Grilled Vegetable Salad

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A co-worker of mine (hey Angela!) asked me if I have a recipe for a good summer salad.  I love to barbecue in the summer and realized that a salad of grilled veggies would be really tasty.  The thing I love most about this salad is that it can be served at any temperature. That makes it great for a party or large group.

I am so thrilled we are moving into summer for several reasons, but a big one is the wide array of produce that is now in season here in the northwest!  This time around I just bought veggies in the local grocery store, but I am excited to head to one of the local Farmer’s Markets for the next time I make it (which will be soon).  Our Full Circle bag typically has interesting squash varieties available so I’m looking forward to to trying those out as well!

The “dressing” for this salad doubles as a marinade, so we’ll make that first.  Just whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, mustard and lemon juice until totally combined.

Since we are going to grill the veggies, we want them in big enough hunks that they won’t fall through the grates.  Cut the zucchini and summer squash on the bias in 1-inch slices. We’ll be putting the mushroom caps on the grill whole and there are several ways to handle the red onion.  I cut the onion in half and then cut those half moons into wedges. Then put those on a metal or wooden skewer (soaked in water first).  If you don’t have skewers, you can cut the onion into thick slices and then put those directly on the grill- they may just be a little tricky to get off the grill.

Put your cut up zucchini, summer squash and Portabello caps in shallow 9×13 baking dishes.  I only had two dishes, so I used those for the zucchini and squash and then put the mushrooms in a large Ziploc freezer bag.  We just want something where the veggies can lay flat and hold liquid.  We’re not going to marinate the onions  because it will cause them to burn.  It’s ok with the other veggies because they are in larger chunks. Now we’re going to divide the marinade amongst the containers, covering the other veggies.  Marinate them for 30 minutes at room temperature.  You can do it up to an hour if you need to, but the veggies should not be marinating any longer than that, or they will get too soggy.

Heat your grill to medium.  Our grill didn’t fit everything, so I ended up doing it in two batches.  The main thing to keep in mind is to keep like veggies together, since they will cook at slightly different speeds (you’ll notice I didn’t do that, which made things a little chaotic- lessons learned).  Take your veggies out of the marinade (keep that because it’s going to be our dressing later) and place them flat on the grill.

Start the mushrooms on their backs (the non-stem side).  Flip the summer squash after about 4 minutes, then the zucchini after about 5.  The Portabello caps should be flipped after 5 or so minutes.  If you want a nice diamond grill pattern, you can turn the veggies 45° halfway through the cooking time on each side. Flip the onions and brush on some of the marinade.

How long they will take depend on which way you’ve cut them. They will probably take between 3 and 6 minutes on each side.  How long the veggies take to finish will vary depending on how hot your grill gets and also how soft you like your veggies.  I wanted ours to still have a little crunch, so I kept them on the 2nd side on the grill for about another 4 minutes.  You can poke a fork in one of them to see how done they are.  Take everything off the grill when it reaches your desired softness.  Let the veggies cool.

Once they are cool enough to handle, cut the veggies into bite-sized pieces.  Put them in a large bowl and add a few pinches of salt.  Cover with about half of the marinade and stir.  Add salt to taste. The salad is now ready to eat whenever you are 🙂

Enjoy!