Grilled Market Veggies & Baked Sweets
These sides work perfectly with most mains. The timing works out so well if you do it in the right order! The sweet potatoes take the longest to cook and will be the first on and last off so plan accordingly. You’ll be rewarded with slightly smoky, concentrated sweetness when you crack them open and slather with salted butter and brown sugar. This is a time for an adirondack chair in the backyard with a cup of lemonade while the meal cooks itself on the grill. If you can read a bit or watch the leaves swaying in the summer breeze all the better. Let the kids run through the sprinkler while you cook and eat outside. It’s summer after all, a time for breaking some rules and leaning into spontaneous moments a bit ;)
Ingredients:
summer produce like zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, and summer squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 small sweet potatoes
(salted butter and brown sugar for serving)
Directions:
The first step here is preheating the grill to medium heat. Right when you turn the grill on, place the small sweet potatoes towards the back of the grill grates. They will be cooking for about 35 minutes so it’s best that they are out of the way. If you’re also making the chops, you’ll want them out of the fridge at this point coming to room temp. Once the sweet potatoes are on, come back inside and slice your veggies into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. Toss them with the olive oil. Wait to season them right before you put them on the grill otherwise the salt will draw the juices out and make them watery. If you’re cooking chops, throw those on the grill once it’s up to medium heat. When they are finished, put them on a plate to rest and pop the veggies on the grill right after seasoning them with salt and pepper. Flip them once you see grill marks on the bottom. Try to keep the lid closed throughout cooking so the sweet potatoes will be done on time! Cook the veg until grill marks form on the other side as well. At this point, your sweet potatoes should be done cooking. Put it all on a platter and the perfect summer dinner is served!
