 minutes, until the peppers are tender but still hold their shape. The filling should be lightly browned. Remove the peppers with tongs, picking them up close to the bottom so they don’t tear. Have the platter with the tops close by and stand the peppers on it, placing a top back on each. Serve warm.
Perforated grill woks sit right on the cooking grate, where their holes allow fire to come in contact with the food. We recommend spraying the wok with oil before putting it on the fire, but that’s all the fat you’ll need for most preparations. Get the largest grill wok you can find. As in a kitchen wok, you don’t want to overcrowd the food, or it will steam in its own moisture, cooking with water instead of fire. We use ours most often with vegetables, but they make tasty toss-ups with meat, fish, and poultry, too.
For this tempting toss-up you’ll need a perforated grill wok, a useful utensil if you like to cook vegetables outdoors. Here the wok even makes cauliflower a candidate for the grill, helped along by a yogurt marinade that bathes it and several other vegetables. To serve this as a main dish, spoon the vegetables over an Indian chapati or roti bread or even a whole wheat tortilla.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 4 to 6 as a main course over bread, 6 as a side dish
Sweet Tandoori Marinade
1 cup yogurt
½ cup mango chutney Juice of 1 large lemon
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 small head of cauliflower, separated into chunky florets, 1 to 1½ inches across
12 small red-skinned potatoes, cut into large bite-sized chunks
2 medium zucchini, about 1 inch thick, cut into large bite-sized half-moons
1 large onion, cut into large bite-sized chunks
Vegetable oil spray
Chapati or roti breads or whole wheat flour tortillas, optional
Fresh cilantro leaves
Additional mango chutney
Prepare the marinade, stirring the ingredients together in a large bowl.
Bring a medium pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Blanch the cauliflower and potatoes in the water, cooking just long enough to pierce the vegetables with little resistance. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again.
Stir the cauliflower, potatoes, zucchini, and onion into the marinade and let them sit at room temperature while you start the grill.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Away from the fire, spray the inside of the grill wok with oil. Drain the yogurt marinade from the vegetables, leaving what clings to the surfaces. Dump the vegetables into the wok.
Grill the vegetables uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring them up and tossing them around frequently so that they grill rather than steam. The vegetables are ready when all are tender with a few brown edges. If serving over chapati, warm them on the edge of the grill.
an Indian Vegetarian Supper with Friends
Store-bought samosas
Chunky Tandoori Toss-Up on roti bread
Rice pudding sprinkled with rose water and chopped pistachios
Lay the chapati on each plate, if you’re serving it, and spoon on the vegetables. Scatter with cilantro. Add a spoonful of mango chutney to each or let guests help themselves.
Chunky Tandoori Toss-Up with Curried Mango Chutney Butter For a richer finish, use this butter (page 64) spooned over the top rather than plain chutney.
Chunky Vegetable Toss-Up with Italian Dressing Change continents and flavors entirely. Instead of using the sweet tandoori marinade, soak the vegetables in Italian dressing. Skip the cilantro and chutney at the end.
If you relish the role of showman, this preparation provides your cue. Ethereally light Japanese tempura is best when served just as it’s scooped from bubbling oil, as you do here. We include green chile in our tempura, an idea pioneered by Shohko and Hiro Fukuda, proprietors of Santa Fe’s venerable Shohko Café. The dish makes a wonderful summer Sunday supper for friends, using vegetables picked at your local weekend farmers’ market
COOKING METHOD | BIG-POT FRYING
Serves 6 as a main course, 8 as a side dish
Dipping Sauce
½ cup soy sauce 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
Vegetable oil or rice bran oil for deep-frying
3 pounds mixed vegetables, such as broccoli (pulled into bite-sized florets), green beans (tipped and tailed), sweet potatoes, bell peppers, long green chiles, button mushrooms, peeled Japanese eggplants, or small onions, sliced about ¼ inch thick
3 cups all-purpose flour, preferably unbleached
3 cups ice water
2 large egg yolks
Prepare the dipping sauce, combining the ingredients in a small bowl with ½ cup water. Divide the sauce among small ramekins, one for each guest. Place at the table by each person’s plate or arrange them near where you will be serving.
Pour at least 4 inches of oil into a large sturdy pot suitable for deep-frying.
Place the vegetables on a baking sheet near your frying pot. Also nearby, have a shallow dish with 1 cup of the flour, a large bowl for mixing the batter (which needs to be done at the last minute), a long-handled “spider” strainer or slotted spoon and tongs for retrieving the vegetables, and a rack with paper towels under it for draining the food. Just before you are ready to serve the tempura, heat the oil to 375°F.
While the oil heats, mix the batter, first whisking together the ice water and egg yolks. Mix them vigorously until frothy. Whisk in the remaining 2 cups of the flour, just until lightly blended. Don’t worry about a few streaks or lumps of flour. You don’t want to overwork the batter.
When you’re ready to cook, dredge the vegetables in the shallow dish of flour, a few pieces at a time, then dip in the batter and slip into the oil one at a time. Mix up the kind of vegetables you put in so that each guest will be able to have some of each as soon as a portion is ready. Repeat with the remaining vegetables and batter, adding as many as you can to the oil without crowding or dropping the oil temperature. Cook the vegetables for 4 to 5 minutes, turning as needed, until golden. Serve on each person’s plate as vegetables are done. Ask everyone to eat as soon as they are served, dunking the tempura into the sauce as they go.
Shrimp and Mixed Vegetable Tempura Reduce the amount of vegetables by about ¾ pound. Peel ¾ pound medium to large shrimp, then slice them in half lengthwise. Blot with paper towels. They will cook in about the same time as the vegetables. If cooking for strict vegetarians, fry the shrimp after the vegetables, or in a separate pot, and arrange the shrimp away from the vegetables if you are holding them before serving.
Fritto Misto Tempura goes Italian. Add quartered baby artichokes to the vegetable mix and, if you wish, some calamari rings and tentacles blotted dry. Make the batter a bit differently. Place the 2 cups flour in a medium bowl, then add 2 teaspoons each salt and baking powder. Whisk in 2 whole eggs, rather than just the yolks, and wet the mixture with ½ cup white wine rather than ice water. Dredge the vegetables in the remaining flour as before, then dip, batter, and fry as instructed. Serve with squeezes of lemon.
Two of the best time-saving food products to appear on the market in recent years are precooked brown rice and wild rice in shelf-stable packaging. Both taste good and save the cook close to an hour in simmering time. Trader Joe’s wild rice and Uncle Ben’s brown rice came out early, but look for more entries in the field soon. The wild rice works perfectly in the winter squash recipe.
