Balsamic Grilled Vegetables are great warm or served as a salad.
Spotlight on Veggies Series
Balsamic Grilled Vegetables
There’s more than just burger recipes for the grill. There are also great grilled vegetable recipes. The inspiration for this recipe was a recent family brunch which was also a birthday celebration for my daughter Jessica. As I pieced together my menu, I knew my veggie-loving girl would appreciate something special. That led me down the path to this Balsamic Grilled Vegetable recipe. I served this dish at room temperature as a salad. It would also be great served warm as a side dish with grilled chicken, fish or beef.
What is Good for Grilling?
There are some obvious choices for grilled vegetables that show up on meat kabobs, like pepper, onions and mushrooms. But I encourage you to branch out and try a wider range of vegetables. Here are a few ideas:
- cherry tomatoes – choose larger firm cherry tomatoes
- asparagus – select asparagus with medium sized stalks and trim off woody ends
- yellow summer squash & zucchini – cut into planks using a mandoline or sharp knife.
- carrots – use slender peeled carrot cut in half lengthwise
- baby red potatoes – Parboil Baby red potatoes
- fennel wedges – cut fennel into slabs or wedges
- red, yellow or green bell peppers – cut bell peppers into large pieces
- onions – select sweet or red onions and cut into thick slices
- mushrooms – opt for medium to large mushrooms and trim off long stems
Brunch Gang & Menu
Here’s my smiling gang enjoying our birthday celebration brunch which also featured Cheesy Ham & Hash Brown Torte, bacon, a selection of fresh fruit and yogurt dip, Lemon Glazed Blueberry Scones and Chocolate Mousse.
Balsamic Grilled Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 lb asparagus, trimmed
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 6 slender carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
- 2 yellow squash cut into planks
- 2 zucchini cut into planks
- 8 oz mushrooms
- 1 large red pepper cut into 4 sections
Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1 cup olive oil
- 8 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 4 tablespoon honey
- 4 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, divided
- 1 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 1/2 tablespoon chopped parsley
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Finish Vegetables
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon, garlic, 2 tbsp basil, rosemary, thyme and parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Place zucchini and yellow Summer squash in a single layer in glass 13 x 9 pans. Place each of the remaining vegetables (with the exception of the cherry tomatoes) in its own resealable plastic bag. Reserve 1/4 cup of marinade. Divide the remaining marinade between the rest of the vegetables. Use a pastry brush for the zucchini and Summer squash and massage the bags of vegetables to coat evenly with marinade. Refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat grill to medium high heat.
- Thread mushrooms & tomatoes onto skewers for grilling. Use one (or more) disposable aluminum grill pan(s) for the remaining vegetables. Alternatively, you can use a grill basket. Cook, turning occasionally, until vegetables are lightly charred. Approximate cook time for each vegetable is: Carrots 15-20 minutes, Asparagus 12-15 minutes, Mushrooms 10-12 minutes, Bell Peppers – 10 minutes, Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash – 8-10 minutes.
- Arrange vegetables on platter, drizzle with with remaining marinade, the remaining 2 tablespoons of chopped basil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Can be served warm or at room temperature.
This recipe was divine and the entire brunch was amazing!