One thing I like doing when we grill is to use the same heat of the Big Green Egg to make sides to accompany whatever meat / fish we are having. Especially in the summer any excuse not turn on the stove / oven is awesome in my book. Recently we’ve made super easy roasted peppers and a grilled lemon, mint zucchini salad.
Grilled Bell Peppers
I cut the peppers into 1 to 2.5 inch strips. The goal here is to get flat-ish pieces for even grilling. Then lightly brush them with olive oil and sprinkle a little salt and pepper on each side. Place the bell pepper strips skin down on the hot Big Green Egg grate. Depending on how hot your Egg is and how brown you like your bell peppers, grill them 3 – 8 minutes before flipping them over and roasting them for about half of that time. Super easy and super tasty!
Grilled Lemon Mint Zucchini Salad
You’re going to start with the hardest part of this: slicing zucchinis lengthwise. Honestly, my first time making this was challenging. Note to self: Pick up a mandoline slicer before making this again. But even with my awkwardly knife-sliced zucchini ribbons this Big Green Egg side turned out tasting amazing! Lightly brush the slices with olive oil and place them on the hot grill. After a minute or two, carefully turn them over for another minute or two. Depending on how thick your slices are and how hot your grill is you may want to repeat the procedure.
Once all zucchini slices are grilled to your liking, set them aside and prepare the dressing: Mix lemon juice, a little bit of olive oil, a crushed garlic clove, salt and pepper, and a handful of chopped mint leaves. I have a pot of mint on our deck that has been growing very well. It is an awesome herb but make sure you plant it in a pot as it is extremely invasive and will take over your herb garden if you let it. Pour the dressing over the grilled zucchini and buon appetito! Enjoy your meal!
This grilled zucchini salad recipe came from Pippa Cuthbert and Lindsay Cameron Wilson’s book “Grill!”
