Enjoy a delicious vegetarian BBQ out of leftovers
NOWADAYS, barbecues are no longer all about meat. But they need not only be confined to fresh vegetables either.
Here are some of their ideas about how to vary your barbecue, grilling vegetables and turning leftovers into tasty meals.
If you’re planning to grill vegetables, think beyond peppers, aubergines and zucchini. They are great, sure, but thanks to their low water content, so is pumpkin, along with artichokes and even firm salads such as chicory.
You can marinate your veg just like meat, or cook them with salt, herbs and a tasty oil. Bear in mind, though, that the oil you pick should be safe and easy to heat. Cold-pressed oils, including many olive oils, can release toxins at temperatures of 180 degrees and above.
If your vegetables are a little tired, then skewers are a great way to cook them, perfect for onions, peppers, mushrooms, potatoes, aubergines and zucchini.
You can also fill mushrooms with leftover cream cheese and cook the on the barbecue.
Halloumi is also increasingly popular at vegetarian barbecues, as are other cheeses made for this purpose. If you have leftovers, you can always chop them up and put them in a scrambled egg or salad.
Most cheese products created for barbecues are made of softer varieties of cheese and don’t have as long a shelf life as harder varieties, so you’ll want to keep the leftovers in the fridge and eat them sooner rather than later.
Even if your people are stuffed with all that goodness, there’s usually room for dessert. Bananas, pineapple, melon, kiwi, apples and pears all taste really good when grilled.
One delicious way to prepare bananas is to slice them in half length-ways then add honey or pieces of chocolate, and put them in the embers to warm up. No need to worry if the banana is a little brown or soft, either. – dpa