How to cook vegetables on the grill
You can cook grilled vegetables seasonally: in spring and summer - on the grill, in the cold season - in the oven and microwave in the grill mode. This method combines good taste and excellent quality of ready meals.
Peculiarities
Cooking vegetables on the grill is not easy. In such vegetables, all vitamins, minerals and nutrients are stored, which are perceived by the body much faster than in raw form. In fact, these are baked dietary products of high nutritional value with a minimum content of fats and calories. Therefore, this type of cooking is always preferable to the usual boiling, frying and stewing.
Grilled vegetables are called grilled vegetables. To cook them deliciously, there are basic rules. Cooked in several ways: on the grill, on skewers, in foil, as well as in the microwave or pan.
- The easiest and fastest way is to put the vegetables on the grill, fixing them on the grill. In the process of cooking, the grate is turned over for even roasting of vegetables. They are obtained with characteristic stripes.
- In special cases, use skewers or raw willow twigs.In this form, they are much more appetizing and look better. Often this method is used for special occasions.
- To make vegetables juicy and not lose a drop of nutrients, they are cooked wrapped in foil. You can wrap the vegetables whole, or you can use slices to make a mix. For flavor, it is recommended to put bay leaf, garlic and allspice.
- At home, use a grill pan or microwave. This method is the least profitable of all, but is an alternative.
Whatever you choose, in any case, try to adhere to some cooking rules, which everyone who, one way or another, deals with the grill, needs to know.
- Add large onion rings between the vegetables on skewers. So the dish will become even tastier and more aromatic, without losing its juice.
- The grill should be well heated, but not overheated, so that the food cooks evenly and does not burn. Vegetables cook for an average of 20 minutes with constant turning. The larger the pieces, the longer the cooking time.
- Traditional seasonings for cooked vegetables are Chinese soy sauce, basil, dill, parsley and cilantro, as well as Provence spices, including rosemary, oregano, cumin and mint.
- In practice, large products can be browned on the outside, and often turn out to be raw on the inside. Experts advise cutting large vegetables into pieces or cooking in foil for better baking. So they do not burn and retain their appearance.
What vegetables to choose?
Vegetables can vary. The main condition is that they must be fresh and seasonal. It is better not to cook stale store-bought eggplants and peppers. And it’s better to refrain from the old kvela carrots altogether.The best option is potatoes, they are grown in greenhouses all year round, so in winter you can treat yourself to young grilled potatoes.
Tomatoes and zucchini also need to be chosen according to the principle: the younger, the better. Corn is best cooked in season. Young cobs are easily pierced with skewers and baked well on the grill. The same with beans: green pods are soft and juicy.
When choosing vegetables, you should also pay attention to the degree of maturity. So, unripe and overripe products are best not used for cooking. Don't expect any benefit from them.
Eggplants, red potatoes, baby beans, corn, asparagus, zucchini squash, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, fennel and leeks are more suitable for baking. Additionally, you can add pickled: bamboo, fern, pearl onion. Mushrooms are often grilled. For this, it is preferable to take champignons. They should be whole, not pieces, without torn and damaged hats, signs of spoilage and mucus.
Vegetables should have a good presentation, be elastic and strong, without rot, blackening and friability. All this is not allowed in cooking.
How to properly prepare the products?
If you are new to grilling vegetables for the first time, you should know that the secret to successful cooking is the right marinade. Without it, the dish will turn out dry and bland. The marinade can be different and consist of many components, or it can be simple, consisting of any base and spices - but its presence is a prerequisite for cooking delicious grilled foods.
So, before cooking, vegetables need to be slightly darkened in a pickling composition. You can hold it for just a few minutes, or you can leave the vegetables overnight.Marinating for frying is a must.
The main components for the marinade are:
- refined vegetable fat;
- any mayonnaise composition;
- tomato concentrate or ketchup;
- garlic with onions;
- balsamic vinegar;
- soy sauce;
- lemon;
- herbs - savory, oregano, basil, mint, fennel, tarragon, sage and rosemary, garlic grass (ramson), cilantro, parsley, tsitsmat and others;
- for the composition, you can use red or white wine, lemon juice;
- spices - cloves, turmeric, allspice, nutmeg, barberry, suneli hops, paprika and other seasonings.
A few minutes are enough to fix and impregnate vegetables. Whole foods need more time than cut pieces: from an hour to a day. Marinade sauce should not spread.
The composition is impregnated with vegetables in a bowl, covered with a film or lid and kept for some time, constantly shaking.
Oil marinade
The easiest and most affordable way to pickle vegetables is to take a kilogram of any vegetables, 50 ml of olive oil, two tablespoons of any vinegar, a little sugar, salt, as well as a couple of garlic cloves and a sprig of rosemary.
