Wild Rice? Yeah, You Can Grill That

Rice?  Yep, it’s totally grillable.  This recipe for wild rice packs in the flavor with chicken broth, fresh vegetables, and of course, that delicious smoke from the grill.  Here's how to grill rice!

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 cup wild rice
3 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup chopped onion
½  cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped mushrooms

Directions:

1.    Arrange grill so that coals are all on one side.
2.    In cast iron pot, combine broth, rice and butter.  Place on grill, directly above coals.  Cook for ten minutes (with pot open to allow in smoke but with the grill itself covered).
3.    Stir, cover pot with lid, and move pot to other side of the grill.

 
4.    Cook another 25 minutes over low heat, with pot and grill covered.
5.    Add onions, celery and mushrooms.  Add more broth (or water) if necessary, and recover both pot and lid.
6.    Cook another 15 minutes over low heat, then remove from grill.  Let sit for 10 minutes, covered.
7.    Fluff and serve.

Great under grilled asparagus and grilled swordfish topped with grilled red bell pepper sauce.

 

If you like this recipe, please be sure to click on the links below to share it! And don’t forget to follow @youcangrillthat on Twitter! 

How to Make a Red Bell Pepper Sauce on the Grill

This red bell pepper sauce makes a great addition for grilled salmon, swordfish or just about any other seafood.  It’s similar to any roasted red pepper sauce, except that the peppers are, of course, grilled.  It’s a very simple recipe, and it really brings out the flavor of the red bell peppers (unlike some recipes that are heavy on cream or tomato).

Ingredients:

1 large red bell pepper
3 tablespoons butter or olive oil, plus extra olive oil for brushing onto pepper
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1.    Arrange grill with coals all on one side.
2.    Cut the bell pepper into quarters.  Remove stem and all seeds.  Brush outer skin with olive oil.
3.    Place directly on grill, over direct heat, with skin-side down.
4.    Grill, covered, for about 8 minutes, or until blackened.

 
5.    Allow to cool completely, then carefully remove skin.
6.    Puree bell pepper in food processor until smooth.
7.    Melt butter (or heat olive oil) in cast iron pan over direct heat. Stir in pureed pepper and apple cider vinegar. 
8.    Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, and then add salt and pepper to taste. 
9.    Move to other side of grill and cook over indirect heat an additional 5 minutes, stirring regularly.

Try it with this recipe for grilled swordfish steaks!

If you like this recipe, please be sure to click on the links below to share it! And don’t forget to follow @youcangrillthat on Twitter! 

Strong to the Finish, ‘Cause I Eats Me Grilled Spinach

Spinach is one of the healthiest vegetables out there, but who wants to eat spinach salads every day?  Cooking spinach on the grill adds a great flavor that you obviously won't get sauteing it.

So, here’s a great, easy recipe for grilled spinach.

Ingredients:

Spinach
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Lemon juice

Directions:

1.    Wash spinach carefully.  It can be gritty if you don’t.
2.    Remove stems from spinach.  This is pretty boring and by far the worst part of grilling spinach.  If you have a child that has misbehaved, instead of grounding them, make them remove stems from spinach.  For my fellow DC people – this also makes a great intern project.

3.    Drizzle with olive oil, a little lemon juice, and then add salt and pepper to taste.
4.    Place on vegetable grate, and grill for 3 minutes, covered.

5.    Stir with spatula, re-cover, and grill another 2-3 minutes, or until wilted.  Remove and serve.  

This grilled spinach recipe goes really well with grilled red bell peppers.  We ate both with some grilled chicken.  Highly recommend giving this recipe a try if you’re looking for a healthy, tasty, grilled side dish. 

If you like this recipe, please be sure to click on the links below to share it! And don’t forget to follow @youcangrillthat on Twitter!