Grilled Summer Stacks with Smoky Almond Cream
Table of Contents
Grilled summer produce coated in BBQ sauce and stacked together with Smoky Almond cream make for an impressive and delicious summer appetizer.
It seems as though, lately, I have been somewhat of a grilling machine. I just can't stop! With this month's love bloghop theme being #tomatolove, I knew right away that the first recipe would involve grilling them; but, I wasn't sure exactly how I was going to use them after the preparation. I have a few different ideas, but I'll make them later this month once I've made a few trips to the farmers market.
First off, these Grilled Summer Stacks may look a little fancy, but they are super easy to make and put together. They make for a great appetizer for an outdoor dinner party or BBQ, and as I experienced last night, people will be pretty impressed by their presentation (just make sure to not relay how easy they were to make ;)). As you can see, you can interchange the veggies to whatever you prefer most, as long as you can cut it into somewhat of a circular shape.
I was able to use some more zucchini from my garden, thankfully; I've been giving these damn things away! Before this recipe, I had never tasted grilled avocado, but now I feel like this will be a common occurrence for the rest of the season. All of these grilled veggies paired with a little homemade BBQ sauce and a light, smoky almond cream make for a winning combination.
More grilled recipes for summer!
- Vegan Grilled Eggplant Burgers
- Grilled Sourdough Flatbread + White Bean Basil Spread
- Grilled Plant-Based Beer Sausages
- Curry Cauliflower Grill Packets with Yogurt Sauce
Grilled Summer Stacks with Smoky Almond Cream
Grilled summer produce coated in BBQ sauce and stacked together with Smoky Almond cream make for an impressive and delicious summer appetizer.
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Raw Almonds, Soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes
- 1 ¼ Cup Water
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
- ¾ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ½-3/4 teaspoon Smoked Sea Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 3 ½ Cups Tomato Slices, Roughly ⅜" thick
- 2 Medium-sized White Onions, Sliced ⅜" thick
- 2 Medium-sized Avocados, Sliced width-wise ⅜" thick
- 2 Cups Zucchini, Sliced ⅜" thick into medallions
- Salt & Pepper
- Your favorite BBQ sauce, or make this recipe.
Instructions
- Turn on your grill to medium heat (around 350°F).
- In a food processor puree together the raw almonds, water, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, liquid smoke, onion powder, paprika, smoked sea salt and cayenne pepper. You may need to scrape the sides a couple of times to get an even consistency. Add salt as preferred and set the mixture aside.
- Lay out all of the sliced produce and sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides before placing on the grill.
- The cooking times for each fruit/vegetable are different, so grill them until each side is slightly charred (anywhere between 4-8 minutes on each side), adding a light coat of BBQ sauce to each side.
- After the slices are done on the grill, assemble them in assorted stacks with two layers of 1 ½ Tbsp. of Almond Cream in each stack.
- Place a toothpick through the top of each one and serve immediately. If you are bringing these to a party, etc. you can place them in a casserole dish covered with foil and bake them at 350°F for 15 minutes to reheat.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 339Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 26gUnsaturated Fat: 0gSodium: 229mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 9gSugar: 7gProtein: 8g
The nutrition information is calculated by a plug-in, and isn't always accurate. Please calculate your own with the products that you use, as it will be different for everyone.
What are some of your favorite fruits and veggies to grill?
The bloghop, this month, is filled with many amazing blogs! I love that I’m able to be a part of it, and continue to share the foodie love. Here’s a list of all of the bloggers that are participating!
Badger Girl Learns To Cook | Kimberly | @BdgrGrl
Cheap Ethic Eatz | Cheap Ethic Eatz | @cheapethiceatz
Mis Pensamientos | Junia | @juniakk
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies | TR | @TRCrumbley
Oh Cake | Jess | @jesshose
Pippi’s In the Kitchen Again | Sheila | @shlylais
Rico sin Azucar | Helena | @ricosinazucar
Teaspoon of Spice | Deanna | @tspbasil
You Made That? | Suzanne | @YouMadeThatblog
Please join in on the #tomatolove fun by linking up any tomato recipe from the month of July 2012. Don’t forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #tomatolove event! The twitter hashtag is #tomatolove.
Wow! These really do look so good. I've never had grilled avocado either but it sounds amazing. Gorgeous.
Thank you! 😀
Grilled tomatoes, zucchini AND avocado? I'm so there! Beautiful shots, too 🙂
Looks gorgeous!
Thank you, Michelle!
I made the almond cream today but my food processor sucks so had to transfer to Vitamix...its yummy! I spiced it up more...but it's so good ...hubby really likes it
Fabulous! I think you're right about the spice, I may have to adjust the recipe to give it a little more ummph!
Gorgeous stacks and very cool almond sauce. I knew I wanted to grill too.
These look so tasty!
What a delicious stack you got here! Everything looks so yummy! Thanks for sharing the tomato-love with us !
Looks beautiful Jackie! I never knew you could grill an avocado either!
Thank you, Erin! 🙂
These look so yummy! I've never had grilled avocado before- I must try it! That and that smoky almond cream!
I certainly recommend grilling the avocado! I think next time I would toss it in a little olive oil and add more salt and pepper and eat it by itself! 😛
Such a wonderful idea, Jackie! And now you've tempted me into grilling avocado...yum! Excellent #tomatolove post!
Thanks, Liz! There are so many great #tomatolove posts so far!
Looks very nice. Beautiful colors.
these veggie stacks are not only BEAUTIFUL, but sooooo yummy. my kind of eats! what a fabulous veggie dish!!!
Thanks Junia! I can't wait to post more #tomatolove recipes. 😀
wow, what a stunning idea - love the notion of the almond cream with the vegetables:)
I enjoy avocado on toast with tomato for lunch if it's a chilly day - so many people never eat it any other way than with a salad dressing!
I LOVE eating avocado on toast, with tomato! Especially if I sprinkle a little garlic salt and pepper on top. Mmm...
Mmm this sounds yummy! I don't have any tomato recipes this past month, but I'll definitely check out the others on the blog hop!
ok, i have to ask, how in the world did you cut the avocado in circles like that without the pit? I googled it and nothing! I looks really yummy though!