Rockin Veggies on the Grill

Veggies on the grill? Hell’s ya! BBQ 92.7 ROCK with Chris Mask! I made the squash last weekend and everyone loved it. Served it with ribs and Chris’s Red Cabbage Coleslaw from an earlier episode…so darn good.

~Mell~

Side dishes for a BBQ are more than just coleslaw, corn on the cob, or potato salad. Try these sides or, if you want to, evolve them into meatless mains. These recipes can be made in minutes and really showcase the versatility of vegetables when it comes to the BBQ. Yup, both are perfect vegetarian options where you will impress your guests with minimal effort.

Grilled Butternut Squash w/ Yogurt and Cilantro Sauce
The real kicker to this recipe is the final touch of a good hot sauce. Adding a few dabs of sweet chili sauce, Sriracha, or a smokey chipotle sauce will give a bit of heat to your sweet. Getting good grill marks will help to caramelize the natural sugars in the squash and leave you with a stunning dish for you and your guests.
1 large butternut squash (peeled and seeded)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 Tbsp EVO
1 tsp cinnamon
1 C cilantro leaves (washed and stemmed)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 C plain yogurt (buy a good quality yogurt)
¼ C pumpkin seeds (shelled)
1 ½ tsp hot sauce of your choice (het or sweet it is up to you)
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat BBQ 375F
Cut the squash into planks (about 2 inches long)
Rub with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon
Place a piece of foil off direct heat on top rack of your BBQ and roast the squash for 25 – 45 minutes until soft and colour starts to form on the edges of the pieces.
Mix cilantro, garlic and EVO with salt and pepper to taste in a food processor or blender. Once a paste is at your desired consistency set aside.
Move to direct heat and grill for a few minutes to establish grill marks on each piece.
When ready to serve drizzle yogurt over squash along with cilantro sauce, hot sauce and your pumpkin seeds.
Enjoy!
This dish screams summer! Stuffing a zucchini, pepper, tomato or whatever makes for a colourful and flavourful side. The best part is that this filling is easy to convert into veggie balls, veggie loaf or patties (just adjust the moisture content of the filling by adding more oats or breadcrumbs). It is quite hardy, so a little will go a long way as a side or a delicious meatless main. Plus, between you and I if you were to use ketchup rather than tomato paste the glaze still works (just cut back on the maple syrup).

Balsamic Glazed Lentil and Walnut Stuffed Zucchini
2 medium sized zucchini (cut in half and scooped out)
1 Can of Lentils (drained)
½ C walnuts (chopped…use whatever you want for this, pistachios also work)
1 C yellow onion (diced)
1 clove of garlic (chopped)
¼ C breadcrumbs (panko works great)
½ C celery (diced)
½ C carrot (diced)
¼ C apple (diced)
1/3 C oats (quick cooking variety)
¼ C blue berries (dried and remember to consider cranberries or raisins for this it you feel like it)
1 tsp oregano (fresh)
1 tsp thyme (fresh)
1 tsp red pepper flakes (or chilli powder also works)
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Glaze
¼ C Tomato Paste
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (smoked if you can find it)
2 Tbsp maple syrup (use it at adjust sweetness)
2 Tbsp apple sauce (unsweetened)
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Once zucchini is sliced as you would like (either boats or rounds), scoop out some of the middle and set aside.
Mix all other stuffing ingredients together in a food processor or with an immersion blender and season to taste. Remember you want to blend this fast and not liquefy everything. Adjust moisture by adding additional oats or breadcrumbs. You want this to feel like you are working with ground beef for meatballs. (water will thin it out)
Mix all of your glaze ingredients together and season to taste.
Pre-heat BBQ or smoker to 325F
Stuff zucchini with your filling and place off of direct heat to roast/smoke.
After 25-40 minutes (depending on the size of the zucchini cuts) check for doneness (should be slightly firm).
Using a brush, baste the tops of each zucchini with glaze and let grill/smoke for about 5 minutes. Repeat twice more.
Remove and serve.