Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Let's all Veg Out Part 2

Last week I talked about grilled veggies prepared via indirect heat (or even, in a pinch, roasted in the oven). Today I'm taking a more direct approach.

While last week's recipe was one I've used many, many times, today's is brand new for me. This dish is not only easy and delicious, it can be served as a main entree if you're looking to veggie up your diet.

Adapting a recipe from MORE (can you tell I love that magazine?), here is a version of ratatouille, prepared on the grill. Yep, you read that right.

Grilled Veggie Ratatouille

1 red bell pepper
1 green pepper
2 medium to large yellow onions, cut into thick slices
2 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
2 yellow squash, cut in half lengthwise
5 plum tomatoes
handful of fresh basil leaves
extra-virgin olive oil

First off - I felt like Krista's Diva when I made this. The original recipe called for fresh thyme leaves. My grocery store was out, so I planned to use a little dried thyme at home. Guess what? I had run out!! (The Diva Runs out of Thyme). So I did without. You may want to add it back in...

I was cooking on a gas grill, so adjusting the heat was easy. Here goes:

I oiled the grates with a paper towel soaked in vegetable oil and that paid huge dividends. Don't miss this step. Nothing stuck!

Once your grill is heated, place the whole peppers on the grates and roast them, turning often, until they're charred all the way around. Put them aside to cool.

Brush your other vegetables with olive oil, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and grill them all -- until the onions are translucent and the zucchini and squash are slightly charred. Grill tomatoes until soft and bursting.

When the grilling is finished, cut all the veggies into half-inch pieces and toss with basil leaves. The original recipe suggested adding balsamic vinegar and we might try that next time, but we wanted to taste them plain this time. And they were wonderful. Grilling just adds such a wonderful flavor to vegetables. Plus it makes clean up a breeze. This version of ratatouille is one we'll come back to over and over again.

Enjoy!
Julie

www.juliehyzy.com


7 comments:

  1. Julie, I adore grilled vegetables. These look fabulous. And congrats on the wonderful sale of Grace Under Pressure. As you know, I adored the book! Hope you're finding so many others do, too!

    ~Avery

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  2. This looks yummy. With fresh vegetables coming in this is a perfect recipe.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  3. Julie, I hope you're being careful! When the diva ran out of thyme, there was serious trouble afoot! ; )

    I love vegetables this way. Seriously, when I turn on the grill, I practically empty the fridge. I throw all the veggies on because they're good the next day, too.

    ~ Krista

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  4. Oh, yes! Can't get enough of grilled veggies. Wonderfully healthy idea to do ratatouille on the grill, Julie. And continued kudos on the success of GRACE UNDER PRESURE. :)

    ~ Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  5. Hey Avery, Mason, Krista, Kathleen and Cleo -- sorry it's taken me so long to log in today. I was out of town and though I had an early flight back I had lots of delays. Home now and happy to hear you're enjoying all the veggie talk. They're great, aren't they? And thanks for the congrats on Grace. I'm happy to announce that when I got home, THE LONG QUICHE GOODBYE and DELICIOUS AND SUSPICIOUS were here waiting for me! I cannot wait to read QUICHE (I was fortunate to pre-read DELICIOUS!)

    Julie

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  6. Colorful, beautiful, easy, healthy--what more could we want! Looks like summer on a plate!

    I'm so glad you're home safely! Get some sleep. :)

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