Isn’t it great that the gods of the grill now condone winter cookouts? From fall through spring, this is a soul-satisfying dish. The ingredient list for the stuffing looks long, but it’s simple to assemble.
COOKING METHOD | COVERED GRILL ROASTING
Serves 6 as a main course, up to 12 as a side dish
3 acorn squash, halved through the ends Vegetable oil
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
Wild Rice-Cherry Stuffing
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped pecans
½ medium onion, diced
2 cups cooked wild rice
¾ cup dried cherries, chopped, or dried cranberries
1 teaspoon coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt, or more to taste ¼ cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons maple syrup
About ¾ cup chicken stock
Prepare the grill for covered grill roasting, creating a medium-hot fire in about half of the grill and leaving the other half unheated. In case you’re working with a gas grill with 3 burners, turn 2 burners to high and leave the third off. If your gas grill has 1 burners, one in front, one in back, make the fire in the back portion of the grill. In a charcoal grill, build a medium-hot fire under one side of the grate and leave the other half unheated.
Place an inexpensive portable oven thermometer (available from any kitchen supply store) on the unheated portion of the cooking grate, close enough to the front that you will be able to read it. Don’t rely on your grill’s built-in lid thermometer, because you want to measure the temperature only on the unheated side. Close the grill and bring the temperature to approximately 375°F. (Some low-powered gas grills may not reach the ideal 375°F. If you have waited an appropriate amount of time for your grill to heat fully, and the temperature has stopped climbing, note the temperature. For every 25 degrees under 375°F, plan to add at least 5 minutes to the overall cooking time of 40 to 50 minutes.)
a Turkeyless Thanksgiving
Corn chowder
Winter Squash with Wild Rice-Cherry Stuffing
Brussels sprouts with brown butter
Cranberry-orange relish
Parker House rolls
Praline Bars (page 521) topped with whipped cream and toasted pecans
When you use two skewers per kebab, they anchor foods like tofu that otherwise tend to spin around. It also helps to keep long thin vegetables, such
as asparagus or scallion sections, from looking gangly. Hold a pair of skewers in your hand, ½ to ¾ inch away from each other. Start with a tofu cube, guiding it through both skewers, and follow with vegetables. Even extra-firm tofu can break, so for a party you might want to buy an extra package for backup.
Remove and discard the seeds and membranes from each squash half. Coat the inside and outside of each lightly with oil. Sprinkle salt over the inside of each.
Prepare the stuffing. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the celery, pecans, and onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Mix in the wild rice, cherries, and salt, followed by the half-and-half, maple syrup, and stock. Simmer until the liquid has been absorbed into the rice.
Place the squash directly on the cooking grate just behind the thermometer, cut sides down. Close the cover. Cook for about 30 minutes. Then turn the squash halves cut sides up. If serving as a side dish, cut the squash halves into the appropriate number of sections. Spoon equal portions of the wild rice stuffing into the cavity of each squash portion, and continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes more, until the squash is soft and the wild rice mixture lightly browned. Serve hot.
Soaking up everything like an impressionable four-year-old, tofu begs for strong seasonings. Practically flavorless on its own, this Asian soybean curd is a perfect match for soy, ginger, hoisin, curry, and other flavors from its area of origin. If you don’t find extra-firm tofu, the best for grilling, the firm variety can be used but will require a bit more care in handling since it’s softer. Be sure to oil the cooking grate well, because tofu likes to stick. Use the vegetables listed as suggestions, adding or subtracting as your produce section and desires dictate.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Makes 12 kebabs, enough for 4 as a main course, 6 as a side dish
a Night of Easy Asian Delights
Salad of endive leaves and orange or tangerine segments with sesame oil dressing
Lacquered Tofu and Vegetable Skewers
Steamed white rice
Green tea ice cream
Almond cookies
Lacquer Marinade/Sauce
½ cup soy sauce
⅓ cup turbinado or packed light brown sugar
¼ cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
1 teaspoon minced orange zest
1 teaspoon minced lemon zest
½ teaspoon dark sesame or chile oil
Two 12- to 14-ounce packages extra-firm tofu, well drained and blotted with paper towels
About 12 whole small shiitake mushroom caps, or 6 large, halved
12 snow peas
4 medium-thick asparagus spears, cut into 1½-inch pieces on the diagonal
Larger outer leaves of 3 baby bok choy
24 bamboo skewers, 10 to 12 inches, soaked
Vegetable oil spray
Prepare the lacquer marinade/sauce, combining the ingredients in a small saucepan and cooking over medium heat for about 3 minutes, until the sugar is melted. Reserve.
Cut the tofu into 12 cubes per package and arrange in a shallow dish. Pour the marinade/sauce over the tofu and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Drain the tofu, reserving the marinade/sauce. Avoiding crowding, thread the tofu and vegetables on doubled skewers, leaving about 4 inches empty for holding them. Each doubled skewer will get 2 pieces of mushroom, 2 snow peas, and at least a couple of asparagus pieces. Fill them out with tofu and bok choy leaves, each folded into a thin little packet about 1 inch across. We usually start and end with tofu, but the arrangement is up to you. Spray the finished kebabs with oil.
Transfer the kebabs to a well-oiled grate and grill uncovered for about 8 to 10 minutes total, turning on all sides. Halfway through the cooking, baste the kebabs thickly with the lacquer marinade/sauce. When done, the kebabs should have a thick shiny glaze and the vegetables should be crisp-tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Lacquered Tofu and Vegetable Skewers with Wasabi Oil Don’t use the chile oil option in the marinade-sauce. While the skewers grill, make a small bed of watercress on each plate. Lay a pair of cooked skewers over the watercress. Drizzle wasabi oil from a specialty foods store or well-stocked supermarket over the plates to taste.
Tofu and Vegetable Skewers with Plum-Hoisin Sauce Substitute Plum-Hoisin Sauce (page 57) for the lacquer marinade-sauce. Start checking the kebabs for doneness a little sooner, because there’s more sugar in this sauce.
Grilling tofu requires a superclean grate. Not only will it take up the scent of the red snapper you grilled the time before, but it will stick even more easily than that snapper. Wipe the pristine grate with vegetable oil just before cooking, and for additional insurance, spray oil on the tofu itself right before you place it on the grill. Once tofu is cooking, don’t disturb it until you need to move or turn it, and then use a thin spatula to lift it. Is it worth the trouble of grilling? Emphatically yes, because the grill marks tofu handsomely in addition to giving it a slight crust for contrast with its custardy texture.
Tofu and Vegetable Wraps Serve the recipe or either of the preceding variations as sandwiches. Remove the tofu and vegetables from the skewers and wrap them in warm, folded flatbreads.
