Grill pan alley

Maths chick is away for a few days, visiting the olds in Spain. Gastropunk is left to his own devices.

But what’s the fun in a veg box that you can’t share? It’s a lonely pursuit. Like being a veg-box hamster, running endlessly on a wheel, never getting anywhere. At night I dream I’m condemned to endlessly roll a giant water-melon up Muswell Hill, only to slip near the top and watch it roll back down, crushing half of Crouch End into a big pink, pulpy mess.

Perhaps it’s time for a holiday.

Anyway… I’ve rediscovered the joys of grilling this week. I have a canary-yellow cast-iron Le Creuset grill that has largely lived a decorative existence up until now. A recent comment left by babylemonade (nice pseudonym, by the way) threw up the concept of a grilled pear and tomato salad. Seemed like an idea worth half-inching. So we did.

And once you’ve got a griddle all hot and ready for action, you may as well indulge in an extended grilling sesh. Here’s a couple of combinations we thought worked well…

• Grilled aubergines, tossed with chopped garlic, olive oil, green chilli, seasoning and bucket-loads of parsley
• Grilled pears, tossed with tomatoes, walnuts, balsamic vinegar, a little sugar and olive oil

Maths chick’s top grill-pan tips:

1. get the griddle smoking hot before adding anything to it
2. if necessary, lightly oil the poor veg you’re about to frizzle, rather than the pan
3. don’t fiddle with the griddle – leave the veg in one position to ensure strong black stripes – it’s all in the visuals, man

Anyone else have any favourite griddle-pan recipes?