A day in the life of a barbecue lover, how would it look like. I definitely see many delicious dishes from the grill – even if this seems surprising for some of you :-). When barbecue lovers go to bed at night there is only one thing they can think of: how can I sleep fast enough so a new day begins and therefore breakfast! As you can probably imagine, barbecue lovers LOVE to eat. But not just anything, because everything they eat must have touched the grill first! This isn’t complicated for them at all, because they are very creative and don’t know a „you can’t put this on the grill“ – everything is possible!
That’s why today I’m very happy to spoil you with a day full of barbecue food in cooperation with MIGROS*. The kitchen definitely remains cold, we will eat outside and the grill will run hot – this is how it should be. True barbecue lovers even prepare their breakfast on the grill. This is not only easy and quick but very healthy and delicious:
Grilled grapefruit
Ingredients:
– 3 grapefruits
– 6 tsp coconut blossom sugar (or brown sugar)
– coconut yogurt
– chia pudding
– berries
– cereal
– date sirup (from Alnatura)
Method:
1. Preheat the grill at medium heat
2. Cut the grapefruits in half, cut into the fruit flesh and sprinkle the halves with 1 tsp of sugar each
3. Place them on the grill with the open side on top (or into a grill tray or pan)
4. Grill for 5-10 minutes until the grapefruit is caramelized
5. Turn the halves around and grill them for 5 more minutes
6. Decorate them with coconut yogurt, chia pudding, fresh berries, sirup and cereal on top and serve them warm
We love grapefruits when they are grilled, you have to give it a try – so tasty. It’s best if you cut into the sides and the middle so you can easier eat the inside once it’s grilled. You can get creative with the toppings, whatever you like to eat. Barbecue lovers are very creative and the whole family loves to eat with them.
After satisfying the first hunger, a barbecue lover still craves for some bread and that’s of course from the grill – how could it be any different. And here it is:
Grilled pita bread
Ingredients:
– 200 ml (1 cup) water
– 100 ml (1/2 cup) oat milk (or any other plant based milk)
– 20 gr yeast
– 1 Tbsp brown sugar
– 470 gr (3 ½ cups) spelt flour
– 2 tsp salt
– 3 Tbsp olive oil
Method:
1. Warm up water, oat milk, yeast and sugar until it’s dissolved
2. Add flour and knead well
3. Add salt and olive oil and knead well for 5 more minutes
4. Place dough into a bowl, cover it up with a kitchen towel and let dough rise for 1–2 hours
5. Preheat the grill
6. Knead the dough again on a well-floured work surface until it‘s no longer sticky
7. Cut the dough into pieces (6-10 depending on the size of the pita breads)
8. Slightly coat them with oil and place them on the grill – grill on both sides for approx. 3-5 minutes until they are crispy
9. According to desire and mood enjoy them sweet or savory
We enjoyed sweet pita breads, still warm right off the grill, simply delicious. One version with chocolate lupine cream from Migros, bananas and berries and the other version with coconut yogurt, fresh blackberry jam from my mother and berries. Both versions are heavenly and the hungry little mouths couldn’t wait for a second round from the grill. We had some more savory pita breads that evening – but more of that later.
Obviously barbecue lovers don’t spend all day in front of the grill, but they prefer to be outside during summer time – swimming, cycling or simply enjoying the sun. And all these things stimulate their appetite, which is why it’s time to heat up the grill again for lunch. After this delicious breakfast it is now a salad, my version of:
Bread salad (panzanella) with grilled zucchini
Ingredients:
– 1/2 ciabatta bread
– 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
– 50 gr (1/2 cup) pine nuts
– 1 red onion
– 500 gr (18 oz.) date tomatoes
– 1/2 bundle fresh basil
– 1 zucchini
– 1 hand full of rocket salad
– salt & pepper
Dressing:
– 7 Tbsp olive oil
– 2 Tbsp lemon juice
– 3 Tbsp white balsamico vinegar
– 1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
– salt & pepper
Method:
1. Dice the ciabatta (best to use 1 day old ciabatta but fresh is fine as well) approx. 2×2 cm (1x1 inch) and mix with 2 Tbsp olive oil
2. Preheat the grill
3. Cut the tomatoes in halves, slice the onions finely and mix both in a bowl adding salt and pepper
4. Slice the zucchini, mix them with 1 Tbsp olive oil, add salt and pepper and place them on the grill until they are well done
5. Grill the bread in a tray or pan until it’s brown and crispy
6. Add all dressing ingredients into a glas and shake well
7. Wash the basil and slice it
8. Put the bread in a bowl and mix with tomatoes, basil and zucchini. Add the dressing and let it rest for up to 30 minutes depending on how soft you like your bread
9. Roast the pine nuts in a pan without using extra oil
9. Roughly slice the rocket salad, sprinkle it on top of the salad along with the pine nuts and serve it.
This salad with aromatic tomatoes, bread and zucchini from the grill tastes very delicious – simply like pure summer! On top it’s a great opportunity to use up ciabatta bread from the day before. But it also works with fresh ciabatta – I like to use the stone oven ciabatta from Migros. We usually don’t like to let it rest for too long, rather 10-15 minutes because we prefer the bread to still be a little crispy.
