Health & Fitness
Dirty Dishes Blog: Summer Sides for Summer Grilling!!!
If you have been following my previous blogs you have seen, and hopefully tried, my grilling recipes. Each of these blogs focus on the main dish. Though the main dish is the star of the show, I also appreciate a very good side to the meat I grill.
Though it has been a while since my last blog, I have not stopped cooking. I have spent the last couple of weekends traveling to see family in Cleveland and then a golf weekend with my buddies. Both weekends I found myself in the kitchen and manning the grill. If you have been following my previous blogs you have seen, and hopefully tried, my grilling recipes. Each of these blogs focus on the main dish. Though the main dish is the star of the show, I also appreciate a very good side to the meat I grill.
I have focused on two sides I use 2 - 3 times a week that revolve around grilling vegetables. One is a quick and easy vegetable dressing that can be used for almost any vegetable and is extremely versatile. The other is a quick twist of Michael Symon’s famous Brussels Sprouts recipe from his restaurant Lolita in Cleveland, OH.
Finally, the third side will be a grilled baby octopus ceviche. This chilled dish is very light with a burst of citrus that is perfect for a summer cookout and just eating outside.
Grilled Vegetables (Serves 2 - 4)
Pre-Grilling
1 lb Zucchini Squash (or your favorite seasonal vegetable: Asparagus, Summer Squash, Mushrooms etc.)
2 Tblsp Canola Oil
2 tsp Sea or Kosher Salt
2 tsp Fresh Ground Pepper
Vegetable Dressing
2 Tblsp Chopped fresh herbs - Rosemary, Oregano, or Thyme
2 Tblsp Red Wine Vinegar
½ tsp Sea or Kosher Salt
½ tsp Fresh Ground Pepper
Pre-heat grill to Med-High; clean grill grate.
In a small bowl whisk together the ingredients for the vegetable dressing - chopped fresh herbs, the vinegar, the salt and the pepper. Set aside.
Slice the Zucchini Squash on the bias and place in a large bowl. Pour the Canola Oil over the sliced Zucchini Squash, add the salt and pepper and stir to coat the zucchini slices. Spread across the grilled grate or perforated grill pan in a single layer and cook for 3 - 4 minutes per side, or until tender.
Transfer to a large bowl, pour the dressing over the vegetables and stir to coat. Cover with a large plate or aluminum foil to steep for approximately 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a small serving platter.
The advantage of this recipe is that this basic mixture can be used to create several different sides just by changing the vegetable, the herbs, or even the vinegar - red wine to white wine to sherry to balsamic - it is totally up to your tastes or even what is on hand.
You will see a common trend of using canola oil on these veggies prior to tossing them on the grill. After years of over-charring my grilled vegetables using olive oil, I finally got smart and switched to canola oil. canola oil has a higher smoke point than olive oil and can resist the grill heat better. This helps to achieve those pronounced grill marks everyone likes.
Grilled Brussels Sprouts (Serves 2 - 4)
Pre-Grilling
1 lb Brussels Sprouts
2 Tblsp Canola Oil
2 tsp Sea or Kosher Salt
2 tsp Fresh Ground Pepper
Brussels Sprouts Dressing
¼ Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tblsp Honey
¼ Leek, thinly sliced
2 Garlic cloves, minced
½ Jalapeno, minced
½ Cup Olive Oil
Pre-heat grill to Med-High; clean grill grate.
In a small bowl whisk together the ingredients for the dressing - vinegar, honey, leek, garlic, jalapeno, and olive oil - set aside.
Cut the Brussels Sprouts in half, lengthwise, on the bias in a large bowl. Pour the Canola Oil over the Brussels Sprouts, add the salt and pepper and stir to coat the zucchini slices. Spread across the grilled grate or perforated grill pan in a single layer and cook for 3 - 4 minutes per side, or until tender.
Transfer to a large bowl, pour the dressing over the Brussels Sprouts and stir to coat. Cover with a large plate or aluminum foil to steep for approximately 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a serving platter.
Grilled Baby Octopus Ceviche (Serves 2 - 4)
Pre-Grilling
1 lbs Baby Octopus
2 Tblsp Canola Oil
1 tsp Sea or Kosher Salt
1 tsp Fresh Ground Pepper
Ceviche
2 Tblsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Sea or Kosher Salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 Orange; cut peeled, white pith removed, segments free from membranes and coarsely chopped
2 Tblsp fresh lime juice
1 Seedless cucumber, halved lengthwise, cored and thinly sliced
2 Tblsp Thinly Sliced Shallot
½ Jalapeno, seeded and minced
¼ Cup chopped fresh cilantro
Preheat grill to high heat.
Toss baby octopus in the canola oil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Grill the baby octopus covered, turning over once, until just cooked through, about 5 - 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cool slightly.
While the baby octopus cool, cut peel, including white pith, from orange with a sharp paring knife, then cut segments free from membranes. Coarsely chop enough segments to measure 1/4 cup and transfer to a large bowl (reserve remaining orange for another use). Stir in lime juice, cucumber, shallot, jalapeño, olive oil, salt, pepper.
When the baby octopus are cool enough to handle, coarsely chop and add to cucumber mixture, tossing to combine. Marinate, covered and chilled, until cold, at least 1 hour. Just before serving, stir in cilantro.
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