Gingery Grilled Vegetables →

An impressive, easy to make first course or side dish for your main protein of choice, this marinade recipe was in a booklet that came with my first Weber grill over 30 years ago. It pairs beautifully with poultry, meat, fish, tofu, or seitan. I have used it for years and can’t find it online, but it is a 5TastesTable standard for grilled summer vegetables, so I’m sharing it. The five tastes, sweet, salty, sour, umami, and bitter, combine to produce the perfect vegetable marinade for summer grilling. If you love grilled summer squash, zucchini, meaty portobellos, asparagus, and eggplant this marinade is a must try. I haven’t tried it with tofu, but the flavorful marinade should work well with tofu as well as garden veggies.

Gingery Grilled Vegetable Marinade
Makes about a cup; enough for 3 medium squash
Ingredients:

• ½ cup white wine vinegar

• 1/3 cup light soy sauce

• 6 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 2 large cloves garlic crushed/minced

• 2 teaspoons pepper sauce

• black pepper to taste

Use with Portobellos, Zucchini, Summer Squash, Egg Plant, Asparagus, etc. Marinate 30-60 min.

Preparation:

1. Cut your vegetables to the size you want. Use small to medium size squash quartered lengthwise, leave the mushrooms whole, cut eggplant into inch thick pieces.

2. Place the vegetables in a plastic zip-lock bag or flat covered container and cover with the marinade. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes, preferably for an hour.

3. Preheat your grill to medium hot. Once to temperature, oil the grill grates to prevent the vegetables from sticking to the grates.

4. Grill the vegetables about 2 minutes per side until just fork tender. A thick portobello will take a bit longer on the grill than slices of squash

5. You can slice portobellos in half inch slices.
   
   Wine pair: if served as a main course this recipe will pair with a wide range of white and red wines, otherwise choose your wine to pair with your choice of main entree.

Asparagus Prosciutto Bundles with Balsamic Reduction →

serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 pound medium-size asparagus, tough bottom thirds discarded
• 6 slices of Italian prosciutto
• Good olive oil
• half a lemon
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Balsamic reduction

Preparation:

1. Fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon salt, and bring to a boil. If the asparagus are thick, peel them halfway up the stalk with a vegetable peeler.
2. Immerse the asparagus in the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes, until they are crisp-tender.
3. Drain the asparagus and put them immediately into a large bowl of cold water to set the bright green color. Allow to chill for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and pat the asparagus dry.
4. Gather asparagus spears into 6 bundles with the tips together, and wrap a slice of prosciutto securely around the middle of each bundle.
5. Over medium-high heat, heat a griddle or cast iron pan with a tablespoon of olive oil.
6. Place the bundles with the prosciutto seam side down and sear until the prosciutto is turning brown and beginning to turn crispy. (Note: if you can't fit all 6 bundles on your griddle at the same time, cook them in batches of 3.)
7. Turn the bundles over and give each bundle a small squeeze of lemon juice and continue cooking until the second side is slightly brown and turning crispy.
8. Plate the bundles either individually or on a platter and drizzle a little balsamic reduction over each bundle. (see *Note below)
9. Salt and pepper to taste.

*Note: Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:
1. Mix balsamic vinegar with brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar has dissolved.
2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until glaze is reduced by half. At proper reduction, the glaze should coat the back of a spoon.
3. Let cool and pour into a jar with a lid; store in the refrigerator.