Grilled Vegetable Stack with Homemade Lemon Hummus

Smoky grilled vegetable stack with homemade lemon hummus.

Beneath the hot sapphire skies of an all too brief July, backyard grills are smokin' as savvy cooks keep the kitchen cool by stoking briquettes al fresco. Cooking and dining in the open air- even if your outdoorsy territory is merely a closet-sized urban balcony hanging off a sun-kissed wall of brick and mortar- is an enduring, classic, summer pleasure.

The smoky sweet heat of barbeque spices, chipotle, and hickory laced sauces slathered on everything from burgers to shrimp and meaty portobellos is intoxicating- and hunger pang inducing.

So to further feed the flames of desire, I'm sharing one of my all time favorite grilling recipes.

And this one's for the gluten-free vegan crowd.

Over the weekend we grilled some of our favorite farm fresh veggies and made these rustic grilled vegetable stacks layered with a light and creamy homemade lemon hummus.

Deliciousness was the word.


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Grilled Veggie Quinoa Salad

The jewels of summer- grilled vegetables- make a gorgeous quinoa salad.

Everyone loves a good old fashioned barbecue. The easy conviviality of a family backyard picnic. The smoky summer scent of charred goodies grilling. Lemonade chilling. Badminton birdies sailing. The crack of croquet balls. The last pink of June daylight. Punching lids on firefly jars. It's the stuff of a midsummer night's dream.

But if you need to be on a gluten-free diet- or if you happen to be vegan- or allergic to wheat- barbecues can be a tad less than convivial. Those mysterious grilling sauces and marinades (so often containing wheat-laced soy sauce). Those gluten-rich fluffy hot dog buns. All those meaty manly burgers and boiled egg dotted salads.

What's a gluten-free vegan to do?

Munch on lettuce?

Don't worry, Babycakes. I've got your back.

How about a light and summery quinoa salad with grilled corn, fresh parsley, lemon, and chopped mint topped with smoky grilled veggies- velvety red onion, sliced zucchini, charred bell peppers, portobello mushrooms, tender-crisp asparagus and butter soft eggplant?

A veritable vegan feast.

Gluten-free.

Fabulous.

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Mun Ping (Grilled Sweet Cassava ball)

Grilled Sweet Cassava ball or Mun Ping. Cassava or tapioca is a perennial plant widely grown in many tropical countries, including Thailand as one of the most important commercial crops.  We do use a lot of tapioca in our cooking, baking and dessert making. In Asian culture, cassava root is often consumed fresh, either boiled in chunks to be eaten with sugar, or made into all sorts of steamed cakes and puddings. Tapioca seed is also a common ingredient for dessert.

Ingredients:

• 100 gms Cassava Starch
• 230 ml Coconut Milk
• 150 gms Sugar
• 2 Eggs Yolks
• 1 Teaspoon Butter

Preparation:

• Boil the coconut milk with the sugar on a medium heat until dissolved.
• Turn the heat off and mix in the eggs yolks.
• Put the cassava starch into a dry frying pan and dry-fry for 20-30 seconds over a high heat (stir constantly). This will give the starch a slight toasted flavour.
• Add the starch to the saucepan and stir it in over a low heat - until it forms a thick sticky dough.
• Grease a baking tray with a little butter.
• Take off pieces of the dough and press them into 2cm diameter balls and place them on the tray.
• Cook in an over at 170 degrees celsius until brown, (1 hour is a typical baking time for these).
• Serve With Hot Tee or Coffee

   

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Grilled Bananas (Gluay Tap)

Thai babies are fed mashed up banana as easy baby food. One of the first solid foods Thai babies will eat are bananas. Thais also make dried banana chips, sticky sweets, deep fried banana pieces, bananas in coconut milk.. You name it! There are hundreds of ways of preparing banana in Thailand. Thais believe that bananas are very healthy for your body. They have medicinal properties which help with stomach problems and flu. Bananas also have a ton of vitamins.  And this recipe call “Grilled Bananas or Gluay Tap” in Thai and basted with sweet sauce. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1-5 fruits Namwaa Bananas (for 5 Sticks)
• 5 Sticks for grilling
• 100 gms Dark Brown Sugar (for Sugar Syrup)
• 100 mls Water

Preparation:

• Slice the Namwaa bananas into 3cm thick slices.
• Thread them onto the sticks side ways on
• Grill them until browned and cooked through. 
• You can also dry fry or barbecue them.
• Once they're threaded on, bash them with a mallet. (This flattens them and helps break down the fibers making them easier to eat.)
• Grill until brown and cooked through, top with the a sugar syrup or honey.
• For the sugar syrup heat the dark brown sugar and water in a saucepan until dissolved. 
• Boil off the water to make the sugar syrup thicker, then pour over the banana.

   

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Khanom Bueng Thai (Crispy Pancakes)

Crispy Pancakes or Khanom bueng, a Thai dessert that is rather difficult to prepare, contains a variety of ingredients, such as flour, and various toppings. The main ingredients, however, are ground green gram or mung bean flour – a vegetable source of protein. A shredded shrimp topping provides high-quality protein; the coconut milk, mixed with mineral salt and containing protein and vitamins, provides energy and fat; and a sweet topping is a source of protein derived from eggs, together with amino acids and valuable mincrals. Overall, kanom buang is a rich source of protein from both shrimp and eggs, which in turn is converted into energy, as is the carbohydrate and fat from coconut, coconut milk and sugar. The end result is a delicious and mouth-watering dish hahahah...

