Chargrilled Summer Vegetables with a Dhana-Jeera Dressing

Every year, as soon as it is warm enough outside, we fire up the grill. From stir fry on the flat top to burgers on the charcoal grill, there is something about being outside while you prepare a meal that brings me so much joy. I love grilled veggies (especially zucchini and summer squash) and was so excited to find a great base recipe in Meera Sodha's cookbook East: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes from Bangalore to Beijing. Instead of adding Chile powder or flakes to our dressing, I opted for SKORDO's Thai Seasoning to spice things up without a lot of additional heat. 

To say this dish was a hit would be an understatement. Leftovers found their way into breakfast frittatas and omelettes and had friends asking me to text to the recipe to them. Enjoy spicing up your grilled veggie routine with this mainstay recipe!

Makes 6-8 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (canola, safflower, or vegetable will work)
• 1 mounded teaspoon of salt (I used Fleur de Sel)
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 3/4 teaspoon whole coriander, lightly toasted
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Thai Seasoning
• juice from 2 lemons
• 2 zucchinis
• 2 summer squash
• 2/3 pound of broccolini or broccoli rabe with leaves and majority of stem removed
• 1 medium red onion
• 3 corn cobs, dehusked

Directions:

1. First let's make the dressing. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of vegetable oil with salt, ground cumin, ground coriander, whole coriander, Thai Seasoning, and juice from lemons. Set aside.

2. Prepping the veggies comes next! Cut the zucchini and summer squash length wise into 1/4 inch slices. Trim the broccolini or broccoli rabe and break the bigger branches into individual stems. Peel and cut the onions into eighths - if you're grilling, separate the onions into "petals".

3. Put a grill pan on a high flame or in my case, a Blackstone Flat Top Grill, on a medium high heat. 

4. Brush your vegetables all over with oil, dunking the broccolini florets in oil so they're coated. 

5. When your cooking surface is very hot, lay the zucchini and summer squash in a single layer and grill for 2 minutes on each side, until pleasingly striped, then transfer to platter. 

6. I was working with a large cooking surface and cooked my broccoli rabe at the same time, for 2-3 minutes. Pro Tip * To cook the stems without burning the florets, use tongs to press the stems down, adding a splash of water to create some steam. Transfer to platter, on top of zucchini and summer squash, when done.

7. Grill onions for 5 minutes, until soft and blackened, then place on top of the broccoli rabe on your platter.

8. Now for the corn! Using tongs, grill your cob for about 5 minutes, rotating every 30 seconds or so until the kernels start to blister and char. When the corn is cool enough to handle, stand it up in a bowl and cut down the length of the cob, close to the corn, to shuck the kernels.

9. Whisk the dressing with a fork, pour over the top, and gently toss to coat. Serve warm or at room temperature.