bbq season for carrots

wow, again long time no post. life has been like that.

anyway, we have beein (sort of) enjoying an on-again off-again summer here, and on a few occasions it has stayed sunny long enough for us to bbq (and on a few occasions we have grilled in the rain). the other day i was cobbling together a grillable dinner from what i could find in the fridge: merguez sausage, couscous with caramelised onions, and... veg, but what?

carrots!

years ago, when i first really discovered grilled vegetables, we went through a phase of putting anything and everything on the grill (and also putting all manner of variety of fruits into blender drinks, but that's another story). carrots were the biggest surprise. we didn't think it would work! but lo and behold, it did. they were super tasty. we did some fennel too.

bbq carrots

carrots
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper

peel the carrots and slice in half length-wise. this not only makes them thinner so they'll cook more evenly, but also keeps them from rolling annoyingly on the grill.

toss with equal amounts of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. season with a bit of salt and pepper.

grill over charcoal a few minutes each side until just starting to get soft. turn frequently if needed to keep them from burning on the outside, but a bit of crispy brown is nice.

you can do any veg this way really, but you'll confuse and impress your friends if you do it with carrots.

easy caramalised-onion couscous

1 large onion
1 tbs olive oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup couscous

chop onion finely and sauté gently in olive oil over medium-low heat until soft. cover and continue cooking gently, stirring on occasion, until onions start to brown.

uncover, add water, turn heat to high and bring quickly to boil.

stir in couscous, remove from heat, cover, and let rest 5 minutes.

makes enough for our little family of three.