Expert: BBQ Woman - 7/24/2008

Question
Hi
I am new to grilling.Yesterday i tried to grill some vegetables like vegetable kebab.I tried with potato,pepper,onion,carrots in a bamboo screwer.I grilled it for 30 minutes it was slightly black in colour but theyre half cooked and it sucks to eat them.I applied yogurt,paprika and salt to all veggies and marinated it for about 8 hours before grilling.Can you help me with this and more vegetarian grilling recipes.

Thanks


Answer
Hi Ramya,
Here are a few tips that I hope help you with your veggie grilling experience.
I tend to soak my bamboo skewers in water for a few hours before placing the vegetables on them to help prevent the skewers from burning up in the process.
If your vegetables are getting burnt cook them at a lower heat and farther away from the heat source.
I usually put like vegetables on the same skewer, meaning peppers only on one skewer and tomatoes on another since each has a different cooking time.
A really quick and easy marinade for vegetables is Italian dressing (olive oil and herb based).
For potatoes sometimes I boil them and allow them to cool early in the day and just slice them thick and season them with olive oil and salt and grill them that way.
If you haven't head grilled pineapple slices try it they are so good.
Another potato is the sweet potato par boiled and sliced thick and then I just coat them in olive oil and sea salt and grill them and you get a sweet yet salty flavor combination.
There is one really cool product on the market for grills and that's a vegetable basket much like this one http://www.grillstuff.com/weber-vegetable-basket.html?productid=246 and you can easily cook all your vegetables together adding seasonings and finish them with a sauce...the sky is the limit with this one and depending on my mood I will toss curry powder in to southwestern seasonings depending on what I am in the mood for that day.
Grilled corn is also good.
Sometimes for a side I will put garlic cloves on toothpicks and grill them along side my entrees.
Now since you are new to grilling one tip to help you is if you ever have a flame flair up don't panic just put the lid on to kill the flames. Mostly the secret is cook them on a lower heat and separate them so that everything cooks at the right times.
If you can find the thick Asian variety tofu and marinade it,tastes so good grilled with a peanut dipping sauce.
I hope I have given you some tips that will help you.
Regards and Happy Grilling,
Misty