Even just a month ago it seemed like spring would never come.  Regardless of the date on the calendar stating that the official arrival had long since passed, the weather was not giving in quite so easily.  We were teased with daffodils and magnolias only to be pulled away from the momentary delight with snow dropping onto their opening petals.  At last it seems like the wait for grilling and bike rides is over.  Perhaps Old Man Winter is grudgingly relenting his duties to Young Senor Summer.

Purple sauerkraut on Apple Sage Field Roast sausage with a side of grilled corn on the cob and pineapple.

Thoughts of months ahead with dinners cooked on the barbie couldn’t please me more.  I love grilling.  The smell of smoke in the air, a cool drink in one hand and a long metal spatula in the other…  And barbecuing as a vegan is a pleasure for so many reasons.  First, grilling is easy when cooking plant foods, because there’s no reason for concern about food being undercooked.  A person may prefer food more or less done for taste and texture reasons, but from a health perspective there’s no worry if the red bell pepper on the skewer is still raw in the middle!  Second, there’s obviously no disgusting pools of blood on the plate.  Third, while grilling meat has been shown to create carcinogens linked with cancer, that is not a problem when grilling vegetables.  Finally, fourth, as delicious as fruits and vegetables can be baked, roasted, sautéed, and steamed, nothing beats food that has been licked by flames, tanned and blackened.

Some might wonder, what does a vegan barbecue?  Is it all veggie burgers and not dogs?  Well, of course, I could happily make a meal of Field Roast sausages, buns toasted by fire, sauerkraut at the ready, and sometimes I do.  But most of the time my dinners are outside of those simple standards.  Here are some of my favorite grilling ideas:

Appetizers:

Hot and smoky dolmas.  One of my favorite Greek restaurants in Burbank always warmed their dolmas over fire.  I love to recreate that smoky twist on my usually cold dolmas.  Pick up a container of stuffed grape leaves at the deli counter of the grocery store or Mediterranean market.  Look for tightly wrapped grape leaves (no one wants rice pouring into the grill).  Since the dolmas have oil in them already, they can go straight from the container to the grill.  They only need to be left on for a couple of minutes – just long enough to gain some grill marks.

Grill eggplant for baba ganoush.  Pierce a couple of medium sized eggplants with a fork, lightly oil them, and put them on the grill, turning occasionally, until they are blackened, soft, and a fork can slide easily into them.  This takes about forty minutes.  After the eggplants have cooled, scoop the inside of the vegetable from the skin and put the insides in a food processor with a clove of chopped garlic, a generous scoop of tahini, and the juice of half of a small lemon.   Blend completely and add a ¼ tsp of smoked salt to taste.  Most people add oil to baba ganoush, but I don’t think it’s necessary.  It can be used as a dip with pita that’s been warmed on the grill or spread into a wrap or sandwich.

Roast red peppers.  Jarred roasted red peppers can be expensive.  However, when peppers are in season, it’s easy to lightly oil peppers and lay them whole on the grill, turning occasionally.  Once the skin has blackened on all side and feels softened, the peppers are done.  They can then be used in muhammara, roasted red pepper hummus, or in a grilled vegetable sandwich.

Sides:

After the artichoke has been steamed until tender, slice it in half.

Scoop the fuzzy choke out of the center, squeeze with lemon to avoid oxidization, and lightly oil before grilling.

Grilled artichokes.  Cut the bottom of the stem from the artichokes, chop the tip of the flower, and trim the edges on the petals as needed, removing the bottom few nearest the stem.  Put the artichokes into a steamer basket in a pot filled with an inch or two of water, flower side down, and steam the artichokes for about forty minutes, or until the base of the artichoke can be easily poked with a fork.  Slice the artichoke in half and remove the fuzzy choke from the center interior of each half.  Squeeze the inside with lemon, so that it doesn’t oxidize.  Lightly coat the artichoke with oil and lay each one cut side down on the grill.  When it has nice brown grill marks, flip it to the other side.  Once it is beautifully brown, serve the artichoke on its own, with lemon for squeezing, or with an eggless aioli like Wildwood Garlic Aioli.

