Recipe for Grilled Zucchini at Life's Ambrosia

During the summer grilling season, many of us enjoy burgers, hot dogs, ribs and chicken slathered in BBQ sauce. We also get those yummy salads, you know the ones loaded with mayo. Each one of these dishes holds a spot on the list of things I love but my hips hate. But despite the somewhat questionable nutritional value of these dishes, I still eat them. To counter the guilt from eating these, I like to throw some grilled veggies into the mix. And since it is August, zucchini is the perfect choice.

I love zucchini. I love it in pastas, stir fries, salads and raw on veggie trays. It is also quite scrumptious when it is lightly seasoned with your favorite seasoning blend, drizzled with olive oil and grilled. It softens and gets a charred flavor that I love.

For this recipe, I used Salad Elegance as my seasoning blend. I had never tried it before but while I was walking in the grocery store last week I happened to over hear some guy say to his shopping buddy “You’ve never tried this? You have to get it. It is good on everything.” Me, being the one who is always on search for a good seasoning blend to use in a pinch, decided to pick up the small bottle since it was on sale. My favorite part about it was the sesame seeds. They add a nice nutty flavor. The paprika also adds a nice color to the zucchini. With that said, you could use any seasoning blend that you like. Lemon pepper would be lovely. Or to kick it up a bit try a cajun or creole seasoning blend.

Serves 4 (as a side dish)

You will need:

2 zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices
2-3 teaspoons Salad Elegance seasoning blend
olive oil for drizzling

Preheat your grill to medium heat.
Sprinkle seasoning blend over sliced zucchini. Drizzle with olive oil.
Place prepared zucchini on the grill. Cook 5-8 minutes or until grill marks are darkened and zucchini starts to brown. (Note: To get the perfect grill marks, don’t move the zucchini around too much.)
Serve.

I am happy to say that I actually grilled these and not Ryan. It was my first attempt at grilling veggies and while I did lose one poor little guy between the grates, I like to think of this as a deliciously successful experiment. But Ryan has no need to worry, I have no plans on taking over permanently, I wasn’t too keen on smelling like BBQ the rest of the night.

Enjoy!

Responses to "Grilled Zucchini"

“
Mm, mm, mm. That looks delicious. Loving those grill marks!
”

- Michelle

“
I haven’t seen Salad Elegance on the shelves here in Australia, but the sound of sesame flavour with zucchini is interesting. Grilled zucchini gets a great flavour, almost like fried potato but with a little bit of sweetness (or something? I’m having trouble describing it…), sesame would go nicely!
”

- Tim

“
During my first quarter in culinary school, for a side dish, I sliced disks of zucchini, eggplant and tomato, tossed them w/ olive oil and a wee bit of salt, grilled them, then layered them between thin disks of fresh mozzarella and fresh basil, then grated fresh black pepper on top. It was the yummiest veggie dish I’d had (up to that point) and since then, I am addicted to grilled zucchini!!!
”

- Niki

“
This looks awesome. I love to grill veggies and will definately get some zucchini on the grill now… Thanks for the good idea, it really is a good way to tame the fatty BBQ foods!!!
”

- Jaclyn