Accounting for Taste

One of the easiest, most satisfying, quick and pan-less ways to prepare vegetables is grilling them. There’s no question that vegetables are good for you because they’re filled with vitamins and nutrients that we need to stay healthy. But sometimes, even for many adults, they just aren’t appealing enough to eat. Grilling them is another matter. Why?

Because the flavor is enhanced naturally. While marinades are definitely delicious—and some of the recipe links below bare that out—they aren’t a necessity when grilling vegetables. Because of the smoke from the grill, the vegetables are infused with a subtle barbecue flavor that appeals to everyone. But that’s not all.

The heat from the grill caramelizes the natural sugars inside the vegetables, causing them to taste sweeter and more flavorful, as in the spring onions and portobellos that we recently grilled. Simply tossed or brushed with a good extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper, then arranged on a hot grill for 3-5 minutes per side, perfection!

Loin lamb chops, spring onions and portobellos were the perfect grilling trio as they all took less than 10 minutes to cook. They were all simply brushed with a good extra-virgin olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper prior to grilling.

Found a veggie you’ve never tried? Give it a ride on the ole barby. You’ll find that when you’re unsure about how to cook a vegetable, grilling is the simplest answer. It’s also the easiest—no prep time involved if you’re too lazy to do any slicing or chopping, and we’ve all been there, right? You will get the best results using vegetables with a low water content. Examples include mushrooms, onions, cabbage, asparagus, and bell peppers; although we’ve been known to grill eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and bok choy too.

An added bonus for when you host both plant-based diet followers and die-hard meat eaters. Grilled vegetables can be the centerpiece of a vegetarian meal or an accompaniment to a main dish.

So go for it! Heat up your grill. When it is medium hot, either place your vegetables on the grill, in a foil pouch or on skewers. If you are using dense vegetables, such as carrots and potatoes, these take longer to cook, so add them first. Turn the vegetables when they need it and brush on more marinade or oil when required. If you can pierce the vegetables easily with a sharp knife, they are ready to eat.