Curry pastes vary in intensity, so work up from a small amount to get the level of piquancy you desire. The fish sauce adds a welcome savory note, but you should leave it out if you’re cooking for true vegetarians. Serve alongside jasmine or brown rice to soak up some of the coconut-curry sauce and scatter with peanuts and herbs to brighten the plates. If you wish, also grill a selection of vegetables along with the tofu steaks on the same medium heat. Good choices are baby bok choy heads or slices of zucchini and other summer squash, all of which will grill in about the same time as the tofu.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 4 as a main dish, 6 as a side dish
Two 12- to 14-ounce packages extra-firm tofu
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 to 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
One 14- to 15-ounce can coconut milk Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons packed brown or turbinado sugar, or more to taste
A splash or 2 of Asian fish sauce, optional
¼ cup chopped peanuts
Minced fresh cilantro, mint, or basil leaves, scallion greens, or a combination
Cut the tofu into ½-inch-thick slabs. Arrange on several thicknesses of paper towel and drain for about 30 minutes, replacing the paper towels if they become soaked.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Mix together the peanut oil with about ½ teaspoon curry paste. You want enough to give some real flavor to the oil but not enough to scorch a tongue. Add more curry paste if you wish. Brush the tofu slabs with the oil mixture on all sides and let sit at room temperature.
Whisk the coconut milk in a small pan with the lime juice, brown sugar, and more curry paste. Start with 1 teaspoon and work up, again adding enough that you know it’s there. Add a splash of fish sauce, then taste and mix in more brown sugar or fish sauce if needed to balance the hot, sweet, and savory tastes. Warm the sauce at the edge of the grill.
Brush the tofu with any remaining oil and place on a well-oiled grate. Grill uncovered for about 4 minutes per side, rotating a half turn on each side for crisscross grill marks. Turn and rotate with a spatula rather than tongs.
Carefully transfer the tofu to plates, overlapping slices a bit. Spoon sauce over each portion, then scatter with peanuts and herbs. Serve hot.
Tempeh Steaks with Red Curry Substitute the same amount of tempeh for tofu. A Southeast Asian creation, tempeh is now a classic American vegetarian staple. Made with fermented soybeans and pressed into firm cakes, it is high in protein and absorbs flavors readily, like tofu. Tempeh is heartier than tofu, which is a plus in grilling, but the yeasty flavor can be strong to the uninitiated. We favor tempeh cakes that have other grains added, such as brown rice or quinoa, which tone down the fermented taste and add a satisfying nubbly texture.
This hearty main dish will excite anyone, vegetarian or not Black beans, fire-kissed corn, squash, and chiles-the “sisters” of traditional southwestern fare-mix it up with tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers in a kaleidoscope of color. Serve the burritos open-faced, with the tortilla filling the plate and beans and a haystack of multicolored vegetables mounded in the center. Then let guests finish and roll up their own, spreading cheese and salsa inside or over the top.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 as a main course
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, or more to taste
2 teaspoons chili powder
1½ cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed if canned, warmed
1 large ear corn, husks and silks removed
1 medium red onion, cut into ⅓-inch-thick slices
2 zucchini, about 6 ounces each, sliced on the diagonal ⅓ inch thick
6 red-ripe plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
2 poblano or other long mild to medium green chiles, such as New Mexican or Anaheim
1 large red or orange bell pepper
6 flour tortillas, preferably thin and about 8 inches in diameter, warmed
Crumbled queso fresco or grated Monterey Jack
Chilean Tomato Salsa (page 68) or other salsa
Stir together the oil and chili powder in a small bowl. Stir 2 teaspoons of the oil into the beans and reserve.
Brush the remaining oil on the corn, onion and zucchini slices, and tomato halves. Brush a little more plain oil on the vegetables if you want them coated more heavily. Sprinkle them with salt.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Grill the vegetables uncovered, in batches if necessary. (In that case, start with the chiles and bell pepper, which need time to steam after they come off the grill anyway.) Cook the chiles and bell pepper, turning on all sides, until the skin blackens and blisters and they soften somewhat, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chiles and pepper to a plastic bag to steam until they are cool enough to handle. Grill the corn for about 18 to 20 minutes, the onions for 15 to 18 minutes, the zucchini for 10 to 12 minutes, and the tomatoes for 5 to 7 minutes (or a little longer if they started out fairly firm). Turn the corn on all sides and the onions, zucchini, and tomatoes so they face the fire twice on each side.
When the chiles and bell pepper are cool, peel them, using rubber gloves if your skin is sensitive. Binse off your hands instead of the chiles and pepper as you rid them of the blackened skin. Slit each pod down one side and remove the seeds and stems. Cut into thin strips. Slice the corn kernels off the cob, holding the ears vertically and slicing down all around. Cut the onions, Zucchinis, and tomatoes into thin ribbons. Toss all the vegetables together in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt to taste. (The vegetables can be prepared to this point a day ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat them before proceeding.)
Arrange a tortilla on each plate. Spoon cup beans down the center of each tortilla. Top each with a portion of the vegetable mixture and serve immediately, inviting each guest to add cheese and salsa to taste, before or after rolling up the burrito to eat with a knife and fork.
Chipotle-Lime Black Bean and Vegetable Burritos Instead of topping the burritos with salsa, use Chipotle-Lime Mayonnaise (page 66).
Handheld Burritos Southwesterners distinguish between plated burritos smothered in salsa or sauce and ones for eating out of hand, often on the go. For the latter, go lighter on the toppings, especially wet ones like salsa. Before rolling each burrito into a tube, fold one end in and over the filling by an inch or so and then roll up snugly. The bottom (folded) end can be wrapped in foil, parchment, or wax paper if you like, a good idea if guests will be eating them while standing or in a picnic setting.
Black Bean and Vegetable Chimi-changas Chimis, as they’re affectionately known, are essentially fried burritos. In this case, before rolling each into a tube, fold both ends in and over the filling by an inch or so, roll up snugly, and secure with a couple of toothpicks. Pour at least 4 inches of vegetable oil into a large heavy pan or fry pot and heat to 375°F. Fry the chimichangas in batches for about 3 minutes, until golden and crisp. Use tongs to turn the chimis and nudge them back into the oil if they float. Drain, remove the toothpicks, top with salsa, and serve immediately, to eat with knives and forks.
Black Bean and Vegetable Tostadas If you like crunch, but don’t want to go to the effort of making chimichangas, replace the flour tortillas with flat prefried tostada shells. Use two to a plate, arranged side by side and overlapping a bit, then spoon on the toppings and serve.
