straight up veg

I hope you’re keeping well in these strangest of times.

If you’re reading this as a member of the “essential service” or healthcare industry, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you are doing.

I am personally in self-quarantine. During this time, I have found that the best way to pass time and lift spirits has been through cooking new recipes. For this one, I took inspiration from a colleague who recently went to Argentina. I immediately thought of Chimichurri – an Argentine parsley/garlic sauce that is usually paired with steak, though it is incredible on vegetables. I chose to pair my chimichurri with pan grilled radicchio and cauliflower “steaks”.

**Feel free to click on the red links for photo references**

GRILLED VEG INGREDIENTS

• 1 cauliflower, trimmed and cut into 1.5″ slices
• 1 radicchio, quartered
• 1 lime, juiced & zested
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp chipotle powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil

CHIMICHURRI INGREDIENTS

• 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley
• 2 tbsp (or a couple sprigs) fresh oregano
• 4 fresh basil leaves
• 6 chives
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp coarse salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1 red chili pepper, very thinly sliced (I used korean chili pepper)

1. In a bowl, mix together salt, sugar, chipotle powder, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, lime zest, lime juice and 1/2 tbsp olive oil. The mixture be a thin paste. If it is too thick, add a bit more olive oil.
2. Using your hands or a spoon, spread the paste evenly on the vegetables.
3. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil on a grill pan on medium high heat. Add vegetables. Let the vegetables grill for approx. 5 minutes on each side. Don’t fuss with the vegetables too much – let them sit just checking every couple minutes carefully to ensure there is no burning.
4. While the vegetables are cooking, make your sauce. I use a mortar & pestle as it brings out much more flavour. Begin with adding the coarse salt, sugar and garlic. Pound until the garlic becomes a paste. Then add herbs and grind into a paste. At the end add 1/4 cup olive oil and 3 tbsp red wine vinegar and grind a bit more. At the very end, add as much red chili as desired. The mixture should remain a bit coarse/chunky. (If you don’t have a mortar & pestle, feel free to chop ingredients with a knife and mix together in a bowl).
5. Once the vegetables are cooked, transfer to a plate and drizzle the chimichurri on top. Enjoy 🙂

*Underneath are just some boiled, seasoned navy beans for protein 🙂