Griddled vegetables are a simple and delicious summer dish. Try crisp asparagus, smoky aubergine, juicy courgette, or sweet scorched pepper. Add a squeeze of lemon and enjoy!
I hesitated in writing up this ‘recipe’ because it’s really just a very simple set of instructions for cooking assorted vegetables in a griddle pan. However, it’s probably the most popular vegetable dish in our house during Summer, and for that reason, I decided to share it with you.
Don’t want any dinner?!
The other night for instance, my daughter Kipper was having a strop at being dragged away from whatever she’d been doing in order to eat her dinner, and was stomping round the kitchen shouting, “No! I DON’T WANT ANY DINNER!”
And then she saw that I’d been cooking griddled vegetables.
She cooled off a bit. “OK. I’ll just have some aubergine… And courgette… And pepper… But I don’t want ANY dinner!”
Err. Fine. I think.
She ate her “not dinner”. Enthusiastically. I don’t know what she’d been forced to leave behind to come to the table, but whatever it was had been obliterated from her mind by delicious vegetables, fresh from the griddle. Smokily-striped griddled aubergine slices, juicily charred courgettes, and sweet, soft, slightly scorched strips of red pepper.
Scrumptious griddled vegetables
I made the same mistake I always make when I cook these griddled vegetables though, which is that I didn’t make nearly enough! I had another aubergine, and another courgette, but as the cooked vegetables piled up on the plate, I foolishly thought to myself, “that looks like loads! I’ll leave these other vegetables for tomorrow…”
Oops! Kipper could have polished off the whole plateful single-handedly given half a chance. And she didn’t even want any dinner!
A bit on the side
Griddled vegetables are a delicious addition to all sorts of meals. We usually have them hot with pasta and pesto, or on top of a plain-ish risotto. They also work cold, for instance with cheeses and humous and bread for lunch.
I usually include courgette and aubergine, often red or orange pepper, and occasionally other things too, like the fennel in the photo below. Fennel does need to griddle a while longer than the other veggies though, to make sure it’s cooked through.
Delicious griddled asparagus
Now that it’s in season, griddled asparagus is really fantastic. Pile ’em high for a finger-licking starter! If you usually have your asparagus boiled or steamed, I urge you to try this method of cooking them. The direct heat of the griddle pan concentrates the delicious, delicate flavour of the asparagus, and the lemon juice adds a perfect sharp citric note.
Griddled vegetables – make plenty!
The quantity of griddled vegetables in the photo below – 1 large aubergine, 1 large courgette, 2 red peppers and a small fennel – was quickly demolished by two adults and a small person. Make more than you think you’ll need.
I hope these are as popular in your house as they are in ours!
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📖 Recipe
Griddled summer vegetables
Ingredients
For the asparagus
- 400 g asparagus
- 2-3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Juice of half a lemon
- Pinch of black pepper (optional)
For the other vegetables
- 1 large aubergine
- 1 large courgette
- 2 red peppers
- 1 fennel bulb
- Olive oil
- Lemon for squeezing (optional)
Instructions
For the asparagus
- 400 g (14 oz) asparagus, 2-3 tbsp olive oil, 1 Juice of half a lemon, Pinch of black pepper (optional)Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus. Put the spears into a bowl with the oil, lemon juice and pepper and toss well to coat.
- Heat the griddle pan over a high heat. Once hot, shake the excess dressing from the asparagus (reserve the dressing) and transfer them to the pan – you may need to cook them in batches. Cook, turning occasionally, for 2-3 minutes, until just cooked and starting to scorch.
- Remove from the pan and drizzle any remaining dressing over. Eat immediately.
For the other vegetables
- Preheat the oven to 150°C. Put a griddle pan to warm up on a medium-high heat.
- 1 large aubergine, 1 large courgette, 2 red peppers, 1 fennel bulbSlice the aubergine into 1cm (approx. ½ inch) thick rounds. Slice the courgette on the diagonal into 1cm (approx. ½ inch) slices. Cut the pepper into strips, removing the pith and seeds. Slice the fennel into 1cm (approx. ½ inch) slices.
- Olive oilToss the vegetables in a generous amount of olive oil. Cook the vegetables, a few at a time, for 1-2 minutes each side – until black scorch lines appear and the vegetables are soft. Remove from the pan and put on a plate in the oven to keep warm while you cook the remainder.
- Continue cooking the vegetables in batches until they are all done.
- LemonSqueeze over the lemon if desired, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
More delicious summer vegetable recipes
Other delicious recipes featuring summer vegetables include
- fabulous asparagus and sun-dried tomato carbonara pasta
- lovely summer salad with grilled vegetables and black olive dressing
- wonderful green shakshuka
- delicious pean and bean salad with radishes and dill
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