Now that the farmers market is offering asparagus aplenty, the timing couldn’t be better to put those beautiful spears on the grill.  Snap the wooded ends off and then coat the remaining spears with a small amount of oil.  Lay them on the grill, turning occasionally until they are done.

Grilled ears of corn are always a hit.  I keep it simple by just lightly oiling the ears and turning occasionally until they are done.  Add a dash of salt and enjoy.

Vegetable skewers are colorful and pleasing to the eye and can be made interchanging any or all of the following:  chunks of red onion, slices of zucchini, mushrooms, spring white onion bulbs, cherry tomatoes, parboiled (for quicker cooking) red skinned potatoes, and orange, red, or yellow bell pepper wedges.  For a full meal, add chunks of seitan to the skewers.  Serve with brown rice, beans, a leafy salad, or sautéed greens.

Grilled polenta.  Cook polenta following package directions with vegetable broth.  (My favorite polenta brand is organic de la Estancia.  The grains are very fine, and it means that the polenta is extremely creamy and quick cooking.  It’s ready to go in only five minutes.)  Once the edges of the creamy polenta are pulling from the sides of the pan and it’s about done, add any or all of the following: a handful of chopped fresh basil, a couple cloves of chopped sautéed garlic and shallots, a heaping spoonful of nutritional yeast flakes, and/or chopped sun-dried tomatoes.  (Lately I’ve been into Trader Joe’s California sun-dried tomatoes that are julienne cut and in a resealable plastic package.   They aren’t drenched in oil like oil-packed tomatoes and they don’t need water for reconstituting like other dried tomatoes.  Best of all, they have a wonderful pop of tomato flavor.  The only negative is that the tomatoes aren’t available in an organic version.)

Now that the polenta has all of your favorite mix-ins, scoop it into a casserole dish or large Pyrex container.  Spread the polenta out like cornbread batter, and put it in the refrigerator to harden.  After a few hours, the polenta should be set and ready to grill.  Then cut the polenta into rectangles, lightly oil each one, and grill each side until it is crisp and browned on the outside.  Serve with sautéed greens, white beans, barbecued seitan, hot sauce glazed tempeh from Veganomicon (which is also great on the grill), or spicy grilled tofu.

Main course:

Grilled lemon rosemary tofu

Grilled Latin Baked Tofu with grilled asparagus, vegetable skewers, and sauteed oyster mushrooms

Grilled tofu in a delicious marinade.  In the winter, my favorite ways to prepare tofu are Latin Baked Tofu from Viva Vegan, with a lemon rosemary marinade, or with a red wine marinade.  Once summer is here, though, it’s time to take the tofu outside.  For grilling purposes, I recommend super firm tofu.  Press the tofu and then marinate for an hour.  (You can find the lemon rosemary marinade recipe here and the red wine marinated tofu recipe here.)  Grill the tofu for about ten minutes on each side.  Spread any leftover marinade onto the tofu while it cooks.

Tempeh Asado

The tempeh asado from Viva Vegan is made for sticky nights and a Mexican beer.  After the tempeh has been steamed and then marinated in lime juice, beer, and spices for about ten minutes, it is time for the grill.  I like to put whole wheat or corn tortillas on the grill as well during the last few minutes of cooking.  Then put the tempeh asado into the tortillas and add shredded cabbage or chopped spinach, tomatoes, black beans, avocado, onions, and a splash of hot sauce.

Dessert:

For dessert, fruit is wonderful caramelized by fire, creating a sticky, crisp exterior.  My favorites for grilling are pineapple and bananas.  Put pineapple chunks onto skewers and grill until lined with brown marks.

A sundae with Cherry Amaretto Coconut Bliss and grilled bananas.

For grilled bananas, slice a banana in half with the peel still on.  Put it cut side down on the grill.  After three or four minutes, flip it onto the side that still has the peel intact.  Let it cook for a couple of additional minutes.  The banana should be warm and melty on the inside.  You can leave it in the peel, which can be used as its own bowl, or add it to a sundae dish with Cherry Amaretto Coconut Bliss.

Grilling season has only just begun, and the barbecue options are endless.  I can’t wait to see what epiphanies hit as the warm days pass.  What are your favorite plant-based foods for cooking over flames?