Grills Gone Vegan - a review and a recipe for Portobello Bruschetta

I'm slightly ashamed to admit that, until recently, I didn't own a single exclusively vegan cookbook. To put this misdemeanor to rights, I was only too happy to take a look at the recently published Grills Gone Vegan by fellow blogger (and cookbook writer) Tamasin Noyes, to get some new ideas on vegan grilled/barbecued foods to add to my repertoire...and my blog!

The book contains a good range of vegan dishes including snacks, main courses and desserts. Each recipe give an option for indoor or outdoor/bbq cooking, so you can still recreate your favourite dishes on the George Foreman grill or using a griddle pan, if the weather isn't great (do note that grilling in the US refers to barbecuing or griddle cooking, not cooking under the grill - which they call broiling!)

On first inspection, some of the recipes looked a little scary, as many of them contain ingredients which I am unfamiliar with such as seitan, liquid smoke and tempeh, however, there is a useful glossary in the book which describes each of the more unusual ingredients, so I'm sure that the recipes could be adapted to use ingredients more readily available in the UK, if you don't have access to a big health food store.

As some of the recipes take quite a while to prepare, I would recommend this book for more experienced vegetarian and vegan cooks, rather than newbies! 

Here's one of the more simple recipes which I tried out from the book, and the whole family enjoyed:

Portobello Bruschetta*

Serves 6

• 12 oz/300g portobello mushrooms, stemmed and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (I used chestnut mushrooms)
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rings
• 2 shallots, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 2 teaspoons minced capers
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme, or 1/4 teaspoon dried
• Pinch ground cayenne
• Pinch ground pepper
• 12 slices French bread, about 1 inch thick
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Outdoor Method
Cover a small section of an outdoor grill with foil and lightly mist it with cooking spray. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Lightly oil the uncovered section of the grill with canola oil. Put the mushrooms on the grill and cook until marked, about 5 minutes. Turn over and cook until the other side is marked, about 5 minutes.

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Transfer the mushrooms to a medium bowl. Put the bell peppers on the grill. Put the shallots on the foil. Close the grill and cook until the bell peppers are marked on the bottom, 4 to 5 minutes.

Chop the (cooked) bell peppers and shallots. Put the mushrooms, bell peppers, shallots, capers, vinegar, thyme, cayenne, and pepper in a medium bowl and stir gently to combine.

Put the bread on the grill and cook until marked on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and top evenly with the mushroom mixture. Drizzle with the oil and serve.

Indoor Method
Preheat a grill (griddle) pan or (George Foreman-style) electric grill to medium-high heat. Lightly oil the grill with canola oil. Put the mushrooms on the grill pan or grill and cook until marked, about 8 minutes. Turn over and cook until the other side is marked, about 6 minutes. (If using an electric grill, keep it open for all the vegetables and cook a few minutes longer if necessary.) 

Put the bell peppers and shallots on the grill pan or grill and cook until marked on the bottom, about 7 minutes. Proceed with the recipe as directed above.

*Recipe and book image reproduced with kind permission from Grills Gone Vegan published by www.bookpubco.com.

Integrity Statement
I received a copy of Grills Gone Vegan to review . I did not receive payment, and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family.

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