Black Bean and Vegetable Burritos, Grill-Wok Style If you have a grill wok for stir-frying vegetables over the fire, this is a good recipe for it. You get to skip the step of steaming and peeling the chiles and can get the slicing and dicing work out of the way before company arrives. Slice the chiles, bell pepper, onion, zucchini, and tomatoes into thin strips before you start to grill and toss them with the chili powder oil. Away from the fire, spray the grill wok with oil. Stir-fry in the wok over the cooking grate until tender and lightly charred in spots, about 10 minutes.
Eggplant rounds envelop a pleasantly sharp feta filling, sandwich style, topped with a vibrant red charred tomato vinaigrette. For additional pizzazz, decorate the plates with more crumbles of feta, a shower of minced fresh parsley, diced fresh tomato, or some toasted pine nuts.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 as a main course or side dish
2 medium to large eggplants Salt
Charred Tomato Vinaigrette
3 small plum tomatoes, about 2 ounces each
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons flavorful olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
Flavorful olive oil, about ½ cup
¾ to 1 pound feta cheese, at room temperature
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Cut stripes all around each eggplant’s peel by running a vegetable peeler the length of the eggplant at about 1-inch intervals. Slice the eggplants into rounds ⅓ to ½ inch thick and sprinkle with salt. You’ll want at least 12 eggplant rounds. Let sit while you make the vinaigrette.
Grill the tomatoes uncovered, turning a few times, until they soften and the skins blister and char in spots, about 5 minutes. Leave the grill on.
Pop those tomatoes, charred skins and all, into a blender with the remaining vinaigrette ingredients. Puree until smooth. Keep the vinaigrette warm.
Blot the eggplant slices with paper towels and then brush them generously with oil. Mix 1 tablespoon of oil into the feta, mashing it with a fork. Spoon about 2 tablespoons feta onto half of the eggplant rounds. Top each sandwich with a plain eggplant round of similar size. The first time you try these, you may want to run a toothpick through each sandwich to make certain the layers stay together, but that’s usually unnecessary.
Grill the eggplant sandwiches uncovered for a total of 10 to 12 minutes, until soft and juicy. Turn to face the fire twice on each side, rotating a half turn for crisscross grill marks. Use a spatula for turning, because tongs dent the eggplant rounds after they soften. Plate each sandwich, spoon vinaigrette over it, scatter with any garnishes, and serve warm.
Grilled Eggplant Rolls with Ricotta Slice the eggplant lengthwise instead of into rounds. Skip the feta filling and grill the oilcoated slices alone. When soft, spoon a couple of tablespoons of room-temperature ricotta, mixed if you like with a little garlic and fresh basil or parsley, at the end of an eggplant slice. Roll up the slice, repeating with remaining slices and cheese filling. Serve seam side down with warm charred tomato vinaigrette spooned on top or with Grilled Pepper Relish (page 71).
Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches with Tangy Yogurt Filling Brush the eggplant slices on both sides with oil as directed. Sprinkle one side of each slice with spices such as coriander, cumin, hot paprika, or ground zahtar. Instead of using feta, use very thick plain yogurt, often called lebneh. You can also drain thinner yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined strainer for about 1 hour to achieve the proper texture. Sprinkle the sandwiches with torn fresh mint before serving.
Here eggplant takes on a suggestion of Japanese flavor. All the ingredients, familiar or not, are available at most well-stocked supermarkets or any Asian market.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 as a side dish
2 large eggplants, about 1 pound each
¾ cup white or yellow miso paste
½ cup sugar cup plus 2 tablespoons mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
¼ cup sake
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
Cut stripes all around each eggplant’s peel by running a vegetable peeler the length of the eggplant at about 1-inch intervals. Slice the eggplants into rounds ⅓ to ½ inch thick and lay them a baking sheet.
Combine the miso, sugar, mirin, sake, and butter in a saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring to combine the ingredients. Once blended together, remove from the heat and brush about two-thirds of the mixture over both sides of the eggplant slices.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Grill uncovered for 9 to 11 minutes, turning to face the fire twice on both sides and rotating a half turn each time for crisscross grill marks. About halfway through the cooking, brush with the remaining miso butter. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Grilled Eggplant Steaks with Chinese Spices In this case, dry-rub the eggplant slices with Chinese Seven-Spice Seasoning (page 33) instead of using the miso mixture. Spray with vegetable oil before placing on the grill and, if you like, mix the butter with 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil and another teaspoon of the dry rub.
a Vegetarian Appetizer Party
Caponata with crackers
Red Bell Pepper Dip (page 97) and sweet potato chips
The Big Crudité Basket (page 88)
Almond-Stuffed Dates with Blue Cheese (page 110)
Wines from organic vineyards
The cooking of Sicily combines sweet-sour flavors in many dishes, including caponata. Traditionally skillet-cooked, we like this chunky puree even more when several main ingredients are roasted outdoors. While caponata makes a fine side dish, you can serve it as a tapa or starter with crackers or toast or spoon some over other simply grilled vegetables, including eggplant slices. It keeps for several days.
COOKING METHOD | COVERED GRILL ROASTING
Serves 6 as a side dish
2 medium to large eggplants, 12 to 14 ounces each
2 medium onions, halved
3 medium celery ribs Olive oil spray
¼ cup sun-dried or regular tomato paste
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar cup briny green olives, pitted and chopped
3 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper
Prepare the grill for covered grill roasting, creating a medium-hot fire in about half of the grill and leaving the other half unheated. In case you’re working with a gas grill with 3 burners, turn 2 burners to high and leave the third off. If your gas grill has 2 burners, one in front, one in back, make the fire in the back portion of the grill. In a charcoal grill, build a medium-hot fire under one side of the grate and leave the other half unheated.
Place an inexpensive portable oven thermometer (available from any kitchen supply store) on the unheated portion of the cooking grate, close enough to the front that you will be able to read it, Don’t rely on your grill’s built-in lid thermometer, because you want to measure the temperature only on the unheated side. Close the grill and bring the temperature to about 375°F. (Some low-powered gas grills may not reach the ideal 375°F. If you have waited an appropriate amount of time for your grill to heat fully, and the temperature has stopped climbing, note the temperature. For every 25 degrees under 375°F, plan to add at least 5 minutes to the overall cooking time of 40 to 50 minutes.)
Prick the eggplants in several spots with a fork. Halve the onions through their equators. Spray the eggplants, onions, and celery with oil. Place directly on the cooking grate just behind the thermometer. Close the cover. After about 30 minutes, remove the browned onions and celery from the grill. Using tongs, rotate the eggplants a half turn so that they cook evenly. Continue cooking for 10 to 20 minutes longer, until the eggplants are very soft, nearly collapsed.
