BBQ - veggie alternatives?

[Sugar]

I'm going to call on you for help, as I saw there were so many great suggestions when other people asked.

 

I'm planning on having a barbie with a few friends in a couple of weeks time. However, one of the people is vegetarian.

 

I would like to offer something more exciting than salad for her, and although I know there are veggie versions of burgers etc my garden is very small, and there is no spare room for an extra barbeque (even a disposable one).

 

Ideally it needs to be something that I can make the day before, but still be a bit special.

 

Any ideas?

[Kell]

Cauldron do a great range of vegetarian burgers & sausages. They also do lovely pate-type spreads - mmmmm! You could also try skewers with various different fruit & veg on them such as peppers, pineapple & courgette, & things like baked potatoes & BBQ'd corn on the cob always go down well, even with the meat-eaters - LOL!

 

I know some vegetarians eat fish (I think theyre' called pescatarians or something). If she's of this group, tuna steaks are delicious & healthy. Actually - you might like to try them anyway.

[Sugar]

She doesn't eat fish, but they do sound rather nice!

 

She's not so fussy that she doesn't mind being around people eating meat - and will even buy it to cook for others, but she will not let them be prepared on the same surfaces so if we want real meat too, we would have to barbeque all the veggie stuff first and then all the meat stuff after.

 

I like the idea of veggie skewers though - that could be a go-er! Thanks!

[Sarahrob]

I was walking past Iceland the other day and they have some truly scrumptious-looking veg kebabs advertised. It was corn on the cob cut into sections that looked around 1" thick, with onion, peppers and cherry tomatoes. If you know any veg your friend particularly likes I can't see why you couldn't substitute that instead.

 

We normally cook jacket potatoes wrapped in tinfoil (though ours isn't really a barbie, more a fire pit with a bit of grill shoved on top!). Maybe roast some sweet potatoes - they are lovely with black pepper and make a gorgeous potato salad.

 

One of the nicest meals I've had recently was a salad (sorry!), but it was a warm salad with goat's cheese and avocado and was absolutely delicious.

 

If you want something which can be cooked how about those huge flat mushrooms, topped with cheese and onion? You could either cook them in the oven or cook them on a bit of tinfoil over the BBQ - either way, they won't touch the meat. For something you make the day before which you just need to serve, how about stuffed peppers?

 

I'm sure your friend will be touched by the trouble you are going to.

[Acesare*]

Mushrooms and shallot onions are great on skewers and corn on't' cob's a good idea (although it's really gross - yuck!). I have an idea on the tip of my tongue but can't quite get it at the moment - I shall be back!

[Guest jake]

Wickenfen do the best veggie sausages I have ever tasted. I don't like the Cauldron stuff at all. I also love Linda McCartney's sausages & burgers, but still not a touch on the Wickenfen cheese & leek.

[Mamacita]

How about some seasoned, grilled portobello mushroom caps? Maybe filled with a bread dressing?

 

Or, mushrooms, baby summer squash, and cherry tomatoes on skewers.

 

Or, for something REALLY different, I have a recipe for a casserole dish that's very popular at the potluck dinners I take it to.

 

I'll post the recipe on the recipe thread...it's called "Special K Loaf"

[Acesare*]

Googled and found a couple of useful links:

 

http://www.vegsoc.org/cordonvert/recipes/barbecues.html

 

http://www.vnv.org.au/VeggoBBQ.htm

 

http://www.recipezaar.com/r/169/139

 

and found this recipe which would be nice for everyone

 

Stuffed Peaches on the Grill

 

4 large peaches

1 cup frozen blueberries

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

 

 

Wash and halve peaches. Remove pit. Place peaches on aluminum foil so that you can fold up the foil and seal the peaches in. Spoon 2 tablespoons of berries into each peach half. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of brown sugar on each and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Fold up foil and seal. Place on hot grill and cook for 15-18 minutes Turn once. Serve right out of the foil.

