My Grilled Easy Vegetarian Recipe is a must do on any hot dinner summer party. I always crave for decent portion of my grilled vegetables. They can be marinated or not, but they have to be a part of my feast. They also a great treat for my vegetarian friends.
3 small Italian eggplants or 2 Japanese eggplants chopped to ½ inch (1cm) rings
1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, deseed and chop to 1 inch (2.5cm) cubes
1 medium onion chopped to 8 cubes (when you cut the onion this way you end up with many pieces of onion)
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
My Marinade is influenced by my love for Asian cuisine.
¼ cup soy sauce, it gives all the saltiness you'll need for this recipe
¼ teaspoon sesame oil
¼ cup any vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
¼ cup of your beloved vinegar (I love regular white vinegar, it gives the most neutral acidity)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1. Put all the ingredients except of cherry tomatoes in a large freezer bag. Close the bag and shake, until all the vegetables covered with marinade.
2. Marinade the vegetables as long as you want. I prefer to leave them in the fridge even for 3 days, but if you don’t have time, an hour outside the fridge will do the work.
3. Place all the vegetables preferable on metal skewers. Put piece of eggplant, then onion, then bell pepper and then tomato…. You got the principle, repeat as needed.
4. Grill the vegetables for about 5 minutes a side on medium high heat. It’s perfect on top of charcoal as well as on gas grill. Frankly, even very hot oven will do, just make them for 35 minutes or so.
As I mentioned before, one of my basic cooking philosophy rules is not to be wasteful. So my unwasteful “Twist” for this easy vegetarian recipe: if you have vegetables left over’s, just chop 1 garlic clove in a food processor or chopper. Add remaining of the vegetables and chop them until they become a paste. Take the mixture out and add 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon of ketchup. Mix well, adjust the seasoning if needed and serve as a beautiful summer dip.