Grilled summer vegetables – Not as complicated as I once thought.

This isn’t really a recipe, per se, but a discussion of technique for grilling vegetables.  And, yes, there is a technique!  I learned this the hard way when I first attempted to grill vegetables in college.   My roommates and I had just bought a barbeque and it was an unusually warm night.  We couldn’t wait to cook our first outdoor meal: grilled chicken, whole ears of corn, and marinated vegetable skewers.  Everything turned out beautifully except the veggies.  By the time they came off the grill, they looked less like vegetables and more like small lumps of coal.  I was shocked that something that seemed so simple could turn out so badly.  How could I screw up veggies on a stick?

I did a number of things wrong.  First, instead of chopping my vegetables, I diced them.  I would say they were about a half inch thick.  This was the beginning of the end, because at that small size there was no way they were going to cook before they burned to oblivion.  I also drizzled them with olive oil; I know now that they should be nearly drowned in an oily vinaigrette.  Then I put them right next to the chicken legs, in the center of the grill, where the flames were leaping through the grate with alarming ferocity.  That was the end of the end.  Dinner that night was chicken with corn.  The veggie skewers went into the compost bin.

So here are my lessons learned:

1. Cut your vegetables into pieces that are larger than you think they should be. Vegetables chopped too small will burn before they’re cooked.  They will also lose volume as they cook.
2. Cut all your vegetables into roughly the same thickness so they cook at the same rate.
3. Good vegetables for grilling include yellow squash, zucchini, sweet onions (Vidalia or red), mushrooms, bell peppers, and whole cherry tomatoes.
4. Potatoes can be grilled if they’re parboiled beforehand.
5. Gently toss your vegetables in a generous mixture of oil, vinegar (about 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar), and salt before pushing them onto the skewers.  Make sure each piece is fully coated in the dressing.
6. Pack your vegetables snugly onto the skewers.  Air gaps between the veggie pieces will cause them to burn.
7. Grill them away from the flame, off to the side where the heat is intense but not direct.
8. Keep turning the skewers so the pieces cook evenly and all the way through (without charring).
9. If you’re using bamboo or other wooden skewers, remember to soak them in warm water for at least 30 minutes before using.

Voila!

Remember, even veggies on a stick need a little attention.