Invite veggies to your next barbecue
It’s never a bad time to start eating more plants. And they’re perfect for the grill. We’ve got a few plantbased recipes that make it easy to incorporate more vegetables into your diet.
We chatted with executive chef Andrew Henshaw of Laser Wolf, where a charcoal grill is responsible for cooking up more than 75% of the menu.
He shares his best general advice for cooking grilled veggies to perfection — plus a simple idea for dessert.
How to grill veggies
For starters, treat veggies as if you were grilling a piece of meat, says Henshaw.
Zucchini, corn, onions, tomatoes and mushrooms top Henshaw’s list of favorite ingredients to grill. For all of them, seasoning is crucial. Just as you wouldn’t throw a chicken breast on the grate without a proper marinade, a zucchini needs more attention than a quick drizzle of oil. Ideally, you’d start the seasoning process the night before.
“Four to six hours is the minimum for marinating — you really want the marinade to penetrate the vegetable,” Henshaw said. “If you just rub it on the outside right before, it’ll fall off and can create flare-ups, so then the food will not only be flavorless but it’ll get singed.”
For vegetables with a higher moisture content, like eggplant, mushrooms and zucchini, apply salt first to eliminate excess water. Sprinkle kosher salt on top of cut veggies, and let them hang out in a strainer for a few hours before marinating. (For eggplant, salting overnight is ideal.) This will enhance the sear or caramelization process when they finally hit the grill.
And for dessert, grilled fruit is as easy as it gets.
“Pineapple is awesome — just cut it into one-inch thick slices, and grill five minutes per side on medium to low heat,” Henshaw said.
Eat it straight off the grill or serve it with vanilla ice cream.
SHIITAKE MUSHROOM SKEWERS
2 lbs. shiitake mushrooms 2 T. plus 1 t. kosher salt,
divided
1 yellow onion, diced 4 cloves garlic K bunch parsley, roughly chopped (or whatever herb you have in the house; can also swap for 2 T. dried parsley)
1 t. black pepper
1 t. white pepper (if not available, double up on black pepper)
1 t. coriander
1 c. vegetable oil
Remove stems from the mushrooms, and toss the caps with 2 tablespoons of salt. Place in a strainer and allow some of their liquid to drain while you prepare the marinade.
Peel garlic and smash with the broad side of a knife. Add onion, garlic, herbs, pepper, coriander and 1 teaspoon salt to a food processor or blender. Begin pureeing on low speed. Once everything is liquefied, turn to high speed and slowly stream in the oil.
Transfer to a container. Marinade may be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Starting with about K cup, toss the mushrooms in the marinade, adding more if needed until mushrooms are evenly coated. Let marinate overnight or for at least six hours.
Thread mushrooms onto skewers and grill over medium-high heat for about four minutes per side. When mushrooms are softened all the way through and charred on the outside, remove from the grill. Serve immediately, aside glazed onions (recipe follows). Serves 4.
(Recipe courtesy Andrew Henshaw, executive chef of Laser Wolf)
GLAZED ONIONS
8 oz. pearl onions
K c. red wine vinegar
1 T. vegetable oil
1 t. salt N c. pomegranate molasses (if not available, substitute honey, any fruit molasses, or even a 1:1 water-tosugar simple syrup)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss the onions in the vinegar, salt and vegetable oil. Place in an 8-by-8inch dish.
Bake for 20 minutes. Onions can be cooled and stored in the refrigerator for up to five days, covered tightly. When ready to grill, toss them with the molasses and grill (preferably in a grill basket, or carefully directly on grates) for four to five minutes, tossing to cook evenly all around. (Recipe courtesy Andrew Henshaw, executive chef of Laser Wolf)