On our usual run to the Saturday Strathcona's Market here in Edmonton, we stumbled upon some very funny and most unusual vegetable it looked like a flower but plump and so bright yellow in color. I had to ask the stand person what they where and she replied that they were called pattypan squash. Somewhat like a yellow squash or zucchini. I have called them everything from patty pants, to pansy pants, and even fancy pans. Nicoletta and I have had a few laughs at my difficulty to remember the name of these cute veggies. So what to do with these squash zucchini or what ever you may want to call them.
My thought was to do a nice grilled vegetable plate, the pattypans with some zucchini, fresh baby carrots and onions from my parents' lovely garden, along with garlic, herbs such as fresh parsley, fresh basil, fresh rosemary, and fresh oregano, from our box garden in our back yard. A nice olive oil to pull this dish together, along with some fresh cracked sea salt, and black pepper. Yum lets get these vegetables grilled.
Marinating beautifully for a while, you can smell the aromatics of fresh herbs and onions. These looked so good that I even tried one raw and it tasted really good. In a nice cast iron pan and a hot grill, these amazing grilled vegetables just scream goodness. I love the smell of food cooking on the barbecue all that caramelization that occurs between the onions and garlic. The oil infusing with the flavors of the fresh herbs and those sparks of salt crystals and fresh cracked pepper, giving so much taste to the grilled vegetables. A bit of char to remind us of back yard cooking, grilling, and summer.
The onions and carrots so sweet and the pattypans and zucchini tender and juicy. glistening with the fresh organic extra virgin olive oil, makes this a great contorno in Italian or what we call a side dish in Canada, great with a grilled fish or steak, some nice shrimp, but even on its own it is good with some rustic bread. I miss the nice crusty rustic bread in Italy, it has so much texture and taste, and usually you never see an Italian table without it. You can say that it is a staple in Italy. So make this dish one of your side dishes or even a beautiful picnic lunch, whatever your heart desires, always a hit grilled vegetables but with these patty pans it makes it most interesting and tasteful. So there you have it Grilled Garden Vegetables.
Enjoy!
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Grilled Garden Vegetables
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 side servings 1x
Ingredients
- 10 patty pan squash washed and halved
- 1 small zucchini washed and chopped
- 1 cup small fresh baby carots
- 1 small walla walla onion sliced julienne style
- 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped basil
- 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped oregano
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
- 2 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon crushed sea salt
- 1 teaspoon of fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- In a bowl toss in pattypans, zucchini, carrots, onions, parsley, basil, oregano, and rosemary.
- Drizzle olive oil over vegetables.
- Squeeze a bit of lemon juice on top.
- Add salt and pepper, and toss well.
- Pre-heat barbecue to a nice 350-400 F.
- Place a cast iron on grill heat for about 1-2 minutes.
- Toss vegetables in pan and stir frequently so they do not burn.
- Cook till vegetables are cooked to your liking (some like them crunchy, some more cooked).
- Plate and sprinkle with some fresh chopped parsley and serve.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
When I am not cooking, I enjoy playing musical instruments, singing, writing. I have learned over the years to live in gratitude and enjoy the moment.
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