Grilled Campfire Vegetables Tweetcipe

Recently I had the pleasure of talking with a river guide as we hiked through a slot canyon in the Big Bend Ranch State Park. As is my habit, I asked Erica about the food that is served on the overnight rafting trips, particularly the trips that are packaged with a gourmet chef and wine tastings. She described a wonderful array of food that is prepared raw, on the grill and in the cast iron dutch oven. She also mentioned that sometimes the vegetables get short shrift, almost as if they were an afterthought, giving way to the wine, cheese, bread, meat and dessert. Just for fun I put the following grill-friendly vegetable recipes together for her, in case they’d like to jazz up the vegetables, too.

Carrots and Asparagus

Carrots (cut on the bias) and asparagus spears are great travel-friendly vegetables and lend themselves to quick and easy campfire recipes. Here are a few ideas (all ingredient amounts should be to your personal taste):

Wrap cleaned asparagus and/or carrots in foil with butter, salt, pepper, and the zest of an organic lemon. Set the foil packet over the fire to roast – about 15 minutes for asparagus and 25 minutes for carrots. Alternative: Substitute a little brown sugar for the lemon zest.

Asparagus only: Using either of the above recipes, set the packet over the fire just until the butter has melted – about 2 minutes. Turn the packet upside down with tongs to spread the butter over the asparagus. Now open the packet carefully (reserve the butter mixture in the packet) and grill the spears about 90 seconds. Turn the asparagus and grill for another 90 seconds. Place the asparagus spears back in the packet, seal it, set aside and the asparagus will finish cooking. If the spears are thick, then set the packet over indirect heat for 6-8 minutes.

Asparagus appetizer or side dish:

Wrap a single spear (for appetizer) or several spears (for a side dish) in a thin slice of prosciutto. Sprinkle with pepper and a favorite herb (fresh thyme, herbs de provence, smoked paprika) and seal them in a foil packet. Set the foil packet over the fire to roast for about 15 minutes.

Optional garlic dipping sauce that can be made in advance and kept cool:

2 cups mayonnaise
1 1/3 cup plain yogurt
6 cloves garlic, pressed
4 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 T fresh dill, minced

Grilled Radicchio & Scallions

Cut a head of radicchio into quarters, keeping core intact. Drizzle olive oil on radicchio and whole scallions. Grill radicchio for 2 minutes on each cut side. Grill whole scallions until marked. Slice radicchio into thick shreds, cut scallions into large pieces and mix. Sprinkle salad with balsamic vinegar, more good quality olive oil, salt and pepper.