Barbecued Vegetables

Its not just meat that you can cook on a barbecue - check out these great recipes for vegetable based dishes.

Ratatouille
25g butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 medium aubergines, thinly sliced
1 large green pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 large red pepper, desseeded and chopped
5 medium courgettes, sliced
1 can tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/ teaspoons black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

In a large flameproof casserole dish, melt the butter and oil over a moderate heat. Add the onions and garlic and fry, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the aubergine slices, green and red peppers and courgette slices to the casserole. Fry for 4-5 minutes, shaking the casserole frequently. Add the tomatoes with the can juice, the basil, rosemary, bay leaves and seasoning. Sprinkle over the parsley. bring to the boil then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 40-45 minutes until the vegetables are cooked. Remove from the casserole and serve at once as a vegetable dish, as a basting sauce for meat and poultry or as a starter.

Stuffed grilled mushrooms

24 large open cap mushrooms

salad oil

2 cloves garlic (optional)

1 medium onion

4 tablespoons chopped parsley

salt and black pepper

Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and set aside. Wipe the caps to clean then brush with salad and oil and grill, over medium to low coals, for about 15 minutes. meanwhile, chop the garlic and onion until fine and mix with the parsley and seasoning to taste. When the mushrooms are almost cooked, put a spoonful of the mixture in the centre of each mushroom cap and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Check out our barbecues on Alfresia. Alfresia also sells a range of garden furniture and patio furniture.