Grilled vegetables are a delicious, healthy, and classic choice for your Father's Day menu. As we celebrate the dedicated dads in our lives, grilling is often a favored activity, and what better way to honor them than with a healthy and delectable meal? The grilling process helps vegetables retain their nutritional value, allowing their natural colors to become vibrant, and enhancing their flavors with a delightful smoky taste.
However, even a dish as simple as this can be elevated to gourmet levels with the right touches. This Father's Day, give your traditional grilling a unique twist with a recipe from Chef George Duran, known for his shows on Food Network and TLC. His remarkable and easy-to-make tahini sauce can take your favorite grilled vegetables to whole new heights with minimal effort, making it an excellent choice for a special Father's Day meal.
George Duran stands as a notable figure in the culinary world, renowned for his exceptional ability to blend diverse cuisines and craft truly memorable culinary experiences. As a celebrated chef and food entertainer, he brings an innovative approach to his dishes, transforming everyday meals into gastronomic delights. His influence extends far beyond the kitchen, with his work as a television host on popular shows like Food Network's "Ham on the Street" and TLC's "Ultimate Cake Off."
These platforms have allowed Duran to connect with a broad audience, showcasing his unique cooking style that blends a sense of fun and practicality. His passion for food and his ability to convey it in an approachable and entertaining manner have solidified his status as a beloved figure in the world of food and entertainment.
Duran's approach to cooking is characterized by a unique blend of whimsy, practicality, and deliciousness, making his recipes not only tasty, but also accessible to the home cook. His genuine love for food and his desire to share his culinary knowledge with the world have endeared him to a wide audience of food enthusiasts.
Chef Duran's grilled vegetable recipe is a beautiful blend of carefully chosen vegetables, including peppers, asparagus, squash, eggplant, and zucchini, paired with a tantalizing and memorable tahini sauce. Each vegetable is lightly basted with extra virgin olive oil before grilling, which enhances their natural flavors while adding a layer of smokiness. This creates a delightful textural contrast — crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.
But it's the homemade tahini sauce that truly makes this dish stand out. Made with Mighty Sesame Co. tahini, fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and a warm blend of spices such as coriander, cumin, paprika, and kosher salt, this sauce adds wonderful depth and character to the dish. It is drizzled generously over the grilled vegetables, adding a creamy, savory element that helps to enhance and harmonize the flavors.
The choice of tahini is the real key factor in this recipe. Mighty Sesame Co. tahini is an ideal choice due to its quality and consistency. It is made from 100% roasted and hulled sesame seeds. The unique process the brand uses delivers a tahini that is not only rich in flavor but also has a creamy, pourable consistency that is hard to find in other brands, which is served in a convenient squeeze bottle — the first of its kind for tahini.
Moreover, sesame seeds are known as nutrition powerhouses. They are packed with protein, crucial for tissue repair and muscle growth, and healthy fats, which can reduce heart disease risk and lower bad cholesterol levels. Moreover, sesame seeds are an excellent source of dietary fiber, promoting digestive health and aiding in weight management.
They also boast a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, including calcium for bone health, magnesium for muscle and nerve function, iron for oxygen transport, and zinc for immune response. Mighty Sesame Co. tahini retains these nutrients, making it a flavorful and nutritionally sound addition to any dish, including Chef Duran's grilled vegetable recipe.
In addition, the Mighty Sesame Co. stands by ethical sourcing, ensuring that their sesame seeds are responsibly harvested. Their attention to detail at every level of production makes their tahini a premium choice that reflects in the overall taste and quality of dishes.
Duran's recipe is also versatile, allowing for a mix of toppings such as chopped green olives, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, and herbs. These ingredients not only add an exciting textural contrast but also an additional layer of complexity to the taste. You can customize it to your liking, making it a flexible dish suitable for various dietary preferences.
For those short on time, Duran provides an easy hack - the Mighty Sesame Tahini can be served as is with the vegetables. This shortcut doesn't compromise on taste, as the tahini already comes packed with a delicious flavor profile.
All in all, Duran's grilled vegetable recipe is an incredible example of how a simple dish can be transformed into a culinary delight with the right sauce and toppings. It stands as a testament to the power of a good tahini and how a quality product, such as Mighty Sesame Co.'s tahini, can elevate a dish's flavor profile to a whole new level.
Here is how you can elevate your Father’s Day menu with Duran’s deliciously healthy Grilled Vegetables with Tahini Sauce:
Ingredients:
- Vegetables for grilling, like peppers, asparagus, squash, eggplant, zucchini, etc.
- Olive oil
- Toppings like chopped green olives, sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese, or herbs
For tahini sauce:
- 1/2 cup Mighty Sesame Co. tahini
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Directions:
- Preheat your grill on high and spray non-stick spray on the grates.
- Make the tahini sauce by processing all the sauce ingredients and slowly adding water until it is smooth and pourable.
- Prepare vegetables accordingly and brush or spray them with olive oil and grill on both sides until they are tender and lightly charred. Set them onto a platter.
- Liberally drizzle tahini sauce over top of the vegetables and top with your desired toppings.
- Season with more salt as needed and serve immediately. Note: You can skip making the tahini sauce all together and serve Mighty Sesame Co. tahini all on its own with the vegetables.
