Grilled Vegetables (including carrots and broccoli)

Ever grilled carrots and broccoli? That's just what Dave was doing when Richard and I had dinner at his sister's place in northern Michigan.

Dave admiring and serving his grilled veggies.

He was also grilling other veggies more commonly used for grilling — such as peppers, onions, squash and corn. He said he'd been at the farmers market that morning, and one of the vendors was grilling the carrots and broccoli he'd grown. There was no question in Dave's mind that they would be a part of tonight's menu.

I was concerned they wouldn't be tender without blanching them first, but I was dead wrong. We nibbled at the tender grilled carrots, using their green tops as handles, as if they were the most delectable of finger foods. Grilling brought out their natural sweetness, and I doubt mass produced carrots would yield the same sweet and tender results.

Spooning caper-mayo over partially cooked whitefish prior to broiling.

While Dave was grilling, his sister Judy was preparing whitefish and using a recipe, which we altered, that she found on the internet.

I included the recipe we reworked below. Last week I made a grilled whitefish recipe, which used a caper-tomato relish. I've had a hankering for Great Lakes' whitefish lately. Perhaps next week I'll grill it on a plank. There's no need for a recipe for the grilled vegetables. All you need is olive oil, kosher salt, a medium heat charcoal or gas fire, and tongs for turning.

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup capers plus 2 tablespoons caper juice from bottle
2 medium or large-sized eggs
2 cups light oil, such as canola
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Cayenne
4 whitefish fillets
1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into thin slivers or olive oil as needed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processor or blender, chop capers until almost pureed but still course. Remove and reserve.
2. Place eggs in the bottom of the same machine. Pour 1/2 cup oil over eggs. Turn on machine and very, very slowly pour remaining oil into machine until the oil and egg have emulsified and thickened into a mayonnaise. Add lemon juice and reserved capers to mayonnaise and process until the capers are just incorporated. Season to taste with kosher salt and cayenne. (Mayonnnaise may be made up to 2 days in advance.)
3. On a large-foil lined baking sheet, arrange whitefish. Drizzle caper juice over fillets then lightly season with kosher salt. Arrange pats of butter over fish or drizzle the tops with olive oil. Bake on center rack of oven 8-11 minutes depending on thickness of fillets. They should not be cooked through. Remove from oven. Arrange oven rack 4 inches away from broiler and turn on broiler.
4. Spoon caper mayonnaise over to cover partially cooked fish. Place fish under broiler until lightly browned, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Do not overcook fish or the mayonnaise will curdle and the fish will be dry.