The resulting composition is mixed with vegetables and left for a couple of hours. Then the products are taken out, blotted on special paper, strung or put on the grill and baked in the usual way.
Don't throw away the marinade. While the vegetables are cooking, periodically sprinkle them with this marinade.
From hot chili sauce
This marinade is perfect for spicy lovers. They take a kilogram of prepared vegetables, if necessary, cut into circles or large portions and put them in a plastic bag.
Separately, a marinade is prepared from four finely chopped garlic cloves, two tablespoons of hot sauce, the same amount of wine vinegar, a little cilantro, salt and a mixture of ground pepper.
The vegetables are seasoned with marinade, then the package is placed in the refrigerator for three hours. Instead of spicy, vegetables can be marinated in soy sauce.
From tomatoes and tomato ketchup
This method is used when vegetables need to be given a marshy note. As a tomato filler, you can take everything: pasta, sauce, ketchup and even adjika.
First you need to take lemon zest (a teaspoon), add to a quarter cup of sunflower oil, 100 grams of tomato ketchup, a little vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Everything is mixed, vegetables are added, covered with a lid and left in this form for about an hour. Before cooking, each piece must be generously greased with marinade on all sides. In this case, it is best to use skewers on the grill.
These marinade recipes can be used for all types of vegetables, as they are considered universal.
Recipes
There are many different ways to cook vegetables on the grill. To create delicious culinary masterpieces, you do not need to be an expert in this field. Features of cooking on coals guarantee a good result even for beginners. It should only be remembered that vegetables are baked on coals on a special grill. Do not cook vegetables on a fire, as they will simply char and burn.
You can fry vegetables on skewers and skewers. This will turn out a barbecue vegetable kebab, very popular in Caucasian cuisine. At home, products are baked in the oven, microwave or on a special grill pan.
You can also cook frozen vegetables, after defrosting and drying them. But it's best to use fresh.Ice glaze makes vegetables slimy and crumbly, which is highly undesirable.
Grilled vegetables go well with meat and fish dishes, and also act as independent dishes. Everyone can make a good tasty dish using our recipes. Do not forget that, in addition to taste, the dish should look beautiful.
The classic way of vegetables on the grill
For grilling you will need: two medium eggplants, the same number of small tomatoes, sweet peppers and a large onion. For the marinade: four garlic cloves, a glass of any sauce (preferably homemade), 50 grams of olive or sunflower fat, three large spoons of wine vinegar, a little salt and pepper.
Vegetables are washed, dried and cut into rings, mixed with the finished marinade. After an hour and a half, you can get it, put it on the grill and fry on the grill.
Beforehand, you need to stock up on a plastic bottle of water in case a fire suddenly flares up from dripping oil. Then it must be immediately put out, not allowing the vegetables to burn.
Vegetables with mushrooms
On the grill, baked snacks in the form of vegetables with mushrooms are perfectly prepared. It looks very nice and is suitable for any celebration.
Take four pieces of fresh tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplants and onions. In total, you should get about two kilograms of vegetables with a total mass. For this amount you will need a pound of fresh champignons. To prepare the sauce you will need: lemon juice, allspice, a little salt, half a glass of any refined oil and rosemary.
Prepared products are cut into circles, mushrooms - in half and combined with the finished sauce. It is necessary to calculate in order to leave a little for impregnation of the finished dish. After a couple of hours, pickled foods are grilled for about half an hour.
Then the vegetables are put in a cup and pour the rest of the marinade for impregnation.
Served hot in shared a la carte dishes with grated cheese, shelled sunflower seeds and rosemary sprigs.
Grilled spicy corn
Baked corncobs with garlic and spices look very beautiful and appetizing. They are cooked in foil over coals.
The main secret of a delicious dish lies in a special method of pickling. It needs: 50 grams of cow butter, half a glass of mayonnaise, two tablespoons of lemon juice, the same amount of soy concentrate, three garlic cloves and spices.
Four ears of corn are taken, rubbed with marinade and wrapped in foil: each ear separately. After 30 minutes, you can bake them on the grill. On average, the dish is prepared in 25 minutes. Ready corn is laid out with foil, using it as a plate.
Vegetable skewers
This recipe came to us from Spain. As you know, they love everything spicy and spicy, so our vegetables will be just like that: very spicy and very tasty.
They take seven ears of corn, a pound of champignon mushrooms, a kilogram of cherry tomatoes, two glasses of olive oil, 100 grams of balsamic vinegar, a couple of medium-sized red onions, the same number of sweet peppers, 50 grams of green mustard, four small zucchini zucchini, cardamom, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
Some products need to be cut: corn - into large pieces, zucchini, peppers and onions - into rings, garlic - finely chopped. Chopped corn cobs need to be boiled by running for a few minutes in boiling water. Then take out and dry.
