Here’s summer cooking at its best – grilled garden vegetables served with a bright, garlicky chimichurri! These veggies don’t require any marinade, cook quickly on the grill and are topped with a raw sauce that will have you feeling differently about parsley for the rest of your life. No fancy equipment is required – no grill basket, no foil – all you need is a hot grill, some oil and a pair of tongs (preferably long handle).
Excellent as a side dish, you can add grilled bread and a ball or two of fresh mozzarella to turn this into a vegetarian entree. Double or triple this recipe to serve a crowd.
Grilled Vegetables with Chimichurri
serves 4
Ingredients
2 pounds bell peppers (about 4 large peppers)
4 small red onions, trimmed and sliced into quarters through the root
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus extra for grill grates
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds ripe large tomatoes, such as beefsteak, cored and sliced in half
Simple Chimichurri
Preheat a gas grill or grill pan to medium-high, or prepare a charcoal grill for direct cooking.
Place the peppers and onions in a large bowl. Drizzle the vegetables with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season very generously with salt and pepper. Place tomatoes in a separate bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season very generously with salt and pepper. Set tomatoes aside for 10 minutes before grilling (this helps to draw the water out from the tomatoes).
Once grill is hot, pour a couple of tablespoons of oil onto a waded paper towel. Using long handled tongs, quickly run the paper towel over the grates to oil them. This will keep the vegetables from sticking while they cook.
Place peppers and onions directly onto hot grates. Grill until they are tender with nice grill marks, turning vegetables on all sides using long handle tongs, about 5 to 10 minutes. Lower the heat if vegetables char too quickly. Every grill is different so watch carefully (hence the range in cooking time).
Grill tomatoes, cut side down, until charred, about 5 minutes. Using long handle tongs or a metal spatula, flip tomatoes over and grill other side until charred and soft, about 5 minutes.
Transfer grilled vegetables to a platter and serve with Simple Chimichurri.