Summer Cooking

With summer fast approaching, cleaning the grill off for the season is on the to-do list. Deciding what to put on the grill is the next step. Is it possible to fit grilling into a vegetarian lifestyle?

Hiller’s Chef Pete explains misconceptions, and offers ideas and tips for grilling vegetarian. Chef Pete has been Hiller’s top chef for the past 10 years and has worked with a variety of products to create delicious dishes for all types of Hiller’s customers.

What is the biggest misconception about grilling?

That grilling is always very high heat. The biggest difference between barbeque and grilling: barbeque is low heat for a very long time while grilling is high heat for a very short time.

Is it hard to grill fruit?

Not at all. I like to grill fresh pineapple, strawberries and banana and serve over cinnamon or vanilla-bean ice cream.

Cut the pineapple long, and split the banana and strawberries in half. Brush fruit with extra-virgin olive oil first before grilling. Grill on all sides. Dice the fruit immediately after it comes off the grill and put over ice cream.

Chef Pete’s List of Top Grilling Tips:

Make sure the grate is clean on your grill. Use a brush to clean the grate instead of burning off excess food and particles.
Brush veggies, cheese and tofu in an ounce or two of extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil to keep them from sticking and burning.
Cut veggies into large pieces so they don’t fall through the grate (no larger than ¼ inch).
Never put the lid down when grilling veggies to help retain the al dente side. Grilled vegetables should have a crunch.
Place veggies on the grill, as they are dense. First peppers, zucchini and mushrooms, then asparagus.
Vegetables also grill quickly, so be sure to keep an eye on them and don’t forget to turn them often.
Every grill has a hot spot; identify it so you can grill a lot faster at a higher heat. That spot has a tendency to burn.
A lot of people have a tendency to over-marinate things. Place everything to be grilled in a baggie and use a quarter cup or 2 ounces of marinade. This helps to have fewer flare-ups and avoid a burned flavor.