Original recipes so vegetarians can enjoy the asado more than ever.
The parrillada is one of the main reasons people get together. Some families do one every Sunday, a fixed date in the diary. Many groups of friends decide to put an asado together to “break up the week”. On many special occasions – public holidays, birthdays, send-offs – the asado is the perfect meal. But vegetarians often end up left out. Many times they have to make do with salads or a potato baked in foil. Yet few grill cooks – or even vegetarians themselves – know the variety of vegetables that can be cooked on the grill.
This article is the vegetarian’s salvation at the asado. For all of them (and for the carnivores who also enjoy grilled vegetables as a side), we are sharing 6 original recipes for grilled vegetables:
1. RED PEPPER WITH EGG AND CHEESE
Method: Cut the pepper in half, remove the seeds and clean it well inside (important: do not remove the green stalk, because the pepper needs to stay closed at the bottom so the egg does not run out). Cook it over the fire for a little while, then break one or two eggs inside. Return it to the grill and, a little later, add pieces of cheese, which can be Roquefort or fresh cheese. Take it off when the cheese has melted and the egg white is set. You can finish it with finely chopped spring onion, salt and pepper.
2. STUFFED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS
Method:
Remove the stalks from the portobellos and clean out the insides (slowly, so they do not break), setting the filling aside. In a frying pan, sweat chopped onion, garlic, parsley and the chopped mushroom filling. Combine this mixture with soft cheese cut into cubes and any other cheese you like. Fill the portobellos and place them on the grill until the filling is well cooked and the cheese has melted. [You can add more ingredients to the filling, such as tomato, peas, courgette, carrot, etc.]
3. VEGETABLE SKEWERS
Method:
Buy skewers and cut the vegetables into cubes: mushrooms without the stalks, courgettes, peppers (red, green and yellow), onion, aubergines, carrot, and you can add tomato. Brush with a mixture of olive oil, garlic and oregano, and keep brushing as they dry out on the grill. Prepare another mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey for dipping as you eat them.
4. STUFFED SQUASH
Method:
Cut the squash in two and clean out the inside; remove the pulp and the seeds. Cook it on the grill for a while to soften it (you can also do this in the oven for a while). Do not cook it all the way through. Sweat chopped onion in butter until translucent. Add a stock cube and milk. Simmer gently and thicken with cornflour dissolved in a cup of milk. Stir and season with pepper and nutmeg. In a large bowl, combine most of the onion mixture with the sweetcorn and fill the squash with it. On top, put the remaining sauce, grated cheese and parsley. Return it to the grill until the filling melts.
5. GRILLED VEGETABLES
Method:
Cut the vegetables you like best – aubergine, courgette, carrot, onion, potato, red pepper, sweet potato – into thin slices, either lengthways or across (it is best to cut courgette lengthways so you do not end up with very small pieces; the same goes for carrot). Soak the vegetables in a mixture of butter or olive oil with salt and pepper, and for more flavour you can season them with chopped fresh herbs (such as thyme, oregano, basil or parsley). To serve them, try a sauce of cream cheese and chives with a little lemon or ginger.
For those who want to be more creative, you can add other vegetables such as asparagus, mushrooms and Brussels sprouts.
6. ROAST TOMATOES WITH PARMESAN
Method:
Wash the tomatoes well and cut them in half. Drizzle them with a generous splash of olive oil and sprinkle with oregano, ground pepper and a little salt. Place them on the grill for a while to roast. Prepare the topping: in a bowl, combine Parmesan, breadcrumbs and a splash of oil. Mix everything well. Fill the tomatoes with the mixture and return them to the grill until the cheese melts and turns golden on top.
