My family is lucky enough to enjoy a CSA (community supported agriculture) membership. For us, that means that every other week brings about a bushel of fresh, local produce to our table. In the spring, that means tender asparagus and overwintered spinach. But summer brings us bumper crops of everything from onions and taters to tomatoes and peppers. Stir-fries happen a lot when the vegetables are this fresh and amazing. But what do I do when it gets really hot? I grill-fry! See:
The key to being able to make something like this happen is two-fold: 1) prepping and pre-oiling and seasoning the ingredients, and 2) having a nifty grill pan on hand to make that frying part happen. I got mine at a discount store and it's worked beautifully for years. Save your money for a good grill and your favorite ingredients. These grill pans shouldn't run you more than $20 at the high end! You'll also want to make sure you have a long-handled metal spatula for flipping the mixture regularly and probably some heavy-duty pot holders to keep your fingers from becoming cooked, too!
You can also prepare the sausage and vegetables in advance of cooking so that all you need to do when it's dinner time is prep the grill and toss it on. This can be particularly helpful when you are looking for an even faster dinner or, I don't know, a beach cookout dish or something for tail-gating. Trust me, those days will quickly be upon us!
As is often the case, the particular selection of vegetables and even sausage are up for interpretation. Pick what you have on hand and want on your plate. You can even toss in tofu if you are looking for a vegan option. Have some corn on the cob? Break it into smaller pieces and toss that into the mix! Like spicy food? Use hot peppers instead of sweet ones. Heck, you could even add some sliced peaches near the end of cooking to give your mix some sweetness. Get creative and stay cool!
Sausage & Veggie Mixed Grill
- 6-10 mini-sweet peppers, sliced in half (you can leave the stems on them, if you'd like)
- 1/2 large red onion, sliced into thin wedges
- 4-5 small red potatoes (I used sunchokes from our CSA box — use 'em if you got 'em!), cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 small zucchini, sliced into small coins
- 1 lb. smoked sausage of your choice, sliced into small coins
- 5 T. olive oil — not extra virgin!
- 1 T. dried oregano
- 1 T. dried parsley flakes
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Prepare your grill for direct cooking over medium heat.
While your grill heats up, toss all of the ingredients together in a large bowl, making sure to evenly coat the vegetables and sausage with oil and seasonings. When the grill is ready, pour the sausage and vegetables into a grill pan and turn every 3 minutes with a spatula until your dish reaches your desired level of char. I let my mixture cook for about 20 minutes.
- Yields: 3-4 servings
- Preparation Time: 30 minutes