Grilled Vegetables for Maximum Summer Whimsy

Try these three easy techniques to get more from your market haul.

If I were to concoct an eau de summer, there are a few must-hit notes: spray-on sunscreen, post-storm petrichor and the sweet smokiness of just-grilled vegetables.

But since I have no more than a small fire escape to call outdoor space, my open-air grilling aspirations are limited by building codes and a vigilant super. I fret not. Using my cast-iron grill pan, I can still achieve those coveted burnished hatch marks when the urge for charred zucchini or eggplant strikes.

Whatever your own grilling setup might be a decked-out outdoor island or a portable camping grill a platter of grilled vegetables can imbue the simplest of dinners with the sort of summer whimsy usually reserved for long beach days.

While you could just throw some lightly oiled produce on the grill and call it a day, Im always striving to maximize my levels of summer whimsy. Here are a few techniques for doing just that.

Skewers, baby! Do things just taste better when eaten off a stick? I think thats certain of eggplant and zucchini. Even cheese! If you use wooden skewers, just be sure to soak them in water for 30 minutes before they hit the grates. For even cooking, cut your vegetables into uniform pieces and group ingredients by texture and thickness, rather than stacking a rainbow of vegetables that will finish at different rates.