Vegetarian BBQ

My favorite vegetables to grill are artichokes, asparagus, sweet potatoes, sweet onions and portobello mushrooms. Adding fresh lemon, herbs and garlic really make these vegetables shine on the grill. Don't skip on making my awesome dipping sauce to accompany the artichoke and sweet potatoes. 

Grilled Artichoke:

Trim artichoke by cutting off the top inch and the sharp tips of each leaf. Rinse well. Steam artichoke whole in boiling water until stem is just fork tender, but make sure to not let it get too tender. Remove from water and let artichoke cool in a strainer. Once cooled cut in half, length wise and place cut side up in a dish. Generously drizzle cut sides with olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, the juice of one lemon and season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. When the grill is ready, place the artichoke halfs cut side down and grill until they have a nice char. Flip and drizzle with any remaining juice from your dish. Serve with dipping sauce.

Grilled Asparagus:

Snap the ends off the asparagus and then trim ends with a knife so they are cut straight. Place asparagus spears on baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Toss spears with your hands to coat evenly with the olive oil. Season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. When ready to grill, transfer asparagus into a BBQ grill basket. Keep an eye on the asparagus and flip spears in the basket as they get a little charred.

Skewered Grilled Sweet Potato:

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/2" thick rounds. Use metal skewers, bamboo skewers will not work for sweet potatoes. Using a slight twisting motion, insert the metal skewer into each round and carefully thread onto skewers. Place skewers flat onto a baking sheet and brush top side with olive oil, then season with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Flip skewers over and brush the other side with olive oil and again season with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Grill until you get some nice grill marks on each side. Serve with dipping sauce.

Grilled Portobello Mushroom:

Snap out stem from mushrooms and place stem side up on a plate. Generously drizzle with olive oil, making sure both sides get coated. Keeping mushrooms stem side up in dish, sprinkle with crushed red pepper, fresh garlic, the juice of one lemon, and season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Let the mushrooms marinate while you heat up the grill. When ready to grill, place mushrooms stem side up and flip once they have have nice grill marks.

Dipping Sauce:

Blend 1/3 cup mayonnaise, the juice of one lemon, 2 cloves minced garlic and some finely chopped fresh parsley and fresh thyme, in a small bowl. Chill and serve as a dipping sauce with artichokes and sweet potatoes. This makes enough dipping sauce for 2-3 people.


To our health!