grill ideas - non traditional. no meat please. [General]

2010 Jun 30
i need some grill ideas using just a plain, old propane bbq.

on my current rotation:

grilled pizza - put fresh dough directly on grill
grilled angel food cake - cut cake into large slabs, grill both sides and top with whipped cream and fruit
grilled corn - serve with wedges of limes and garam masala
grilled tofu - cut into slabs, marinate, grill, serve fajita style
grilled bread - thick slices of bread, brushed with olive oil, grilled and served with salad.

regular veggies - toss with oil & sea salt, grill, serve alone, on pasta, on salad

any more ideas? i have challanged myself to at least 1 new recipe a week.

2010 Jun 30
Try grilled veggies on the BBQ with lots of balsamic vinegar drizzled during grilling. There is something nice with the smoke and the above that makes veggies outstanding.

2010 Jun 30
Grilled watermelon is also really good. Mmmmmmm. You could have it on its own or maybe use it as a base for a watermelon-feta-black olive salad?

2010 Jun 30
i've never tried grilled watermelon. i did just see a recipe somewhere with watermelon and feta. it is definitely one of those fruits i would never have thought to grill.

i did recently try grilling halloumi cheese, but it didn't work so well. not sure what went wrong.

2010 Jun 30
Yeah, I wouldn't have thought to do watermelon on the grill either, but we had it at my parents' once and it was really good.

Grilled peaches work really well, too, now that I think of it. You can just split them in halves, stone them, and then grill 'em. Would be a great side to the already-grilled angel food cake, too! ;)

2010 Jun 30
Grilled Pineapple is killer... lots of different recs out there.

2010 Jun 30
so many fruit ideas. i am more a vegetable lover than fruit lover. prefer salty/savoury flavours. i am definitely inspired to try more fruit on the grill now though.

i had grilled artichokes on the weekend, but they were just ok. not great. i didn't cook them and they weren't served with any sauce, just a squeeze of lemon.

2010 Jun 30
Haloumi cheese grilled is amazing!!

2010 Jun 30
A buddy last year did grilled stuffed mushrooms that were superb!

EDIT : and of course what about home made veggie burgers?

With a cast iron griddle like mine, you could also do some nice refried bean burritos!

2010 Jun 30
ok, so what did i do wrong with the cheese? i grilled it and it melted! i managed to scrape up all the melty bits and we ate it - delicious - but it was messy.

2010 Jun 30
I was going to recommend Haloumi. I find it is finiky. The trick is to grill it separately as veggies (i.e. on a kebab) take longer. I go ULTRA hot and get a quick skin on the cheese to act as a sealer. Also, you need a very well oiled grill. I cook mine in 1.5 inch cubes, one per skewer.

To turn a side into a main, I get lots of compliments on stuffed peppers (any pepper, any stuffing, cheese preferred). Stuffing tomatoes also works well. Sweet potatoes grill nicely, if you haven't already lumped them in with "regular veggies". Quesadillas are good on the grill. Panini's too (use a brick wrapped in foil as the weight).

On the same vein as watermelon and peaches (both with balsamic!) I do a lot of bananas and plaintains, both in and out of the skin.

2010 Jun 30
I pan fry halloumi, it's no-fail and doesn't require constant attention.

Grilled watermelon rocks with halloumi, mint & aged balsamic with some arugula.

Grilled avocado.

I'll second or third grilled peaches, those are awesome. Most grilled fruits are tasty, or basically any veg that has some sugar content to promote caramelizing tastiness.

Grilled romaine, or bitter salad quarters (endive, treviso)... the key here is to dust the cut sides lightly (very!) with confectioners sugar to promote a caramelized grill crust/char. This works well with a reinvented Caesar salad.

Enjoy!

2010 Jun 30
This is my current favourite veggie burger recipe:

www.vegetariantimes.com

They're really good on the BBQ. If you do end up making them, I used 4 cups of mushroom stock instead of water in the first instruction. It intensified the mushroom flavour a lot. Also, this recipe makes lots of burgers, so I usually freeze them and then just stick them on the grill frozen when needed.

