Summer is finally here—and with it, the prospect of getting outside, enjoying the sunshine, and firing up the grill! Although the humble barbecue is a time-honored and welcome tradition for most, barbecue also means rumbling bellies—or a plate piled high with corn-on-the-cob and mashed potatoes—for those who don’t eat meat.
For vegans and vegetarians who don’t want to miss out, enter VBQ: The Ultimate Vegan Barbecue Cookbook by Nadine Horn and Jörg Mayer, available now. With over eighty recipes for flavorful grilled dishes, VBQ has your cookouts covered for the entire summer. And even if you do eat meat, a vegan spin on your cooking certainly won’t hurt—in fact, you’d be doing the environment and your health a small favor. Read on for some tips and tricks on how to barbecue vegan style, and for a recipe to try this weekend!
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HOW TO BARBECUE VEGAN STYLE
Vegetables can taste really good, but you already know that. Nonetheless, there are a few things you need to consider when it comes to barbecuing vegetables, so you can be certain that only properly cooked and delicious vegetables end up on your plate, because “throwing them on the grill and waiting” is not quite the way to do it. We have put together a few tips for different varieties of vegetables.
Marinating and salting
The simplest form of preparation is also the most popular. With a simple marinade comprising only of quality oil and salt, you can make delicious barbecued vegetables to serve as a side dish or garnish.
Asparagus
Green asparagus tastes wonderful when grilled. In order to preserve their delicious aroma, brush the spears with plenty of olive oil and lay them (preferably in a perforated container) on the grill over direct heat. The spears only need about 90 seconds. Then they will still be crispy but with lovely char marks and a smoky aroma. After cooking, season them with coarse sea salt, coarsely ground pepper, and lemon zest.
Blanching
Some vegetables give better results if they are briefly blanched before cooking. The flavor of marinades and seasonings is better absorbed by the vegetables and the cooking time is shorter, so that the vegetables make it to your plate while still crispy, before being burned to a crisp.
Broccoli and cauliflower
Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into florets and blanch in abundant salted water for 5 minutes. Refresh them well in ice water, let drain, and then mix with peanut oil and salt. Season them with red pepper flakes and crushed garlic and roast in a perforated container over direct heat for 7 minutes, stirring often.
Cooking in advance
Although it is possible to cook even whole hard vegetables on the grill, as you will see with our recipe for a stuffed and roasted head of cabbage on page 123, it is of course faster if potatoes and the like are cooked in advance. For some vegetables, this is simply a measure to shorten the time needed to cook in the barbecue. However, cooking some vegetable varieties in advance helps them absorb the seasonings and marinades better and keeps them juicy.
Carrots
Carrots have their place at a cookout, and not just in the salad! Whole carrots that are cooked in advance also absorb the aromas from marinades very well and become quite sweet and juicy. Coat still-hot and very wet carrots in a spicy seasoning made from tarragon, thyme, chili powder, and sea salt, and grill over direct heat for a few minutes. They make an excellent garnish for barbecued tofu, which is dealt with in the next section.
PEPPERED TOFU STEAKS
Makes: 4 steaks
Time: 10 minutes + 4 hours to prep, 15 minutes to barbecue
· 2 garlic cloves
· ¼ cup olive oil
· 2 tablespoons soy sauce
· 2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
· 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
· 1 tablespoon agave nectar
· 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
· 1 teaspoon freshly ground pink pepper
· 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
· 14 ounces frozen and thawed tofu
1. For the marinade, mince the garlic and mix with the remaining ingredients, except the tofu, until smooth.
2. Cut the tofu into slices 2 cm thick, add them to the marinade and leave for 4 hours in the refrigerator.
3. Oil the grill and sear the tofu steaks over direct heat for 3 to 4 minutes each side, then finish cooking them over indirect heat with the lid closed for another 3 minutes each side. Baste often with the leftover marinade.
Tip: You can achieve attractive char marks if you sear the steaks on a cast-iron grill. It is best to use a particularly thin stainless steel spatula to turn them over.
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We hope you enjoyed the tips and recipe from VBQ: The Ultimate Vegan Barbecue Cookbook, available now! Tweet us at @experimentbooks to let us know how your VBQ turned out, or tag us in your food photos on Instagram at @theexperiment!
