Grilled veggies are a delight with minimal preparation. All you need is fresh vegetables, good olive oil and salt and pepper. To take flavors to another level, add balsamic vinegar and fresh herbs to the marinade. Basil and rosemary work particularly nicely.
Simply prepare your favorite vegetables into sizes that are easy to grill and place in a bowel. Ad olive oil, balsamic vinegar and chopped fresh herbs and season with salt and pepper.
Grill until tender, brushing with the marinade as you cook the veggies. That’s it! For presentation sake, I went with these vegetables to achieve the rainbow effect. But feel free to make this your own by trying different vegetables and herbs. Grilled zucchini is wonderful! Portobello mushrooms are a nice vegetarian alternative to burgers. Grilled eggplant has summer written all over it, only second to sweet summer corn. And grilled lemons are just wonderful squeezed on anything. Easy, fund, healthy and delicious.
Ingredients
2 large zucchini or yellow squash, sliced to 1/2 inch pieces
2 red bell peppers, seeded and halved
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
4 large carrots, cut in 3-4 inch long pieces
1 red onion, quartered
1/4 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
A handful of fresh basil or rosemary, finely chopped
Preparation
Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or prepare the barbecue (medium-high heat).
Place the vegetables in a large bowel, add olive oil, balsamic vinegar and herbs.
Season with salt and pepper and mix to incorporate marinade throughout.
Working in batches, grill the vegetables until tender and lightly charred, about 8 minutes for the bell peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, carrots and onions; 4 minutes for the asparagus and green onions.
Drizzle vegetables with remaining marinade at the bottom of the bowl, arrange on a platter and serve warm or at room temperate.
Enjoy!
Gorgeous Grilled Zucchini, sweet and oh so savory.
I’ve made many of these over the years and can assure you happy faces are guaranteed after enjoying one of these babies. Click here for the somewhat infamous Naz Burger Recipe.
For years I hosted a big Memorial Day BBQ for our friends and family. The menu was simple but the flavors were big. So was the guest list. The menu featured classics like burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken and veggies, along with salads and condiments like homemade pickles.
The star of the show, a classic American Hamburger. Over time I perfected what friends light-heartedly call “The Naz Burger”. It’s simple to make and a crowd pleaser. I may pride myself on the hundreds I’ve made, but the truth is anyone can make a great burger if you use good quality meat and keep the seasoning minimal. My not-so-secret-anymore secret recipe is quality beef, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. That’s it. Four ingredients to bliss.
In my opinion, a charcoal grill is best. Of course you can make burgers on any grill or even on an indoor skillet, but to capture the true essence of a good old American cookout, a smokey grilled burger is it.
Tips~
For maximum flavor, ideally you want meat that is composed of at least 20 percent fat.
Keep meat in the fridge until ready, cooking burgers cold keeps bits of fat solid, resulting in great flavor.
Make evenly shaped patties, ensuring one side is not thicker than the other for even cooking.
Creating an indentation in the center of the patty prior to cooking helps prevent bulging once on the grill.
No matter what you’ve seen on TV, resist the urge to press down on the burgers with a spatula, this only spews juices on the fire, causing the burger to dry out and the flames to flare up, charring the meat. If burger is cooking too quickly, simply move to a colder side of the grill.
Ingredients 3 pounds ground chuck beef, 20% fat 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper 6 Brioche or regular hamburger buns
Preparation
Start a charcoal fire or turn on your gas grill to medium-high.
In a large bowel, combine Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper with meat, gently mixing all ingredients by hand. Careful not to overwork the meat.
Form the patties into approximate 4″-diameter, 3/4″-thick burgers, simultaneously pressing the top and the side to ensure they are not too loose. Continue rotating and cupping the meat until you’ve formed a patty.
Using your thumb make small indentation in the center of the burger without going all the way through (patties will resemble donuts).
Place burgers on the hot grill and cook, without moving for about 3-4 minutes. Use a spatula to turn the hamburger over and cook for another 3-4 minutes for medium.
Remove the burgers from the grill and rest them for a few minutes while you toast the buns.
Top the burgers with whichever condiments and toppings that you enjoy.
