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Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Local veggie chef gives tips on grilling
Local vegetarian chef Cristina Carolan, who owns Chef Veggie personal chef service, grilled some delicious polenta with fennel and radicchio and Texas tempeh this morning, and she was kind enough to share the recipes and some other vegetarian grilling ideas.
Her favorite meatless grilling items:
—Portabella mushrooms marinaded in balsamic vinegar, Braggs, fresh basil
—Figs soaked in balsamic vinegar, vanilla, allspice and cloves
—Zucchini, red bell pepper, eggplant paninis
—Tofu marinated in teriyaki sauce and put on bamboo skewers with scallions (Yaki Tofu)
—Tempeh soaked in your favorite barbecue
She said those figs soaked in balsamic, vanilla, allspice and cloves were to die for. Can’t wait to try them! Here’s the breakdown of the two dishes she grilled for us this morning.
Grilled Herbed Polenta with Fennel and Radicchio
Polenta:
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter or Earth Balance
1 Tbsp. olive oil
5 cups water
1 1/2 cups polenta
1 oz grated Parmesan
1 small handful of fresh dill (chopped) or 3 tsp dill, dried
sea salt ( 2tsp)
freshly ground black pepper
Fennel:
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 bulbs of fennel (rough outer leaves and tops removed, sliced vertically, leaving core intact)
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Radicchio:
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium sized radicchio (cut into 8 wedges, leaving core intact)
sea salt and black pepper
For the polenta, add butter and oil to saucepan and when melted add 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil and slowly add polenta in a small stream while stirring. Reduce to a simmer and continue to stir frequently over 25-30 minutes. When there is no longer a granular texture and the polenta is fully cooked add the remaining ingredients.
Lightly coat a jelly roll pan or baking sheet with olive oil. Pour the mixture and even it out with a spatula so it is about 1/2 inch thick. Let cool. When cool use a circular cutter and cut polenta circles for grilling.
(You can also buy polenta already cooked and slice it into discs, which are ready for grilling. Just don’t forget to brush the sides with olive oil.)
For the vegetables, marinate fennel and radicchio for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat grill to medium. Brush olive oil on both sides of the polenta and lay on grill and cook 5 minutes on each side, or until brown. Add fennel and cook 5-10 minutes until tender. While cooking the fennel add the radicchio and grill on both sides 2-3 minutes or until soft.
To serve, sprinkle with sea salt and marinade. Garnish with fresh dill, fennel fronds, extra Parmesan, and lemon zest.
Texas Tempeh
6 oz bottled light beer (I used O’Douls, but something like Corona or local would be fine)
2 Tbsp. olive or peanut oil
3 Tbsp. Braggs
1 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
1 jalapeno, minced
2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. smoked paprika (not regular paprika)
juice of 1 lime
freshly ground pepper
cilantro and tomatoes for garnish
Cut tempeh through the middle horizontally so you have 2 halves with the interior of the tempeh exposed. Cut those pieces again if you have tempeh that came in a longer package. Mix the marinade in a glass baking pan and lay tempeh in the marinade. Marinade for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
Preheat grill to medium high heat. Lay tempeh slices gently and cook for 7-8 minutes on both sides or until they have nice grill marks. Garnish with cilantro and tomatoes.
The tempeh can be served in tacos if cut into strips, or put into a sandwich, or as is with a side of grilled corn, zucchini etc.
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Get your meatless grilling on
Today’s lead story about grilling on the cheap for the Fourth of July struck me as being quite meat-heavy, so I wanted to get some information out there about vegetarian grilling, for our non-meat-eating friends who also want to grill up something nice for the upcoming holiday.
I’m doing a video with local vegetarian chef Cristina Carolan this morning, which should be up later today, along with several of her fabulous recipes.
Now, a few tips to get you started:
You can grill fake meats (which, even as a meat eater, I find incredibly delicious when well-prepared), but Carolan says you should marinate a few hours or even overnight so they absorb the flavors. As for the marinade, just make sure it has some oil in it so whatever you’re grilling won’t stick. Tofu, tempeh and seitan are some examples of protein-rich foods that Carolan says grill up nicely.
Over at Chowhound, “The New Vegetarian Grill” cookbook author Andrea Chesman says to leave the lid up when grilling veggies in order to keep them from losing their crunch. There’s also a whole thread dedicated to vegetarian grilling ideas in case you get stuck. Someone suggested grilled portabello mushrooms marinated in balsamic, olive oil, salt and pepper, topped with a white bean, garlic, sage puree. Mmmm, makes my mouth water just thinking about.
Check back later for more tips, ideas, recipes and a video showing you how to make Grilled Fennel and Radicchio on Grilled Polenta.
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