2010 Jun 30
If you try pineapple - which I throughly endorse, I suggest the following. Cut it in slices top to bottom so you keep the fronds. It makes for a great presentation and an easy handle to flip the pineapple wedge with. Use it as dessert or as a side with savory dishes - like curry.

2010 Jun 30
Oooh, I forgot about grilled romaine. I do a grilled Ceasar salad. I grill the romaine, lemons, crouton (rubbed with garlic, evoo, topped with asiago), and pancetta. That with a poached egg and some anchovies is amazing. One warning. grilled romaine produces a VERY strong smell similar to pot. If you have nosy neighbors, you may get unwanted guests (police or teenagers).

2010 Jun 30
Sorry just inserting phrases for future search :-)

vegetarian bbq
vegetarian grilling
vegetarian grill

2010 Jun 30
wow, lotsa great ideas. My contribs here are a tad humble, but our household enjoys simplicity when it comes to bbq'ing. Current favs include eggplant, enoki mushrooms and garlic over the grill.

- Chinese eggplant grilled whole until almost charred and then skinned (or just split down the middle): add dash of soy (etc.). Simple and tasty. Can do same with peppers.
- Enoki in foil, perhaps with a dash of mirin, soy, ponzu / citrus, etc.
- garlic - just toss em on until the bulbs bleed through and then squeeze onto whatever is handy (other veggies, bread/toast, etc.)

H-H-H - how do you do your bananas? Are they "regular"-size ones, or the smaller, Thai-style ones? The bbq bananas served as street food in Thailand make amazing snacks - would love to replicate on the bbq.

2010 Jun 30
I have used pretty much anything yellowish in a banana shape. Honestly I found the regular Chiquita-style South American banana (yeah, the one that is genetically modified and is disappearing from the earth) to be the best. The smaller bananas are great, but they don't really hit a decent sugar level until they are very ripe and often are too mushy for the grill. Plantains are not sweet enough for dessert (but nice for making grill chips to dip in frejoles).

The trick for the smaller Thai (or Mexican) bananas is to skewer them long ways (force them hot-dog straight) and keep them turning over high heat (another option is to "toast" them near the IR rotisserie burner if you have one. The Chiquitas are less demanding... use whole, in large chunks, or split in half. You only need 15-20 seconds per side over a VERY HOT grill to get good markings and carmelization. A good party trick is to douse the banana on the grill with a good rum or sugar-cane brandy. It soaks into the banana can creates a nice flame for a flambe effect.

2010 Jun 30
It's always delicious to marinate large portobello mushroom caps - you can whip up your own marinade, but when feeling lazy, the Clubhouse Meat Marinade tastes yummy. www.clubhouse.ca

They are good on their own, in a panini, as a burger, or (my fave!) sliced and put in tortilla shells with other fajita toppings (guac, beans, tomatoes, cheese, rice, etc.).

I have also grilled eggplant slices, stacked them alternatively with heirloom tomatoes, covered the lot in olive oil and fleur de sel. You could also sprinkle crumbled goat cheese.

You could fire-roast some sweet pepper halves and then make a roasted pepper pesto, or toss chopped roasted peppers with pasta, olive oil, sauteed shallot and onion and cherry tomato with lots of fresh basil.

Tonight I made really delicious caribbean chicken and veggie skewers, but you could easily replace the chicken with mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, etc. and have delicious veggie skewers (recipe loosely based on this one: find.myrecipes.com

There are my contributions!

2010 Jul 1
hipfunkyfun......was it haloumi you grilled that melted and made a mess??? that sucks if it was! it is delicious with a nice crust on it, with chili peppers

2010 Jul 1
this list is fantastic! i have written done a ton of ideas to try out.

eastcoast chef - it was haloumi. the president's choice brand. i'd never tried it before. i was busy grilling slices of polenta (topped with tomato pesto & cheese) and my mom handed it to me to grill. i stood by it the entire time, but within seconds it was melting through the grate. i will try it again because the flavour was great.

2010 Jul 1
A friend of mine used to swear by grilled perogies. I'm pretty sure they boiled them first.

Another person I know grilled green onions. It works best if you use the thicker bunches