Vegetables are often in the shade during kebab and barbeque season due to the dubious appeal of a charred cut of meat. Vegetarians and vegans may feel left out at a summer picnic. But you can make a wonderful vegetable dish on an open fire. Consider win-win options.
Baked asparagus with blue cheese sauce
Hot blue cheese sauce is easy to make and is the perfect dipping sauce for fried foods. Grilled asparagus is great. For a vegetarian, dipping hot asparagus into cheese or even plain soy sauce is the height of enjoyment. For 2-4 people you need to take:
50 g creamy blue cheese
75 g full fat yogurt
250 g asparagus
- 25 g of your favorite hot sauce, such as Tabasco
Mix cheese and yogurt until smooth. Wash the asparagus, cut off the inedible ends, dry on a kitchen towel. Brush the sprouts with oil and grill over charcoal for 30 seconds to a minute depending on size. You don’t need to keep the asparagus longer. Lay out on a tray and serve with pots of sauces, or simply pour the sauce over the top.
Cauliflower Barbecue with Peanut Butter
Hazelnut butter is worth keeping in your fridge – it’s a great substitute for butter for vegans when baking cakes and cookies. It can also be spread on toast. Roasted cauliflower has a nutty flavor all on its own, so try it on its own sometime. For 2-4 people you will need:
500 g peeled hazelnuts
½ year old
- 1 head of cauliflower
- Olive oil
- Lemon or lime to squeeze juice
- Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the nuts and salt with olive oil in a blender and grind. This may take up to 30 minutes, depending on the power of your blender. Make sure the device does not overheat. The resulting mixture should be homogeneous, it must be cooled and then stored in the refrigerator.
Remove leaves from cauliflower, disassemble into inflorescences, large ones can be cut into 2 or 4 parts. Dip the florets in the nut oil and grill when the coals are starting to cool. This process needs slow caramelization, not charcoal. When our barbecue becomes a deep golden color, the dish is removed from the heat and poured with lemon or lime juice, sprinkled with coarse sea salt. Drizzle with more nut butter (don’t forget to shake it before use), and sprinkle with black pepper.
Grilled avocado
The very thought of an avocado is exciting. But not everyone knows how its natural sweetness is set off by the aroma of smoke. Cook on hot coals. All you need is:
Avocado
- Olive oil
Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, but leave the skin on. Rub the cut side with olive oil and place over hot coals for no more than a minute. Transfer to a plate or tray and cut lengthwise. To make the dish more refined, you can rub a mixture of salt, lemon juice and toasted walnuts into the baked avocado.
While the lamb is grazing alive and unharmed, we, like everyone else, enjoy the summer, outdoor recreation and delicious barbecue!