bites
Vegans at the BBQ Fire up the grill for plant-based eating
“
W
hat do vegans eat at a barbecue?” If this sounds like the setup to a bad joke, food writer and avowed vegan Katy Beskow has a serious answer. Actually, 70 answers. In her new book “Vegan BBQ,” she lays out dozens of plant-based meals for grilling (plus sides, salads and desserts). A couple grilling tips from Beskow to get you started: Charcoal is always her choice, for the “cooked-in” flavor and lower purchase cost, although nailing the temperature may require some patience. For that, she recommends gauging the heat of your grill by eyeing the embers. If they’re glowing white, with bright red cores, that’s a high heat. If they’re ashy white with moderate
4 real food summer 2022
glow, that means medium. Yellow-brown embers with no glow indicate low heat. (You can also hold your palm two inches above the grill—just a couple seconds for high heat, three to four seconds for medium heat, and five to six seconds for low heat—to gauge the heat.) Whether you’re vegan, vegetarian or simply craving fresh new ideas, says Beskow in the intro to the book, there are so many delicious possibilities when barbecuing plant-based foods. They transform when cooked on the grill, which adds charred, smoky flavor and crisp yet tender textures. Here are two recipes from her book to get you going, both of them good for an intimate summer gathering. —erik tormoen
