culinary scene

How to Grill Vegetables

The New Bible for Barbecuing Vegetables over Live Fire

By Steven Raichlen, Workman Publishing $34

STEVEN RAICHLEN IS NO STRANGER

to us, we read his ‘Project Fire’ last summer, and he’s known for his ‘Brisket Chronicles’ – but here we are coming up to the summer of 2021 (really? 52 years since “The Summer of 69’? But Bryan was only 10 years old then!) and we’re eager to know more about interesting ways we can cook our veggies.

Raichlen to the rescue, here’s our answer: ‘How to Grill Vegetables’.

He starts with Chapter One, ‘How to grill vegetables like a pro in 9 easy steps’, which alone is worth buying the book for, and then proceeds to ‘Starters and Pass-Arounds’ and ‘Dips & Chips’ – mmm... ‘Smoked Hummus with Sesame Grilled Pita Chips’ (P.53) and ‘Caveman Caviar’ (P.59) both have to be tried! And of course in ‘Salads and Slaws’ there’s a classic wedge salad with grill marks (P.77) but it has a smoky ranch dressing, which would certainly up my wedge salad game.

Then we move on to ‘Vegetable Small Plates’… ‘Sunchokes Bravas’ (P.175) with its spicy grilled tomato sauce, is on my list, as well as ‘Smoke Roasted Parsnips with Crispy Capers’ (P.164). Following on comes ‘Vegetable Not-So-Small’ plates - shall we try a Gaucho Breakfast (P.179) or a Nashville Hot Cauliflower (P.187)? Or a ‘Smoked Acorn Squash with Parmesan Flan (P.195)? Yes please!

But it’s not just vegetables; these 325 pages contain chapters on making pizza dough, flatbreads, and pita breads, and grilling them with topping suggestions; egg dishes and cheese dishes – yes, he starts the chapter with, “Eggs are a food few people think of grilling” – me included! But I’m going to have to try “Smoked Egg Salad” (P.248), ‘Double-Grilled Summer Vegetable Frittata’, and ‘Brazilian Grilled Cheese Skewers’ (P.259).

And desserts. Who wouldn’t want to try ‘Hasselback Apples Grilled on Cedar Planks’ (P.272) – what a great idea - and ‘The Grilled Fruit Salad That Thinks It’s Salsa’ (P.276).

This book is so full of ideas, and Raichlen has kindly included a ‘Vegetable Abecedarium’ (P.303) of the key veggie players and how to grill them. It’s not a vegan or vegetarian cookbook though – bacon appears in some dishes!

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