Grilling Vegetables - Maple Glazed Vegetables

I've had a number of people ask me about grilling vegetables. Either they are vegetarians, or they want to add another grilled dish to the meat they are grilling. Whatever the reason, vegetables are great on the grill and will make a nice complement to the main course. And the best part is that food always tastes better when it's cooked outdoors!

So I decided to try a dish called Maple Glazed Vegetables. It's a pretty simple recipe. You start by bringing 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar and 1/3 cup of maple syrup to a boil. Now it's probably best if you use pure maple syrup, but a 1/3 cup of that is pretty expensive, so I went with what I had in the cupboard (Mrs. Buttersworth is what I used).

Once the vinegar and syrup get to a boil, take it down to simmer until it starts to thicken. I found that while hot, it won't thicken a great deal, but it'll thicken as it starts to cool. So don't expect it to get incredibly thick while still on the stove!

Next take some vegetables and prepare for grilling. I used asparagus (trim the bottom off), a couple zucchini, cut in half and then lengthwise in half again (I cut in quarters lengthwise, half would have been better), a red and a yellow pepper, seeded, and cut into 6 pieces lengthwise, some carrots, and a red onion, cut into 8 wedges (cut from the top, but not all the way down, to about 1/2 inch from the bottom. This will help keep the onion from falling apart on the grill).

Put the veggies into a large bowl and drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil on them and then sprinkle with salt and pepper to your taste.

Get that grill going and once heat, put the veggies on the grill. I suggest putting the onion on first, since it seemed to take the longest to cook. If your asparagus is thin (like mine was), put on last, otherwise it will be way overcooked by the time everything else gets done. So get that onion going before putting the rest of the veggies on.

Brush the maple-vinegar glaze on the veggies and close the lid and let them cook! Cook for about 10 minutes, checking a couple of times to make sure they aren't burning. Remember that any glaze or sauce that has sugar in it can burn if the heat is too high or if left on too long.

After 10, turn the veggies over, redistribute if needed, and brush more glaze on. 10 more minutes should do it. Take from the grill and brush with any remaining glaze and enjoy!

This could be a dish that you do as you finish up the meat that you are cooking. Get the meat seared and move to indirect heat and put the veggies on and allow the meat to finish while you cook the vegetables.

Let me know what you think in the comments below and let me know how you grill veggies on your grill.