How to Cook Vegetables on the Grill

Grilling is an easy, quick and tasty way to cook vegetables. Some are obvious, others less so. Experiment! The times given below are what I've found works best for my grill.

Once grilled, you can add a bit of virgin olive oil or butter. Or sprinkled with various fresh herbs like parsley, tarragon, sage, rosemary or thyme. Or, toss veggies in a large plastic bag with olive oil and herbs before putting them on the grill.

eggplant

One of my favorites. You can grill the Asian varieties directly. For the large eggplants, you'll get best results by cutting the eggplant into 1" slices. Grill about 5-10' each side

asparagus

Perfect for grilling. Allow 2-3' for skinny ones, 5-8' for thicker ones. Set them up in parallel and they're easier to turn.

squash

Now you can actually eat those monster zucchinis! Slice any large suqash into 1" slices and grill 5-10' each side. Use zucchini, acorn, yellow, crookneck, patty pan. Even better are small squash grilled whole.

corn

Several ways work here - soak the entire corn cob and husk in water for 30' or so, then place on the grill, and the effect will be steamed. Or, husk the corn, and grill the kernels direcftly on the grill for more roasted flavor.

garlic

One of the few that need some prep - cut the top off a head of garlic, then use a paring knife to make sure the tip of each clove is cut off at the top. Place the head of garlic on a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle a bit of olive oil on top, and fold the foil to make a closed packet. This keeps the cloves from crisping. Grill for about 10-15'. To serve, open the packet, and when you can handle the hot garlic, squeeze from below and the roasted garlic will pop out.

carrots

Another less obvious choice, but wonderful - do not peel, just coat with olive oil and grill directly for 10-15', turning about every 5'. Roasted garlic and lemon juice complete this dish.

peppers

You can grill all kinds of peppers. For bell pepper size or larger, cut them in half and remove the seeds. For smaller peppers - habanero, jalapeno,serrano, cayenne, thai - just coat with olive oil and put on the grill. Large peppers will take about 10', smaller ones may only need a few minutes. For larger peppers, you can easily sli[p off the skin when they cool.

tomatoes

I'll put a dozen or more medium or plum tomatoes on the grill for about 10'. We'll eat some of them, the rest I vacuum seal and freeze. Grill directly, or on sheet of aluminum foil for easier cleanup

plums

Grill for about 5' - make a great condiment with spicy food, or as the base for a chutney or marinade.

parsnips

These cook a bit faster than carrots.

potatoes

Medium sized potatoes take about 15-20' on the grill.

Mushrooms

Best to coat these with oil first, then grill for 5-10', watching they don't burn.