After this yummy lunch from the grill the barbecue lover is strengthened for the rest of the day and gives the grill a break – but only until the evening :-). By the way we have a gas barbecue. I know this is a religion of its own and everyone prefers their own version. In the end it doesn’t really matter whether it’s electric, charcoal or gas, as long as it’s fun and you’re open for experiments. It’s incredible how versatile food from the grill can be.
For instance for dinner – isn’t that a great transition? When the day draws to a close, the barbecue lovers turn to the grill again as they start missing it after the long lunch break. We will use the pita breads again, that we covered sweet for breakfast. Now we will prepare ourselves:
Pita sandwich with grilled sweet potatoe, avocado-wasabi-guacamole, crispy vegetable triangles - and yummy corncobs
Ingredients:
– pita bread (recipe above or purchased)
– 1 sweet potato
– Cornatur Crispy Vegetable Triangle
– 1 tomato
– rocket salad
– cress
Marinade:
– 2 garlic cloves
– juice and zest of 1 lemon
– 1 cm (1/2 inch) fresh ginger
– 3 Tbsp maple sirup
– 2 Tbsp soy sauce
– 2 Tbsp olive oil
Guacamole:
– 1 avocado
– 2 Tbsp lemon juice
– 1 tomatoe
– 2-3 Tbsp Wasabi nuts (Migros Selection)
– salt
– pepper
– fresh cilantro
2-3 corncobs
Method:
1. Wash the sweet potato and slice it (1/4 inch thick)
2. Add all ingredients for the marinade into a bowl and blend well
3. Preheat the grill
4. Mix the sweet potato slices with 4-5 Tbsp of the marinade and place them on the grill, grill them until they are well done and crispy. If you like you can coat them with marinade a 2nd time
5. Remove the avocado stone and mash the flesh with a fork, dice the tomatoes and chop the wasabi nuts. Season with lemon juice, salt, pepper and fresh cilantro and mix in the nuts at the end
6. Blanch the corncobs in salt water for approx. 20-30 minutes, then coat them with marinade and place them on the grill until they are well done and slightly brown
7. Place thee Cornatur Crispy Vegetable Triangle on the grill, 5 minutes for each side (if you like you can coat them with oil so they don’t stick to the grill)
8. Once the sweet potato slices are well done, shortly put the bread on the grill, cut it and fill it with guacamole, grilled sweet potatoes, vegetable triangles, fresh tomatoes, rocket salad and cress
9. Sprinkle some fresh cilantro (or cress) and chopped wasabi nuts on the corncobs and serve them with the pita sandwich
What a yummy sandwich – you have to give this version with wasabi nuts a try. So delicious and don’t worry, it isn’t too hot. You can also use salted pistachios as an alternative for kids or barbecue lovers that don’t like it hot. So are you full and happy? We are but there is still room for some dessert from the grill, don’t you think? What would the end of the day in the life of a barbecue lover be without it – it’s something quick and light:
Grilled nectarines with vanilla ice-cream
Ingredients:
– 1 nectarine
– 2 Tsp brown sugar (or coconut blossom sugar)
– 1-2 leafstalks fresh mint
– 1 Tbsp lemon juicet
– vegan vanilla ice-cream
– date sirup
Method:
1. Cut the nectarine in half and remove the stone
2. Finely chop the fresh mint and mix with sugar and lemon juice – place on top of the nectarine
3. Preheat the grill
4. Place the nectarine halves face down on the grill and grill for approx. 5-10 minutes until they are caramelized
5. Turn them around and grill for 2-3 more minutes
6. Serve with one scoop of vanilla ice-cream and date sirup
I love the combination of warm fruits and ice-cream very much. Of course you can vary by grilling peaches, apricots or even berries, there are no limits set to your imagination. Okay, now everyone is full and happy!
The life of a barbecue lover is simply wonderful and I hope I was able to inspire you to try some new exciting and versatile barbecue ideas. Everything a barbecue lover needs and what I have used, you can find at Migros! Of course you don’t have to make this all in one day but I’m sure your family and friends will be astonished when you tell them in the morning that all meals will be barbecued today. As usual I’m very happy if you try my recipes and tag me in your pictures!
Have a beautiful rest of the summer you wonderful barbecue lovers!
Love, Verena
And here are all the dishes again:
*This blogpost was created in cooperation with Migros - but reflects my own opinion and the recipes are my own.
This post is also available in: deutsch