Cut the onions into large chunks and plop them into a food processor. Dice the celery rather finely and place it in a medium bowl. When the eggplants are cool enough to handle, strip the peel off both. You should have at least 3 cups of rather mashed-up eggplant Spoon the eggplant into the processor and add the tomato paste, extra virgin oil, vinegar, and sugar. Pulse the mixture until it forms a rough puree. Scrape out into the bowl of celery, then add the olives, capers, and salt and pepper as you wish. Let sit for about 30 minutes for the flavors to meld, adjust the seasonings, and serve at room temperature or chilled.
We’re awash in a world of French fries that aren’t worth the oil that browned them. For genuinely world-class fries, well worth an occasional splurge, cook them this way. Eat them as soon as they cool slightly, never letting them sit around. If you must hold them temporarily, place the fries in a 200°F oven in a single layer for no more than 30 minutes.
COOKING METHOD | BIG-POT FRYING
Serves 6 or more as a side dish
4 large russet or other baking potatoes, about 3/4 pound each, peeled or unpeeled
Several handfuls ice cubes
2 teaspoons coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
2 teaspoons Pork Chop Willy’s Grilling Rub (page 24), Southwest Spice (page 26), Salt and Cumin Rub (page 22), or additional salt
Peanut oil or vegetable oil for deep-frying
Slice the potatoes lengthwise into fat matchsticks, about ⅜ inch thick. (An inexpensive V-slicer makes easy work of this.) Toss the potatoes into a large bowl of cold water as they’re cut. Once all the potatoes are in the bowl, pour off the water to eliminate some of the starch. Add more cold water to cover and put the ice cubes in the bowl. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and let the potatoes soak for at least 30 minutes and up to all day, to crisp them and eliminate more starch. Pour off the water again, then spread out the potatoes on clean dish towels to dry. You can also dry the potatoes in batches in a salad spinner.
Combine the salt and dry rub in a large shallow bowl.
To fry well, you need a deep-fry thermometer unless your pot has a built-in thermostat. Even with that, we think it’s prudent to check the pot’s thermostat against the reading on another thermometer occasionally. You’ll want one that will clasp easily to the side of the pot or pan you’ll be using, so that you can leave it in place during frying. Cook food in batches rather than let the temperature fall more than a few degrees below a recipe’s specified temperature, and adjust the heat as needed to bring it back to the proper temperature before adding new batches of ingredients.
You will be frying the potatoes twice. Up to 1 hour before you plan to eat, fry the potatoes for the first time. Pour 3 to 4 inches of oil into a large heavy pot suitable for deep-frying and heat to 350°F. Arrange a large baking rack over several thicknesses of paper towel on a baking sheet. Add the potatoes to the pot in batches and parfry them for about 3 minutes, just until they begin to color. Drain the potatoes, which will be limp and unpromising looking. Spread them on the baking rack to drain. Turn off the heat for the oil unless you plan to refry the potatoes in the next few minutes.
Just before serving, reheat the oil, this time to 360°F. Fry the potatoes in batches again, this time for 2 to 4 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Drain and toss immediately with the salt and dry rub mixture, then transfer to a large platter. The fries will retain more crispness if spread out rather than piled high. As soon as all the potatoes are ready, serve piping hot.
Instead of cooking your chunky home fries in the skillet, take them to the grill. They come out splendid if you cut the potatoes into equal wedges, so that they cook at the same time, and keep the temperature of the grill on low. For dunking, offer a homemade barbecue sauce or maybe garlic mayonnaise, as the French prefer.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 as a side dish
4 large russet or other baking potatoes, about ¾ pound each, peeled or unpeeled
½ to ¾ cup vegetable oil
Paprika Salt-and-Pepper Rub
¼ cup sweet or hot paprika
¼ cup coarse salt either kosher or sea salt
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper, preferably Tellicherry
Genuine Kansas City Barbecue Sauce (page 50), Garlic Mayonnaise (page 66), ketchup, other barbecue sauce, or mayonnaise
Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and then slice each half into long equal wedges, V2 inch thick at their widest point You should get 4 to 6 wedges out of an average potato half. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and cover with hot water. Let sit for 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes, then spread on several thicknesses of paper towel and blot dry. Dry the bowl.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to low (6 seconds with the hand test).
Place the potatoes back in the large bowl. Toss with ½ cup oil, adding more oil as needed to coat the potatoes lightly but thoroughly. Stir the dry rub spices together in a small bowl, then toss the rub with the potatoes.
Father’s Day Lunch
Strip Steaks with Caramelized Shallot Butler (page 360)
Grilled Home Fries or Faster Grilled Home Fries
Flame-Seared Corn on the Cob (page 436)
Creamy Coleslaw (page 476)
Strawberry shortcake
Cold beer from a local brewery
Arrange the potato wedges diagonally across the grate bars. You don’t want them to fall through, and you do want them to be nicely marked by the grill. Grill uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, turning them every 8 to 10 minutes and again placing them on a diagonal across the bars. Brush the potatoes lightly with oil once on each side about halfway through the grilling time. The potatoes are ready when brown and crisp with a tender, fluffy interior. Bite into one to check. Serve right away, with your choice of sauce, mayonnaise, or ketchup.
Faster Grilled Home Fries Parboil the whole potatoes until they are easily pierced with a fork. Drain and, when cool enough to handle, slice each lengthwise into 6 wedges. Toss with the oil and dry rub. Grill over medium rather than low heat for about 5 to 8 minutes, turning on all sides. These won’t be quite as crisp and fluffy, but they’re also less likely to get burned.
Of the vegetables we smoke, sweet potatoes rank high among our favorites. The slow cooking over smoldering wood transforms them into a soft caramelized delight that needs nothing more than a pat of butter as a finishing flourish. To boost the natural sweetness, drip a spoonful of honey over the butter or, for something less expected, a squirt of store-bought sweet Thai chile sauce.
COOKING METHOD | BARBECUE SMOKING
Serves 6 as a side dish
6 small sweet potatoes Vegetable oil
6 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted, softened
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt, optional
Honey or sweet Thai chile sauce, optional
Prepare the smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 180°F to 220°F.
Prick the sweet potatoes in several spots and then coat them with oil.
Place the sweet potatoes in the smoker and cook until soft when pressed with tongs, about 2 hours. Serve right away or wrap together in heavy-duty foil to keep warm for up to an hour.
Slit the sweet potatoes open, pinch at both ends with your fingers to pop some of the flesh up in the center, and top with butter and, if desired, salt or honey.
Ember-Baked Sweet Potatoes When cooking over charcoal or wood, you can bake sweet potatoes in the still-glowing ashcovered coals. Prick the sweet potatoes, but don’t coat them with oil. Simply bury them in a good-size bed of coals and cook for 45 to 60 minutes, or until soft. They’ll have blackened and charred spots on their skins. Brush off the soot, then serve as directed.
