How to Make the Perfect Grilled Vegetables

When summer arrives it’s much more tempting to make the most of the grill, and of those simple, healthy dishes full of flavor. Miriam, author of The Winter Guest, tells us today how to prepare a perfect grilled vegetable platter, and to pair it with a black olive tapenade you'll love.

Because, man, if we're going to learn, let's learn how to make a perfect grilled vegetable platter. Not just okay or passable: perfect. As we deserve, nothing more, nothing less.

Personally, I don't like overly busy mixes of vegetables, 3-4 different types are enough for me. The vegetables I’ve chosen are my favorites for the grill, but you’re very free to use whichever vegetables you like in addition to these: cauliflower cut into thin slices, corn on the cob in pieces, pumpkin, onion in wedges, etc.

We'll accompany the grilled vegetables with a black olive tapenade, just enough to give the vegetables a fun touch. And if you're really obsessed with bikini season, skip the tapenade, since it's the most caloric part of this recipe.

Textured Plate by Tokyo Design Studio and ramekin Emile Henry

What you need

1. Some quality, perfectly ripe vegetables
2. A good olive oil
3. A grill suitable for this task that transmits heat very well.
4. A little patience, because it takes a while to cook all the vegetables.

Ingredients for about 4 people

• 1 marbled eggplant
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 bunch of wild asparagus
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 jar of drained black olives
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 pinch of fresh rosemary (or basil)
• Olive oil for the olive paste and for the grill
• Tartuflanghe truffle olive oil (optional)
• Salt to taste

Preparation

First we prepare the tapenade: put the drained olives in a food processor with the peeled garlic, the herbs and a little olive oil (if you want, you can also add a drizzle of truffle oil, to give it a different touch). Blend until it becomes a paste. Set aside.

There are vegetables I prefer to cook slightly beforehand before putting them on the grill, because I find that otherwise they can end up a bit undercooked, like green asparagus. I I do them in the microwave and then I simply sear them on the grill. We trim off the woody ends and cook them lightly. Set aside.

Cut the eggplant into thin diagonal slices and place them on a colander, salting them. Let them rest like this for at least 30 minutes to remove bitterness.

It's advisable brush the vegetables with olive oil before placing them on the grill, instead of brushing the grill itself with oil. Besides the fact that the oil coats the vegetables better and thus helps transmit the heat better, it gives the oil a little less time to burn.

Put the cut vegetables, one type at a time, in a large bowl, drizzle with oil and toss well so they are coated. Except the eggplant, which tends to soak up too much oil; the eggplant slices I brush just before placing them on the grill. Also, the eggplant needs to be dried a bit with paper towels after letting it release its juice. Eggplant is a bit finicky…

It’s essential to preheat the grill perfectly before cooking the vegetables. I used a Le Creuset skillet-style grill, hence the nice grill marks, and it takes a few minutes to reach operating temperature, at least 10 minutes over high heat. I use an infrared thermometer to monitor the surface heating, and the grill works perfectly from about 220° onward. Once it’s hot it diffuses and transmits heat beautifully.

Cast iron grill like Skillet Le Creuset, round board Kitchen Craft, Tartuflanghe truffle olive oil, Textured plate by Tokyo Design and Mediterranean glass goblet

When the grill is well heated we cook the vegetables in batches, 3-4 minutes per side, although it depends on the type of vegetable. We place them on a platter covered with a cloth so they don't cool down.

Once all the vegetables are cooked, serve immediately with the tapenade so everyone can help themselves and a good little wine.