Happy 4th of July from Basil & Roses! Hopefully you’re having a wonderful holiday, taking a moment to learn about our history (here’s a reading of the Declaration of Independence), and if you’re lucky like me, enjoying a nice hot summer day with friends & family.
And of course what would a summer holiday be without gathering around the fire for the great American pastime of BBQ!
We love to grill around here and what better than a juicy and delicious burger topped with homemade pickled onions? Nothing complicated. In fact, the secret to incredible burgers is shockingly simple! It all hinges on one single secret ingredient… Worcestershire sauce!
Good beef, salt, pepper, and the delicious umami flavor of Worcestershire sauce, which marries beautifully with meat. That’s it!
Homemade pickled onions are just as simple, but add a real nice tang and contrast the natural fats of the beef.
There is something uniquely special about the appeal of fire, we love being around the warmth and glow it creates. There is something that draws us towards the bonfire and the hearth. I believe our memories- conscious or subconscious, personal or collective are a part of that draw. Most of us have treasured memories of people who have cooked for us- Mothers, Fathers, Grandparents, friends… We cherish these memories because they are a special reminder of the love and generosity we’ve received in our lifetime. We gather around the fire, and the hearth and our tables to pay homage to that gift. To quote Michael Pollan, “a good pot holds memories.“
Tahran, Iran circa 1970
Most cultures have some form of grilling tradition which usually results in groups of people in the family or community gathering around a fire and sharing a meal together. Kebabs in the Middle East, Asado in Argentina, Tandoor in India, Churrasco in Brazil, Luau in Hawaii, Sausage Sizzle in Australia, Gogigui in Korea, Hibachi in Japan, Chuanr and Char Siu in China, Sataay in Southeast Asia, Lechon in the Philippines, Braii in South Africa (for which there is apparently a national day and anthem). And of course there is the classicAmerican Backyard BBQ which many of us enjoyed this past Memorial Day Weekend.
Each of these traditions have their own unique style and flavor, but the common denominator is the communal aspect of the tradition. The lyrics in South Africa’s Braii anthem go “We stand united at the bonfire. We raise our glasses to the clear, blue sky, tell me your story and I’ll tell you mine.”Gathering around the grill is universal. When we don’t have an actual fire, we gather in our kitchens. Near the hearth, near the source of the fire, around those whom provide for us sustenance and satisfaction. One of my personal highlights of the year is that moment when I bring the turkey out of the oven on Thanksgiving day. Surrounded by friends and family who applaud and cheer as if I just invented bread! I love that moment and appreciate their gratitude. Everyone wants to take a picture with me and the turkey- which incidentally works out nicely, it gives our bird the right amount of time to rest.
As an avid cook, I may be biased on the importance of cooking and how it elevates our experience. Beyond my personal passion, there is an important evolutionary aspect of cooking that may be represented in the fires we gather around.
Cooking is what separates us from our evolutionary cousins, what made us civilized creatures. Learning to cook elevated humans from lone animal to more intelligent beings. Some neurologist believe the reason humans have bigger brains than gorillas is because we learned to cook. By using fire to cook our food, we spent less time foraging and less time chewing our food. This allowed us to get more energy out of our food, allowing our brains to grow. Although the human brain is 2% of our body mass, approximately 20% of what we consume fuels brain activity. The more calories we consumed, the more our brains grew. With more time spent around the fire, we spend more time together and learned from one another. This topic is artfully covered by the fantastic Michael Pollan in his book Cooked, now a stunning docu-series on Netflix. A visually captivating, poignant and educational series.
“The discovery of fire and its use with cooking completely change our evolutionary curve, enabling us to shrink our guts and grow our brains…The cook fire tamed us and socialized us by giving us the institution of the meal.” -Michael Pollan
This history of us is fascinating. Cooking plays a role in how we came to be creatures which have the capacity to enjoy life. A transformation occurred when we stopped cooking for survival, and started cooking for pleasure. So raise a glass to friends and loved ones who cook for you and who’s kitchens you’ve gathered around. Not only are they the source of many of our best experiences, it may also be that without them we would be a lot less intelligent!
I love to grill and summer BBQ’s are a wonderful way to gather around the fire for “old times” sake.
This week I’ll share my favorite grilling recipes with you. From the now (somewhat) famous “Naz Burger”, to fun marinades for grilled chicken and fresh summer veggie recipes.
