Grilled Vegetable Recipes

There’s still plenty of summer left to use your grill.  Here are three grilled veggie recipes, including balsamic vegetables, herbed pepper corn, and grilled spinach sweet onion pizza.

Balsamic Vegetables off the Grill

4 fresh beets
1 red onion
2 red bell peppers
2 zucchini
1 eggplant
1/4 C canola oil
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Heat the grill to the medium high temperature.  Trim the stems from the beets and cut the beets and onions into 1/2 inch slices.  Cut the peppers into 1 inch strips.  Cut the ends from the zucchini and eggplant and slice both into 3/4 inch slices.  Whisk the oil and vinegar together in a large mixing bowl.  Add the cut vegetables to the mixture.
Sprinkle in the salt and pepper and then toss the vegetables coating them well.  Place the beets on the grill and close the lid.  Grill the beets 3 minutes then turn.  Add the remaining vegetables to the grill.  Close the lid and grill all the vegetables 3 minutes.  Remove the beets from the grill.  Flip the vegetables again and continue grilling 3 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Makes 8 servings

Preparation Time:  approximately 25 minutes
Grill Time:  approximately 9 minutes
Total Time:  approximately 34 minutes

Allow the beets to cool slightly then they can be peeled if you prefer.  These vegetables taste great even when slightly chilled.  Make them ahead of time, chill for about 1 hour then serve.

Herbed Pepper Corn on the Grill

12 cobs of corn
2 C of butter
2 tbsp herbed pepper seasoning

Prepare the coals in the grill to medium heat.  Pull the husks back on the corn but do not remove.  Remove the silks, rinse and pat dry the corn.  Replace the husks and tie the ends together with string.  Place the corn on the grill and cook uncovered for 25 minutes or until the corn is tender, turning occasionally.  Remove the corn from the grill and allow it to cool enough to remove the husks.  Remove the husks and discard.

Place the butter on the grill until the butter has completely melted.  Stir in the herbed pepper seasoning.  Brush the corn with the butter mixture being sure to coat well.

Makes 12 servings

Grilled Spinach Sweet Onion Pizza

3 C of white bread flour
1 pkg. quick rising yeast
2 t of salt
1/2 t of sugar
1 C of water
4 T of extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 lb. fresh spinach, trimmed
2 T of minced garlic
1/2 C Parmesan cheese, grated
1 (8 oz.) pkg. feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 C sweet Vidalia onion, sliced thin

Mix together the flour, yeast, salt and sugar until blended well.  Place the water and 2 T of the olive oil together in a small saucepan.  Place the pan over medium heat and heat for 5 minutes or until a thermometer reads 130 degrees.

Pour the mixture over the flour mixture and mix until the dough forms into a ball.
Knead the dough 10 times.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes.  Prepare the grill for medium hot temperature.

Place the spinach in a sauce pan and just cover with water.  Place the pan over high heat and bring the water to a rolling boil.  Adjust the heat to low, cover the pan and cook, 3 minutes or until the spinach is wilted.  Drain the spinach and when cool enough to handle squeeze out any extra water.  Coarsely chop the spinach.

Divide the dough into 2 equal size balls.  Lightly spray the grill rack with a non stick cooking spray.  Stretch one ball of dough out over the grill rack.  Cover the grill and cook the dough for 5 minutes or until the bottom is browned.  Brush the top of the pizza crust with 1/2 T of the olive oil.

Flip the crust and brush the other side with 1/2 T of the olive oil.  Sprinkle 1 T of the minced garlic evenly over the crust.  Layer half of the spinach over the top of the garlic.  Sprinkle half of the Parmesan cheese and half of the feta cheese evenly over the spinach.  Top with half of the Vidalia onion.

Cover the grill and cook for 8 minutes being sure to check the crust after 5  minutes to ensure it is not over cooking before the cheese has melted.  If the crust if cooking too quickly adjust the heat on the grill to a lower temperature or move the pizza to the side away from the intense heat.  When the cheese has melted remove the pizza and keep warm while grilling the second pizza.

Makes 6 servings per pizza

Be careful of the hot spots on your grilling when cooking pizza. These hot spots will cause the crust to over cook in that area.  When grilling pizza be sure to remove the rack from the grill before adding the toppings.  If the crust remains over the heat the crust will continue to cook causing it to over cook while the toppings are heating.  By removing the rack you don’t have to worry about transferring the pizza back to the grill and loosing any of those great toppings.