Chilled Roasted Pepper and Mango Soup
3 yellow peppers, halved
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 medium mangoes, peeled and sliced
1 cup mango nectar
Juice of 1 large lime
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 teaspoons hot sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
Dash of cayenne pepper
Sour cream for garnish
3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
Place peppers on hot grill, skin side down. Cook about 5 minutes per side or until slightly charred. Place in plastic or paper bag and let steam for 15 minutes. Skin with paring knife and slice into quarters.
In blender or food processor, puree yellow peppers, add broth and puree until smooth. Add mangoes and puree. Add nectar, lime juice, ginger, hot sauce, rice vinegar and cayenne pepper and blend well. (You can puree in batches.)
Strain through sieve into large bowl, pressing pulp, solids to extract all liquid. Discard pulp. Cover and chill soup 1 to 2 hours. Serve with dollop of sour cream and garnish with mint.
— From "Florida's Backyard" by Carrie Hanna
Grilled Romaine Salad with Roasted Garlic Dressing
1 head of garlic, top third sliced off and discarded
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 romaine hearts, halved lengthwise
3 ounces Manchego cheese, shaved (1 cup)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the garlic cut side up on a double sheet of foil and drizzle with oil. Wrap the garlic in the foil and bake until very soft, 1 hour. Let cool.
Light a grill. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their peels into a blender. Add the buttermilk and lemon juice and blend to a puree. With the machine on, slowly pour in the 1 cup of oil until blended. Season the roasted garlic dressing with salt and pepper.
Drizzle the cut side of the romaine hearts with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the romaine over high heat, cut side down, until charred in spots, about 20 seconds. Turn the romaine over and grill for 20 seconds longer.
Transfer the hearts to a serving platter, cut side up. Drizzle the roasted garlic dressing over the romaine, sprinkle with the shaved Manchego and serve right away.
— From "Food and Wine Annual 2008"
See more vegetarian barbecue recipes on the Web:
pbpulse.com/swirlgirlsveggie
The Swirl Girls — Libby Volgyes (Sweet), J. Gwendolynne Berry (Dry), Lynn Kalber (Bold) and Jennifer Podis (Earthy) — write about wine for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: swirlgirls(at)pbpost.com. Sip and swirl more on the Web at pbpulse.com/swirlgirls.