Hands down, this is one of my favorite vegan meals. When you put this on the table, you are out there to impress. You can pick locally produced seasonal vegetables to grill for this recipe. They are usually considered fresh, and with higher nutritional value. It’s also pocket friendly and for those environment friendly hippies, you probably already know, eating seasonal produce supports local produce markets, avoids pollution caused by transportation, conserves energy used for refrigeration, and reduces treatment and preservation of produce. I swear, I didn’t make this up.
Now the question is, did I use seasonal vegetables? NO. Why? One, because I wanted this platter to look extremely pretty so that you are enticed to make it yourself. Two, I live in the United States, year 2017 and we don’t believe in climate change and global warming (just kidding). Now moving on from the political bashing, let’s get back to the vegetables. You can use any vegetables you choose, just make sure they are the kind that can be grilled and do not produce excessive water when they hit the grill. A soggy mess is no fun to eat—believe me.
Now, about the sauce, it’s one of those sauces that provides you with a myriad of opportunities to be creative on ways you wish to consume it. This makes a great dressing for your salads or you could use it as a dip in a veggie platter. I am certain, if you are one of those folks (like me) who loves to dip their fruits and veggies in peanut butter, I have made your day. This sauce covers all the flavor notes — sweet from the honey, sour from the lime, and creamy from the peanut butter. As I put this recipe down, I am thinking this could also be a great dip for some kebabs or satay. Now, with that many ways to have it, this should always be a part of your condiments in the refrigerator.
WATCH AND LEARN
- • Peanut Butter (smooth) — 1/3 cup
- • Garlic — 1 to 2 cloves (depending on the size), peeled
- • Cilantro (fresh coriander) — 1/2 cup (loosely packed)
- • Soy sauce or liquid Aminos — 2 tablespoons
- • Honey — 2 to 3 tablespoons
- • Lime juice — 1 lime, 2 to 3 tablespoons
- • Lime Zest — 1/4 tablespoon
- • Avocado oil (any odorless cooking oil) — 2 teaspoons
- • Water — 2 to 3 tablespoons
- • Salt to taste
- • Bell pepper (red or any color of your choice) — 1
- • Tofu (firm) — 1/2 a pack
- • Zucchini — 1
- • Eggplant — 1
- • Tomato (beefsteak) — 1
- • Mushroom (button) — 8 to 10 mushrooms
- • Onion (sweet)— 1, medium
- • Olive Oil — 2 to 3 teaspoons
- Add all the ingredients for the sauce into a food processor or blender. Give it a whirl until everything is entirely blended into a smooth paste
- Pour it into a bowl and set it aside.
- First, wash the eggplant, zucchini, mushroom and red bell pepper. Wipe them dry.
- Now, the mantra for grilling vegetables to perfection is to cut, slice or dice them all equal. Pick a size and stick to it.
Eggplant— First remove the top and bottom part of the eggplant. Cut the eggplant in half, then stand it upright on its end and slice it to quarter (1/4) inch thickness.
Zucchini —Just like the eggplant, cut the top and bottom off, cut it in half. Then slice it length wise to quarter (1/4) inch thickness.
Mushroom — Depends on the kind of mushroom you choose to grill, In this recipe, button mushroom was used and the bottom part (looks like stem) was removed.
Tofu — Cut the tofu into desired squares quarter inch thick.
Red bell pepper — Cut the pepper in half, remove the seeds, then cut each half into quarters.
Onion — Dice the onions into ¼ inch slices.
Tomato — Cut the tomato in half, with a spoon scoop out the pulp. Then cut halves into quarters.
- Heat a grill pan on high and then turn the temperature to a medium high (7 to 8). Let it heat until you see some smoke, that should take about 3 to 4 minutes.
- With a pastry or heat resistant silicone brush, grease the pan with some olive oil. Now start laying the vegetables on the pan.
Cook each variety of vegetables individually as cook time may vary. Eggplant takes about 3 minutes on each side. Zucchini and mushroom take about 2 minutes on each side. Tomatoes and peppers should take a minute and a half on each side. Tofu takes about a minute on each side. - Now while the vegetables grill, season each side with some salt. Do not season the vegetables ahead of time because they will release water in contact with salt and that would turn your veggies into a soggy mess.
- Transfer all the veggies on to a large platter and serve the sauce on the side.
Enjoy!
- • Peanut: You can replace peanut butter with same amount of any nut butter (almond or cashew) for your choice. That would also make this recipe Paleo compliant.
Chopper/ food processor by KitchenAid
Grilling pan by Staub