 

Plus, wrap banana in foil and chuck them on after everything has been cooked and the coals aren't so hot - the foil will protect from meat contamination and they're great served with honey and/or ice cream!

[Sarahrob]

Mmmmmm... love those bananas with chocolate ice-cream sauce and squirty cream. It must be squirty cream though (preferably the kind which bears no relation to real cream and is stuffed full of sweeteners).

So trashy but soooooo gorgeous! :eat:

 

Those peaches sound really nice as well - I love the combination of peach and blueberry but had never thought of cooking them like that.

[Sugar]

There's definitely a lot of food for thought here (eugh! 'scuse the pun, couldn't resist!).

 

Thanks a lot guys - I've got a couple of weeks to think about it, I'll let you know what I decide in the end!

 

(I might have to practice those peaches this weekend though!)

 

A big thanks to Acescare for all your trouble - I'll have a closer look at those websites later!

[Acesare*]

No problem

[Kell]

There was one dessert we always loved whenever we had a BBQ or cook-out (I was in the Guides - LOL!) & that was baked bananas. You split the skin open down the length & slice the banana in half length-ways, still in its skin. Then you shove a Cadbury's Flake into it, wrap it in tin foil & shove it in the embers. You'll need a supply of plastic sppons to eat it with. ANd make sure you buy LOADS because people WILL want seconds - LOL!

[Kell]

Cous-cous with roasted veg & pine nuts is always a nice accompanyment to any salads you decide to serve & it can be prepared the night before & then chilled so it's ready to serve on the day.

[Sugar]

There was one dessert we always loved whenever we had a BBQ or cook-out (I was in the Guides - LOL!) & that was baked bananas. You split the skin open down the length & slice the banana in half length-ways, still in its skin. Then you shove a Cadbury's Flake into it, wrap it in tin foil & shove it in the embers. You'll need a supply of plastic sppons to eat it with. ANd make sure you buy LOADS because people WILL want seconds - LOL!

 

Fond, fond guiding memories!

[Maureen]

I know you are sick of salad, but rice salad or pasta salad work a treat! Veg Kebabs are great served with either as well - or coleslaw. You can even stuff some green peppers - and to serve just re-heat on some foil on the bbq - That's snot using the same surface - but a brand new, clean and shiny foil one!

[Louiseog]

Actually could send you my bean one!! Tin of butter beans, tin of kidney beans, tin of black eye beans and tin of sweetcorn. Mix with oil and vinegar, chilli, red onion (chopped) and what ever else takes your fancy!

[Sugar]

The bean one sounds nice - but I wouldn't want to share the same room as you as you digested it!

[Freewheeling Andy]

On the grill

 

1 - pieces of aubergine (salt and dry them to draw moisture out).

2 - Wide cup mushrooms brushed with olive oil on both sides, when cooking the back put some brie in

3 - veggie skewers, as earlier

4 - corn on the cob

[Sugar]

The Barbeque is on Sunday, and I need to do the shopping tomorrow night. I will be looking over this list again tomrrow and working out which of these great ideas to use! I must say that I feel quite tempted to make it into an all vegetarian bbq, just so that I can use all of these!

 

Thanks again for all your help and I'll let you know how it goes!

[yin/yang]

I was watching saturday kitchen one day and Ken Hom said you can put a wok on the bbq. It could be quite nice to do something like a mini stir fry with a bbq type sauce over it.

[Sugar]

The BBQ went really well. I did Jacket potatoes which I heated on the bbq, a stuffed pepper (with rice, other peppers and tomato), a huge salad with pasta and bought corn on the cob which we were all too full to eat so I've frozen those for next time!

 

Thank you all for your suggestions - I have printed the discussion and put it in our cookery book for future ref!

 

PS - thanks to Kell for reminding me of the banana and chocolate pudding. We did manage to find room for those. Never thought they would work with white chocolate but it really did! Next time I am going to try a marble effect and put in milk and white!