If you are in a lighthearted mood and you want to confuse your neighbours (those who know you’re Vegan) grill some vegetables and let the aroma reach their windows! Hahahaha seriously!
The smell of grilled vegetables is very similar to grilled meat so I am sure they will start questioning if you’re a Vegan for real.
WHY YOU SHOULD GET A GRILL
I have a very small indoor grill that I bought many years ago that I use to grill my veggies. As a Vegan, of course I consume a lot of fresh vegetables (raw mostly but also cooked). I like to eat them in different ways (so I don’t get bored) and grilling them is one of my favourite methods.
First, because it is so easy and yet so tasty that it literally takes very little time to prepare and cook. There is something about the charcoal marks it leaves printed on the veggies that I absolutely adore! You also don’t have to worry about making outdoor grill preparations if you have one of these little bad boys at home. They are small and very handy. You can also use one of these to grill tortillas if you’re making flour/corn tacos.
Today, I used it to grill sweet peppers, eggplants, cucumbers and tomatoes. But you can grill any veggie you enjoy eating. You can grill onions, corn on the cob, zucchini, potatoes, sweet potatoes and even squash. The options are endless.
HOW I GRILL SWEET PEPPERS & CUCUMBERS
Speedy-Gonzalez’s style, I like simple foods with little preparation. I started by spraying my grill with a little bit of cooking spray so the veggies do not stick on my grill. Then I placed the grill on medium high so it starts to get hot. At the mean time, I prepared my sweet peppers by removing all the insides and flatten the peppers really well so they can rest comfortably on the grill.
Then I just sprinkled a little salt and a little pepper and let it cook really well. You can take a peek to see how well they are cooking, you want to see those charcoal marks well printed before you turn them to the other side. When you do, sprinkle salt and pepper on the other side and let it cook until you see the marks again.
After they were done, I cut a cucumber in thick slices as well (I did not remove any seeds since a lot of the vitamins and nutrients are in those seeds) and just grilled them. Then, I added a little salt, turned them over when they had a nice charcoal colour and cooked the other side. They looked beautiful!
EGGPLANTS AND TOMATOES
It was now the turn of the eggplant. I peeled the skin off completely and ahead of time, I cut them in thick slices and sprinkled a little salt and let it rest for about 10 minutes so it can remove the bitterness of the eggplant.
Then I rinsed it thoroughly with water, dried them well and added my favorite seasonings: Oregano, cayenne pepper and paprika. Mixed all the seasonings well and added them to my hot grill. Make sure those slices are thick because it will cook quite fast and you don’t want the eggplant to stick on your grill.
Finally, I did the same method with the tomatoes. You have to be careful, try to use very firm tomatoes and let those slices be thick. They cook very fast.
The aroma of grilled veggies is absolutely wonderful! If you’re entertaining, use skewers for a nice visual plate. I cooked mine to top a gorgeous linguini Vegan Alfredo and let me tell you, I had to restrain myself to go for seconds! Hahaha.
Enjoy!