Ember-Baked Potatoes What’s good for one tuber is good for another. Prepare them like the sweet potatoes and cook in the coals for the same amount of time. Brush the soot off the potatoes, then serve with butter, salt, and snipped fresh chives.
Other Ember-Baked Vegetables Bell peppers and small eggplants and onions can be cooked in the embers, too. When soft and blackened, set aside to cool briefly, then tear the eggplant and peppers into long rustic strips and slice the onions. Top with minced garlic and salt and really great olive oil. You can also combine them over pasta or polenta or use as a sandwich filling.
These go great with almost anything cooked outdoors. If you don’t have a small-mesh grill rack or hinged grill basket for the cooking, run a soaked bamboo skewer through each onion slice to hold the rings neatly together.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 as a side dish
Bamboo skewers, soaked, optional
1 large red onion, about ¾ pound, sliced into ⅓-inch-thick rounds
1 large sweet onion, about ¾ pound, or other large onion, sliced into ⅓-inch-thick rounds
Olive oil spray or vegetable oil spray
Serious Salt-and-Pepper Rub (page 22) or coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
If you’re using skewers, run them through the onion slices first, then spray with oil. If placing the onions in a grill basket or on a small-mesh grill rack, spray with oil and then place in or on the basket or rack.
* Make onion soup, topped with melted Gruyère over croutons.
* Make vegetable soup taste meatier by adding a chopped whole onion.
* Puree into mayonnaise, homemade or store-bought.
* Fold chopped into an omelet or frittata.
* Chop and mix into salsa.
* Scatter over a pizza.
* Chop and mix into combread.
* Slice and use in a quiche along with bacon or other ingredients.
* Add chopped to com pudding, sautéed corn, or any other corn preparation.
* Mince and use as a tamale or enchilada filling.
Grill uncovered for 18 to 20 minutes, turning on each side twice. If the onions are cooking directly on the grate, rotate them a half turn when flipping for crisscross grill marks. Scatter with dry rub or salt and pepper as they cook on each side. The onions are ready when soft with a few brown edges. Remove from skewers if you used them. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Grilled Onion Slices with Curried Mango Chutney Butter Eliminate the dry rub. Brush with Curried Mango Chutney Butter (page 64) on both sides about halfway through the cooking. Serve the remaining butter over the slices and, if you like, scatter with some cilantro or mint leaves.
Simple Smoked Onion Slices Smoke ‘em instead. If you want to keep the onions in neat concentric rings, arrange them on a small-mesh grill rack or run a soaked bamboo skewer through each one. After seasoning the onions, place them in a 200°F to 250°F smoker for 20 to 30 minutes, or until tender.
We love grilled and smoked onions and cook them frequently, but we also can’t resist an occasional splurge on fried onion rings. These incorporate the distinctive Buffalo flavors-blue cheese, celery, and hot sauce-usually found on chicken wings. It’s not essential that you make the blue cheese dressing from scratch, but this home version offers exuberant flavor, to match the crispy O rings themselves. If you like ketchup with your rings, serve some alongside the dressing, enlivened with a splash of the hot sauce you used for the coating.
COOKING METHOD | BIG-POT FRYING
Serves 6 as a side dish
Blue Cheese Dressing
¾ cup crumbled creamy blue cheese
¾ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream or buttermilk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 plump garlic clove, minced
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Onion Rings
3 large onions, preferably sweet, sliced ¼ inch thick and pulled apart into individual rings
1 quart buttermilk
2 tablespoons Buffalo-style hot sauce, Tabasco, or other hot sauce
1½ cups all-purpose flour, preferably unbleached ¼ cup sweet, hot, or smoked paprika
1 tablespoon ground dried mild to medium red chile, such as ancho or New Mexican, or chili powder, or more to taste
2 teaspoons celery salt
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Flaky salt, such as Maldon or French fleur de sel, or additional celery salt
Prepare the dressing, combining the ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate until needed. (The dressing can be made a day ahead if you wish. Cover it before chilling.)
Place the onions in a large shallow bowl or dish and pour the buttermilk and hot sauce over them. Stir them around in the buttermilk several times while you finish the preparations.
In another large shallow bowl or dish, combine the flour, paprika, chile, and celery salt.
Pour at least 4 inches of oil into a large heavy pot suitable for deep-frying and heat to 375°F.
Give the onions another stir, then drain and discard the buttermilk. Dredge the onions, a few at a time, in the seasoned flour. Fry the onions, in batches, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until lightly brown and crisp. Drain on a rack and serve right away with flaky salt scattered over them. Accompany with blue cheese dressing for dunking and more hot sauce for anyone interested.
a Monday Evening Football Party
Toasted Onion Dip (page 93) with bagel chips
Bacon Burgers with Serendipity Sauce (page 149)
Buffalo Rings Platter of raw vegetables
Brown-Butter Apple and Pine Nut Cake (page 526)
When you have the rotisserie going for pork roast, leg of lamb, chicken, or turkey breast, the cooking time will coincide with that needed for really large onions such as sweet Vidalias. Thread them to the sides and between your main dish, where they will soak up some of the juices from your roast, or if your rotisserie has a basket device to hold food, stash onions alongside the main dish. Baste them with the meat drippings and, if you like, brush them when they’re somewhat brown with your choice of barbecue sauces.
COOKING METHOD | ROTISSERIE ROASTING
Serves 6 or more as a side dish
5 large sweet onions, peeled of papery
outer skin Barbecue sauce, optional
Run the rotisserie spit through the onions from their stem ends before, after, or in between your main dish.
Whenever you open the cover to check the main dish, brush the onions with some of the drippings or, after the onions have developed some color, with barbecue sauce. The sweeter the sauce, the later it should be added to the onions.
When done and removed from the spit, halve or quarter the onions and brush them with more meat juice or sauce if you wish. Best served warm, alongside the entree.
To coax the silkiest texture from leeks, we prefer to steam them before putting them on the grill.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 as a side dish
12 small or 6 medium leeks, trimmed of roots and several inches of the darkest green tops
Flavorful olive oil
Romesco Sauce (page 60)
Split the leeks lengthwise and clean well between the layers with running water. Grit loves to hide in leeks. Place in a steamer in a tall saucepan and steam for 5 minutes, until partially tender.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Brush the leeks with oil, then place them on the grill with their tops farthest from the heat Grill uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, turning on both sides twice. The leeks are ready when soft and tender with a few brown edges. Serve hot, at room temperature, or chilled with romesco sauce.
Grilled Leeks Topped with Bagna Cauda Sauce Grill the leeks as directed, then spoon assertive garlic- and anchovy-laced Bagna Cauda sauce (page 61) over to pool around the leeks. Note that this would not suit vegetarian diners.