Ingredients: Pancake batter

• 
  
  2/3 cup mungbean flour
• 
  
  1 1/3 cups rice flour
• 
  
  1 large egg
• 
  
  1/2 cup palm sugar
• 
  
  3/4 cup lime water
• 
  
  1/4 tsp salt
• 
  
  4 tbsp Thai Ovaltine (optional)

Method:

• 
  
  Prepare lime water by mixing one tablespoon lime paste to 2.5 cups water. Stir well and leave until the lime crystals sink to the bottom.
• 
  
  Use 3/4 cup water from the top of your container for the recipe, and discard the rest.
• 
  
  With a cleaver or sharp knife, carefully shave 1/2 cup palm sugar from a cake of palm sugar, avoiding large chunks.
• 
  
  Sift the two flours into a mixing bowl.
• 
  
  Add the egg, lime water, palm sugar, salt and Ovaltine. Mix well. Set aside for 10 - 15 minutes.

Ingredients: White Cream

• 3 egg white
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 drops lemon juice

Method:

• Place egg whites and lemon juice in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on high speed until the eggs form medium-firm peaks, about 1 minute.
• With the mixer on medium speed,
• add sugar by sprinkling it over the beaten egg whites.
• Beat on high speed for a few minutes, until thick and shiny.

Ingredients: Coconut Topping (or use dried coconut)

• 1 cup grated fresh coconut
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons water

Menthod:

• Heat all ingredients in a small sauce pan on low heat.
• Keep stir until thick.
• Remove from heat.
• Preheat the griddle, use high heat (not the highest setting, but almost).
• With your kra-ja, circle it around in the batter. To make it easy, catch some batter on the top of the round spreader.
• Then in a smooth motion move over the griddle, let the batter drop onto the griddle, and spread around in a nice circle using your wrist.
• Prepare a few of these pancakes, then put your kra-ja in a bowl of water.
• Reach for the other kra-ja which should be in the white cream.
• Spread some white cream on each pancake.
• Top with coconut. With a spatula lift the pancake half-way and push it down (as shown in the video).
• Now you're probably the first person in your community to ever make Khanom Buang, congratulations! yahhhhhhh...

Tips: The lime water makes it crispy, don't prepare this without it. Your kra-ja should be clean and dry each time you start using it. Don't add too much white cream.

  

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Khanom Krok (Coconut-Rice Pancakes)

Coconut-Rice Pancakes or Khanom Krok is possibly the favorite street food of Thailand. Delectable, delicious coconut hotcakes, they are mainly a street food, found by searching for vendors with little circles of coconut mixture cooking in distinct circular cast-iron pans.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 14 ounce cans coconut milk, or 1 ¾ cups coconut cream with 3 ½ cups lighter coconut milk
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 ½ tablespoon tapioca or arrowroot flour
• 3 tablespoon uncooked white rice
• 1/3 cup finely shredded fresh coconut, or ¼ cup dried, unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 cups rice flour
• 2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 to 3 tablespoon peanut or corn oil

Optional filling ingredients:

• ¼ cup green onions, cut in thin rounds
• ¼ cup fresh corn kernels
• 2 tablespoon cilantro leaves

PREPARATION:

• If using canned coconut milk, spoon into a small saucepan 1 ¾ cup of the creamiest part from the top of three cans of coconut milk.
• Heat just enough to melt and smooth out the lumps.
• Add sugar and stir to dissolve.
• Allow to cool before mixing in 2 ½ tablespoon of tapioca or arrowroot flour.
• Stir until smooth. Set aside.
• Combine the remaining coconut milk from the cans and stir until smooth, heating if necessary to melt the coagulated parts. Allow to cool.
• Grind the uncooked white rice in a food mill or clean coffee grinder as finely as possible.
• Do the same with the shredded coconut.
• Combine the two with the rice flour, salt and coconut milk.
• Stir and mix until well blended and smooth.
• Heat a well-seasoned kanom krok griddle (or substitute with an Ebelskiver pancake griddle) on the stove, in a hot oven or over a small round barbecue kettle with medium-hot charcoals.
• When the griddle is hot, brush the surface indentations with peanut or corn oil.
• Wait a few seconds before spooning the salty rice mixture into each indentation to about two-thirds full.
• The batter should sizzle when it hits the hot metal. (If you have a teakettle with a spout, you may find it helpful as a container from which to pour the rice batter onto the griddle.)
• Before the batter sets, add a dab of the sweet coconut cream mixture over the top to fill and sprinkle the center of each cake with a little bit of one of the toppings, or leave plain.
• Cover with a round lid and allow to cook for a few minutes, or until the pancakes are firm and crispy brown on the bottom.
• Remove gently with a rounded spoon.
• Re-grease the griddle before making the next batch. Because rice flour tends to settle, stir the coconut mixture well before pouring onto the griddle.
• Serve hot.

  

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