there have been two consistent occurrences in my life these past few weeks; one is that it’ll be hot as blazes with ridiculous humidity, and the second is that i’ll buy up everything cute at the farmers market on sundays. you could set a watch to it. i’ve been maintaining by grilling out as often as my work schedule allows, and i’ve been trying to make as many different concoctions as possible. if there’s one thing i get asked besides “what do you eat?”, it’s “what do you grill?”, and “vegetables” as a response tends to get you the evil eye. most people, vegan or not seem to think that there’s no life beyond meat, seafood, corn, and potatoes when it comes to grilling- but i made tonight’s meal entirely (minus the pasta) on the grill, and not a single meat analogue was in sight. i highly recommend a la chamba pan, or a cast iron skillet with high walls in creating this smoky sauce, but the la chamba will be far easier to maneuver on the grill top. this also would have been exceptional with a couple grilled portobello caps mixed in, so feel free to go for it. i served mine over Pasta Alley Whole Wheat Itallian Herb Fettuccine that i picked up at the minneapolis farmers market- they have gluten free pasta, too!
Grilled Ratatouille
serves 6
5 small eggplants, peeled and halved (slightly smaller than a baseball)
8 whole heirloom tomatoes
3 medium zucchini, halved
2 red onions, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 c tomato sauce, juice, or leftover gazpacho (i had the latter)
4-5 medium bell peppers, diced
This is super fun!
get your grill preheated. i have a charcoal grill and i used one overflowing chimney starter full of natural wood coals. dump them in the center and spread out a little. place your pan on the side of the grill, and toss in the onions with a tablespoon of canola oil. arrange the eggplant and zucchini around the pan. the onions will be alright with some inattentive stirring, so keep an eye on the char on the veggies. if they start to burn you can always close the vents a bit.
la chamba on the grill
once the eggplant and the veggies are looking deep brown with little bits of char, either remove them from the grill, or push them to the edge. by now the onions should be very soft, so add the bell pepper. stir often.
if you haven’t already removed the zucchini and eggplant, do so once they’re soft.
place your tomatoes over the hottest part of the grill and char each end and immediately remove to a cutting board. using a large fork and a bread knife, cut the stem ends off, halve, slice into quarters, and remove to the pan. i found it best to do 2-3 tomatoes at a time.it’ll give the previous ones time to caramelize a little before the next addition. once all of the tomatoes are in, stir them until they bubble and reduce a little. add the garlic.
giving the tomatoes extra flavor
saucy stuff
now you can toss in the tomato juice/sauce/gazpacho, season with salt, pepper, and any other spices you’d like.
chop up the eggplant and zucchini and stir in. simmer for 5 minutes and you’re ready to serve!
dinner!
^grilled baguette with cashew cheeze! nom!