Smoked Leeks Leeks smoke as well as their onion cousins. After steaming, smoke at 200°F to 250°F until tender, 30 to 35 minutes. We like these best served warm with olive oil and lemon juice over them, but you can also use the romesco sauce. Or use them in any of the ways we suggest for grilled or smoked onions (page 435).
If you cook ears of com on the grill in their husks, as many people do, you steam the kernels instead of searing them. By stripping the husk first and exposing the corn directly to the fire, you get a much deeper taste. The kernels shrink up slightly, condensing the flavor of each bite.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 as a side dish
6 large ears corn, husks and silk removed About 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, preferably unsalted, melted
Flaky salt, such as Maldon or French fleur de sel
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Brush the corn lightly, using a couple of tablespoons of the butter. Grill the corn uncovered on medium heat for 20 to 22 minutes, turning on all sides to cook evenly and brushing with more butter after about 10 minutes. This cooking time is longer than technically necessary to cook the corn, but it concentrates the flavor of the kernels, contributing to the deeper taste.
Brush the corn again with butter, sprinkle with salt, and serve right away.
Esquites Ears of corn, Mexican style. Dress the grilled corn with Rich Mayonnaise (page 65) slathered over each ear. Sprinkle with ground dried red chile, cotija cheese, or queso fresco and offer lime wedges to squeeze over as well. It’s much better than it may sound to the uninitiated.
Our Favorite August Celebration Supper
Flame-Seared Corn on the Cob
Slices of tomatoes of all colors and sizes
That’s it!
Leave the husks on each ear as a handle, just pulled back. When grilling, arrange the husks off the cooking grate or over the coolest portion of the grill. If you want to get fancy, you can tie it in a couple of places with other strips of husk. Overachievers can even braid it.
Ember-Baked Corn on the Cob When cooking over charcoal or wood, you can cook the corn in the still-glowing ash-covered coals. In this case, do leave the husks on. Bury the corn in a good-size bed of coals and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Pull back the charred husks on one ear and check doneness. Replace the husks and return to the embers, if needed, for a few more minutes. Serve as directed.
Grilled Corn and Avocado Relish Use just 3 ears corn and 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter. Slice the grilled corn off the ears when cool enough to handle. Toss with ¼ cup each diced red onion and red bell pepper and enough corn oil or other vegetable oil to make the mixture glisten. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lime and a couple of pinches of salt. Fold in 1 large diced avocado just before serving alongside simply grilled beef, pork, or shrimp.
A Mexican and New Mexican favorite, calabacitas combines corn, green chiles, and summer squash. Here we turn the dish into a kebab by using tiny squash and cubes of the other signature ingredients. We serve this on the side with grilled steaks, pork tenderloin, or chicken or use it as a meatless main dish by arranging it over a bed of pinto or black beans or rice with a little of the cumin butter stirred into it.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 as a main course or 8 as a side dish
Cumin Butter
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Pinch or 2 of coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
12 to 16 tiny baby squash, preferably a combination of green and yellow varieties, whole, or about 1½ pounds zucchini or yellow or light green summer squash, cut into ¾-inch cubes
2 large ears corn, husks and silk removed, cut crosswise into 6 rounds each
3 meaty long mild green chiles, such as New Mexican, Anaheim, or poblano, cut into 1-inch sections
1 large red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
Long metal skewers
When skewering vegetables for the grill, it’s OK for the ingredients to touch, but don’t crowd them together. You want the fire to be able to reach all sides of the veggies. The same applies to meat and all other kebabs as well.
Prepare the cumin butter, melting the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Stir in the cumin and salt and remove from the heat. Keep warm.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Skewer some of each vegetable onto 6 skewers as a main dish, 8 as a side dish, mixing up the colors and shapes as you go. Brush them with about one-third of the butter.
Grill the kebabs uncovered for 10 to 14 minutes total, turning on all sides and brushing with about one-third more butter halfway through cooking. Transfer the kebabs to a platter and brush again with the remaining butter. Serve warm.
When you grill zucchini and other summer squash, make sure you get it truly tender. Al dente doesn’t work. Also, slice and salt the veggies before you fire up the grill to draw out some of the moisture and allow them to soften. Serve the zucchini slices plain, top them with some pesto or torn basil leaves and toasted pine nuts, or, for a more filling dish, layer them over grilled polenta.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 or more as a side dish
Three 6- to 8-ounce zucchini, cut lengthwise into ⅓-inch-thick slices
Flavorful olive oil
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
Brush the zucchini slices on both sides with oil. Sprinkle them with salt.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Place the zucchini slices on the cooking grate, arranging them diagonally across the bars. Grill uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes, turning to face the fire twice on each side. Rotate the zucchini a half turn on each side for crisscross grill marks. Serve as is or in any of the ways suggested eariler.
We eat those first few summer tomatoes, warm from the sun and bursting with juice, right from the garden with nothing more than salt After that initial gluttony, we start to think about dressing them up a little, often like this. We grill tomatoes over a bit higher heat than most vegetables, to evaporate the juices on the surface rather than letting them drip into the fire.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 as a side dish
4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, preferably unsalted, melted, or ¼ cup flavorful olive oil
¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce, or more to taste
6 height-of-season ripe medium tomatoes, sliced ½ inch thick, a combination of varieties and colors if available
Flaky salt, such as Maldon or French fleur de sel
Freshly ground black pepper
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium-high (3 seconds with the hand test).
Combine the melted butter and Tabasco in a small bowl and brush over both sides of the tomato slices.
Grill the tomatoes uncovered for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once. The tomatoes are ready when tender and juicy with a few browned edges.
Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and pepper and serve.
Grilled Tomato and Mozzarella Salad Let the tomatoes cool to room temperature and serve on a platter interspersed with fresh mozzarella rounds of similar size. Add some luster with a healthy drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and, of course, a few fresh basil leaves.
Grilled Tomato Salad with Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing Let the tomatoes cool to room temperature and serve on salad plates over shredded romaine, then top with your favorite creamy dressing. Garnish with freshly cracked black pepper.
Grilled Green Tomatoes Just as good as fried, maybe better. Green tomatoes are traditionally cooked up at the end of the season to use up fruit that didn’t mature before the first frost, but don’t be limited to that short season. Farmers’ markets and produce stands usually have a few picked immature throughout the summer. Slice them ⅓ inch thick and grill over medium heat for 7 to 9 minutes, turning on each side twice.
a Late Summer Birthday Dinner
Smoked Trout Nibbles (page 114)
Peppered Rib-Eye Steaks with Truffle Vinaigrette (page 356)
Grilled Glazed Mushrooms (page 440)
Juicy Grilled Tomatoes
Your favorite cake
Ice Crema (page 512) or White Chocolate Custard Ice Cream (page 514)
Smoked Tomatoes When you’ve already got your smoker fired up for something else, tuck a few tomatoes in with the rest of the food. Leave them whole, brush with butter or oil, and smoke until the skins split and the tomatoes are heated through, about 20 to 30 minutes. Plan to eat them that day in one of numerous possible ways. Chop and serve over grilled polenta or fluffy white rice. Chunk them and serve with the juices like stewed tomatoes. Puree them into a vinaigrette or soup stock or pizza or pasta sauce. Or just eat them out of hand, standing outside and grinning like a child.
