Grilled fresh vegetables make a mouthwatering side dish and you can either grill them and serve them as they are, or with some butter, or make an international side dish by adding some typical ingredients to your grilled vegetables recipe to match whatever flavor you want.
If you are serving vegetarians you can even serve this as an entree, perhaps with some tofu or portobello mushrooms on the side, to make it into a complete meal. Obviously you will have to double or triple the recipe if you are feeding a number of vegetarians.
Adding International Flavors to Grilled Vegetables
If you want to give your dish a Mexican flavor you can add some lime juice and cumin and perhaps a little chili powder. For an Italian twist try some basic and sun-dried tomatoes. For Chinese inspired grilled fresh veggies you cannot go wrong with some soy sauce and maybe a little ginger too.
What about trying Turkish grilled vegetables? You can serve the slices of zucchini and eggplant on burger buns to make a garden burger for vegetarians or you can serve the lemon and herb flavored slices as a side dish. Adding a couple of simple ingredients to grilled fresh veggies transforms them into something super special and you can make a gourmet side dish by following the following recipe.
Lemon and herbs are typical flavors of Turkey and the olive oil and black pepper are often used in Turkish recipes. Eggplant is a popular ingredient and you can pair it with zucchini to mix up the flavors and add some variety of color as well. You can also use different vegetables if you like, such as mushrooms or bell peppers. The simple Turkish flavors go with any vegetable you can think of.
This serves four people as a side dish and the cool yogurt dressing goes fantastically with them. You can use a store-bought tzatziki or yogurt sauce if you prefer but the homemade sauce is especially flavorful. Use half a minced clove of fresh garlic instead of the garlic flakes if you prefer. Also, you can use all zucchini or all eggplant rather than half and half.
What you will need:
- 1 zucchini
- 1 eggplant
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Juice from a lemon
- Salt
For the yogurt sauce:
- 2 tablespoons fresh snipped chives
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic flakes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Black pepper
How to make it:
Slice the washed veggies into half inch rounds and put them on a cutting board. Salt both sides and let them sit for ten minutes, then rinse them and pat them dry using paper towels. Whisk the oil, spices, and lemon juice and brush this mixture over the vegetables.
Grill them for about eight minutes over a moderately hot grill, turning them once. Take them off the heat when they are nearly done because they get softer as they sit. Stir the sauce ingredients together and serve the sauce with the Turkish vegetables.