Grilling a la plancha (“on the griddle” in Spanish) is an easy upgrade to your charcoal kettle grill or gas grill. A simple setup – a carbon steel plancha over a grill grate opens up a world of possibilities. Pieces of meat won't burn or dry out, vegetables won't fall through the grill grate, and hard-to-spot things like citrus fruits and avocados can become charred and caramelized. Take a look at these plancha grill recipes that are among the most popular for summer.
Plancha Grill Recipes: Mediterranean vegetables with pesto dressing
Ingredients for the grilled Mediterranean vegetables:
- 2 eggplants
- 2 Zucchini
- 4 red peppers
- Light olive oil for brushing
- a few pinches of salt
- A few basil leaves to garnish
Ingredients for the pesto dressing:
- 35 g roasted hazelnuts, whole
- 50ml high quality olive oil
- A large handful of fresh basil leaves
- ½ teaspoon rock salt
- 1 small garlic clove, peeled
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Allergens: nuts (hazelnuts)
Prepare vegetables properly
- Cut the eggplant into 1 cm thick slices and the zucchini into ½ cm thick slices. Place all the slices in a colander and sprinkle a handful or two of salt over the slices. Make sure that all slices are evenly covered - this will remove a lot of the bitter juice from the zucchini and eggplant. Leave the zucchini and eggplants for half an hour, then rinse the salt thoroughly.
- Light the grill and wait for the flames to rise up the grate. Grill the whole peppers over the flames so that the skin is burned and blistered all around - there should be no red bits left on the outside; it should be completely black! Once they do, remove them from the grill, seal them in a plastic bag and let them sweat for about 10 minutes.
- Once you remove the peppers, allow the flames to subside and place your plancha on the grill to heat through and cook your vegetables. Heat the grill to 100-150°C - only a low temperature is required for grilled Mediterranean vegetables.
- Remove the red peppers from the bag and peel off the blackened skin - it should come off easily. Halve the peppers and deseed them for plancha grilling.
- Lightly brush the vegetable slices with olive oil and then place them on the plancha. Allow the eggplants to cook for 5-10 minutes on each side. Cook the zucchini and red pepper for 3-5 minutes on each side.
Serve your grilled Mediterranean vegetables with a drizzle of pesto dressing and garnish with a few basil leaves. We hope you enjoyed this plancha grill recipe
Prepare the pesto dressing
Put all the pesto ingredients together in a blender and just puree it! Taste and add salt, lemon, basil, nuts or garlic if necessary. It is almost impossible to find a safe pesto recipe because the basil leaves vary in strength and therefore there is no perfect ratio. Just keep trying and adjusting until the pesto is perfect! Bon appetit!
Plancha Grill Recipes: Sweet Potato Koftas
Ingredients:
- 1 large sweet potato (or a few smaller ones), peeled and cut into pieces
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 110 g breadcrumbs, preferably from stale bread
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- A few tablespoons of vegetable oil
Allergens:Gluten (breadcrumbs – make breadcrumbs from gluten-free bread so this recipe is gluten-free).
- First, cook the sweet potatoes in a medium-sized pot. Cook until soft and mushy, about 20 minutes.
- Light your grill and heat it to around 180°C, or until the charcoal is hot. Lay your planchaon the grilland let it heat up.
- Drain the sweet potatoes, trying to shake off as much excess water as possible. Place them in a large bowl and puree them. Now add all the other ingredients and mix the whole thing with a spoon.
- When everything is well mixed, take a handful of mashed sweet potatoes and shape it into a short, chunky sausage. Repeat the process with the rest of the mixture and place the sweet potato koftas on the plancha of your grill. Cook for 5-10 minutes on each side until the koftas are golden brown. Keep turning them over so they don't burn!
- Once cooked, remove the koftas from the grill; Enjoy your sweet potato koftas in a pita bread with plenty of lettuce and some vegan (or not) garlic mayonnaise - if you like it spicy, you can spice it up with some Sriracha or another hot chili sauce!
More delicious dishes with sweet potatoescan be found here!
Charred Chili Lime Beans
Beans and peas rarely find their way onto the grill - the small, slippery pods would fall through the grill grates or cook unevenly. Neither happens with the plancha - this flat metal plate gives the pea pods a touch of charm that matches their natural sweetness. Simply put it on, stir it and take it out again a few minutes later.
- In a large bowl, toss the beans with the oil. Add the beans to the plancha and arrange them in a single layer. Cook the beans on one side until charred, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a long-handled spatula, turn the beans. Cook until tender, 1 to 3 minutes, depending on the type and freshness of the beans.
- Using a spatula, transfer cooked beans to a bowl; Add chili pepper salt. Toss to coat the beans and serve immediately.
We hope you enjoy these three planchaGrill recipesliked it!
Which foods should definitely not be put on the grill?find out here!