The mushrooms we enjoy most on the grill are meaty porcini or cèpes, found only in the fall. Portobellos, smaller portobellini, or big button mushrooms make good substitutes the rest of the year. To turn this into a main dish, arrange the slices over barley, couscous, polenta, or orzo pasta to soak up the juices.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 4 as a main course, 6 as a side dish
Glaze
1 cup inexpensive balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch or 2 of coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
1½ pounds porcini, portobello, portobellini, or large button mushrooms, tough stems trimmed, sliced ⅓ inch thick
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
Minced fresh parsley or thyme leaves
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Prepare the glaze. In a small heavy saucepan over high heat, boil the vinegar with the pepper and salt until reduced by half.
Toss the mushroom slices with the oil and sprinkle with salt to taste.
Grill the mushrooms uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until juicy and tender. In the last several minutes of cooking, brush both sides of the mushrooms with about two-thirds of the glaze.
Arrange the slices on a colorful platter and drizzle with the remaining glaze. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot or at room temperature.
Grilled Mushrooms with Porcini Butter Substitute Porcini Butter (page 65) for the glaze.
Grilled Mushrooms with Parmesan Curls For a more substantial dish, serve mushroom slices topped with large loopy curls of Parmesan, made by running a vegetable peeler over room-temperature cheese.
Grilled Mushrooms over Grilled Polenta For another heartier preparation, brush ½-inch-thick prepared polenta slices (store-bought is fine) with flavorful olive oil. Grill uncovered over medium heat on a well-oiled grate just until heated through and lightly crusted. Arrange the mushrooms over the polenta and, if you wish, top with the Parmesan as in the preceding variation.
Grilling is an exceptional way to cook asparagus, and easy as well. We pair the spears here with a lemon-caper sauce but offer other possibilities in the variations. If you have a side burner or extra grill space, you can make the sauce alongside the asparagus.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 as a side dish
1½ pounds asparagus spears, preferably medium-thick, trimmed of tough ends
Flavorful olive oil
Lemon-Caper Sauce
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon minced shallot
½ cup dry white wine cup chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water
2 tablespoons drained capers
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Toss the asparagus in a shallow baking dish with enough oil to coat it lightly.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, stir in the shallot, and soften, about 3 minutes. Pour in the wine and stir until about half of it has evaporated, then add the stock, capers, and lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.
Memorial Day Lunch
Seafood Burgers (page 160)
Crispy Smashed New Potatoes (page 489)
Grilled Asparagus
Strawberry-rhubarb pie
Transfer the asparagus to the grill, perpendicular to the cooking grate, placing the stem ends over the hottest part of the fire and the tips out toward a cooler edge. Grill uncovered for 5 to 8 minutes, depending on thickness, rolling it frequently to cook on all sides.
Arrange the asparagus on a long platter, top with sauce and a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and serve warm or at room temperature.
Grilled Asparagus with Orzo and Feta Toss 1 pound warm cooked orzo with the sauce, cut the asparagus into bite-sized pieces, and stir in the asparagus and about ½ cup crumbled feta cheese. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Grilled Asparagus with Salsa Cruda Skip the sauce and use the eye-catching fresh-tomato Salsa Cruda (page 68) instead. If you want a more substantial dish, arrange over garlic toast.
Grilled Asparagus with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette Replace the sauce with another started from 3 chopped bacon slices, sautéed until crisp. Drain the bacon and reserve. To the warm drippings add ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 1½ to 2 tablespoons white vinegar, ¼ teaspoon sugar, and salt to taste. Pour the dressing over the asparagus spears, then scatter with bacon and serve.
Grilled Asparagus with Warm Pancetta Vinaigrette Sometimes it’s all in the name. Some people act appalled by bacon but will happily eat something with “Italian pancetta.” Chop about ¼ pound pancetta (easiest when it’s very cold) and sauté until crisp. Drain the pancetta and reserve. To the warm drippings add ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 1½ to 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, ¼ teaspoon sugar, and salt to taste. Pour the dressing over the asparagus spears, then scatter with pancetta and serve.
Santa Fe’s oldest restaurant and cantina, El Farol remains one of the town’s best places to dine. Chef James Campbell Caruso prepares traditional and contemporary Spanish dishes influenced by lively Latin American flavors. One of our passions is his tender young artichokes bathed in mellow saffron-tinged clarified-butter sauce. They make a wonderful side dish but can also be served as a tapa if you prefer. We sometimes turn the versatile artichokes into a main dish by mixing them and their butter with 1 pound cooked pasta, perhaps something simple like penne. The recipe first appeared in James’s El Farol: Tapas and Spanish Cuisine (Gibbs Smith, 2004).
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 as a side dish
12 small artichokes
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
Saffron Butter
¾ pound (3 sticks) butter, preferably unsalted
Juice of 2 medium oranges
Bold pinch or 2 of saffron threads
9 garlic cloves, slivered
Trim the artichokes and break off all dry or discolored outer leaves. Be rather unmerciful about the trimming. You want just the tender portion of each artichoke. Peel the stems, but scrape off only the outer layer. The stems are very meaty and flavorful. Slice each artichoke in half lengthwise.
In a large nonreactive saucepan, bring 3 quarts lightly salted water to a boil and add the lemon juice. Blanch the artichokes for about 4 minutes, or until they are somewhat tender and an outer leaf can be pulled off with only a bit of resistance. Drain, cover with ice water, and drain again. Dry with paper towels.
Toss the artichokes in a shallow nonreactive dish with the olive oil, vinegar, and a good pinch of salt. Let them marinate at room temperature for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours.
Shortly before grilling, prepare the saffron butter. Combine the ingredients in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a boil without stirring. Don’t rush it; it shouldn’t turn brown. The slow cooking evaporates much of the water from the butter and separates the milk solids. Remove from the heat, again without stirring. Skim any foam from the top and pour off the golden clarified butter, leaving behind the milk solids and garlic pieces at the bottom to discard.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Drain the excess oil from the artichokes and grill them uncovered for about 3 minutes per side, until well marked and tender. Transfer to a platter, pour on the saffron butter, and serve.