Don’t put the BBQ away yet! I know it is getting cold and rainy in the northwest but roasting vegetables on the BBQ is a great way to make a healthy meal. Just like oven roasting, open flame roasting concentrates flavor and is a great way to build a healthy meal as well as stock up the frig with precooked snacks, lunches and dinners. Today, I’m taking on several fall favorites of mine: Butternut squash, zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant.
For the butternut squash, start by trimming the ends and used a sharp pull peeler to remove the skin, then set the squash on the large flat end and split it down the middle with a sharp knife and scooped out the seeds with a spoon. Place the squash safely on its flat side and cut it into half-inch thick slices and lightly oil the slices with olive oil; then roast on a slow grill until nicely brown on each side turning once. Remember to pre-heat your grill and oil lightly to prevent sticking. Cooking time will vary depending on your grill but should be about 10 minutes on the first side and half of that on the second. Your squash should be thoroughly done and will have a sweet, intense flavor.
For the zucchini and yellow squash rinse, trim, and slice into strips about a quarter inch thick. For the eggplant, rinse, trim and cut crosswise half an inch thick. Then toss the slices with a little olive oil and an inexpensive balsamic vinegar and grilled on low heat until lightly brown and just tender. Since eggplant doesn’t have much flavor, I put a few grains of slat and more balsamic vinegar on the eggplant when I take it off.
To finish the meal, we cooked a pre-seasoned Tilapia fillet in the oven. Of course, there was more salt in one little fillet than in the rest of the meal, but the rest of the meal makes up for the failings of the fish. You could cook some healthier fish of course but my point is that when you make your meal mostly vegetables, it is hard to go wrong.
Now I have plenty of left-overs to make my lunch or another dinner. And you might be surprised how good the cooked vegetables are as a healthy snack. As we get closer to Thanksgiving, I am planning to use my BBQ skills to make my holiday meal healthier and easier. Stay tuned.
Ken Corliss, OD
Board Certified, ABO (253) 845-0585