Zucchini Tastes Best When Grilled

The annual GrillWatch survey for Weber-Stephen Products shows that the number of people who report grilling vegetables is up about 28 percent.

I suspect more people are grilling vegetables simply because they taste good. Take zucchini. Despite minicookbooks that offer 101 things to do with zucchini, none of the alternatives is as good as cooking it on the grill.

Zucchini can be grilled with very little preparation, but because it has such high water content, I like to salt the slices the way I do eggplant. After half an hour, moisture will bead up and drip off the zucchini slices. That means they will be more firm, even when fully cooked.

Snippets of fresh basil release their flavor and aroma on the hot zucchini without adding oil and Parmesan cheese for the pesto sauce that’s often used as a topping.

Grilled Zucchini With Basil

6 medium zucchini, about 6 inches long

Coarse salt

Olive oil

6 sprigs basil or mint

Scrub zucchini under cold water. Trim ends and slice in half lengthwise. Sprinkle generously with coarse salt and layer in a colander. Set aside for 30 minutes.

When ready to grill, wipe off the excess liquid and salt with a damp paper towel, pressing lightly. Brush on both sides with the oil.

Grill cut-side down over a medium fire until nicely browned, about 2 to 4 minutes. Turn and cook until soft, another 2 to 4 minutes.

Remove the leaves from the basil stems and stack them. Roll up like a cigar and slice. Use your fingers to separate into ribbons. Shower the basil over the hot zucchini and set aside for a few minutes before serving. The zucchini is also good at room temperature.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 104 calories, 7.3 g fat (63 percent fat calories), no cholesterol, about 8 milligrams sodium.