In a separate container, marinade sauce is prepared by mixing oil, garlic, vinegar and spices.
Pieces of vegetables are put in a bowl and poured with marinade, covered and left in the refrigerator for a day.During this time, all the ingredients will be saturated with a fragrant composition. These vegetables are very easy to prepare on skewers. Cooking time 40 minutes with constant turning.
This amount is enough for a small company of 10 people.
"Fruit" grilled vegetables
A special feature of this dish is a sweet fruit sauce, for which they take ripe apples, plums, lemon, sugar, salt and cinnamon.
To prepare this exotic dish, you need: young calabash squash - four pieces, two tomatoes, a couple of bell peppers, onions, two cloves of garlic, 50 grams of oil, the same amount of wine vinegar and spices.
Fruits should be dipped in boiling water, peeled and softened with a fork. Then add a sauce-syrup of vinegar, sugar, lemon juice and oil, as well as spices and spices. The resulting marinade is soaked in sliced vegetables, leaving for 24 hours in a cool place, constantly stirring. After the appointed time, they are taken out and baked on prepared coals on a grill.
Served in portioned bowls with apple jam, lemon and olives. Quantity is for four servings.
Potatoes in foil on skewers
Another dish on the grill, which is a pleasure to cook.
You need to take a kilogram of red potatoes, wash, peel and cut into slices. You need to string them, alternating with pieces of lard. It will need 300 grams. Skewers are wrapped in foil and placed on the grill, where the product is baked for 30 minutes.
Then the foil is removed, continuing to cook on the coals for another 10 minutes. The finished dish can be salted and peppered.
Grilled tomatoes (garnish)
Juicy tomatoes are baked for about 10 minutes on skewers. Before cooking, they are smeared with any fat so that they are covered with a golden crust. It makes an excellent side dish for meat.Salt and season the finished dish.
You can also use zucchini or eggplant as a side dish, as well as bell peppers and onions.
Grilled vegetable salad
This spicy salad will appeal to many gourmets. The peculiarity of the dish is that the vegetables are al dente, crispy, in their own juice. Therefore, they do not need to be specially marinated. It is enough to sprinkle with sunflower oil.
Seasoning for the dish is prepared from cottage cheese and chopped parsley and dill, seasoned with spices and honey.
You need to take two pieces of potatoes, zucchini, eggplant and pepper. Sliced for the grill, place on a wire rack, seasoned with oil and bake for 25 minutes, turning the wire rack. The finished product is laid out on a dish. Seasoning is served separately in a gravy bowl.
Grilled asparagus
Asparagus is great as a side dish for any main course, as well as a diet meal. Children eat it with pleasure, especially if you decorate the plates with funny faces made of sauce, olives and egg noodles.
For the dish you will need a pound of medium green asparagus. A little olive oil and coarse salt. First you need to cut the ends of the asparagus and clean it by about a third. Thin asparagus does not need to be peeled. Then brush it with oil and place it on the grill. Bake asparagus over direct heat for no more than five minutes, constantly turning over.
The finished side dish is laid out on a dish and sprinkled with coarse salt.
. It can be consumed in its pure form, as well as with lemon or garlic sauce. In a similar way, asparagus is cooked on a grill pan.
Ajapsandal or grilled hot salad
This dish of Caucasian cuisine is known to many true connoisseurs of national cuisine. It is prepared on coals, on a grill or on a fire, and the secret of taste lies in the combination of ingredients.
Traditionally taken: tomatoes, eggplant, sweet bell pepper, chili pepper, garlic, lemon, vegetable oil, herbs, coarse salt and freshly ground allspice. All in arbitrary quantities, designed for one or another number of people.
Prepared vegetables are baked on the grill as a whole, except for tomatoes. They are cooked on skewers, as they are fried very quickly.
Ready vegetables are put in a bowl, then peeled. If there are small burns, it is better to leave them, as they will give the dish a characteristic “smoky” taste.
Then all the ingredients are cut into small pieces and mixed, seasoned with lemon juice, oil, herbs and spices. Served with lavash warm with baked beef, pork or lamb.
There are many recipes for grilled vegetables. You can list them for a long time. Dishes on the grill are difficult to confuse with something else. They are useful, have a special aroma of a fire, have an exquisite taste. In addition, this is a real creative process that can be carried out both alone and collectively. The grill is a great way to have a picnic. Suitable for a quiet family weekend or a country celebration. Either way, grilling will be an unforgettable experience. Enjoy your meal!
How to cook vegetables on the grill, see the video below.