Five Things Worth Grilling Besides Meat and Fish

Meat and fish get most of the attention once the grill is lit — never more so than during the last big cookout weekend of the US summer — but cheese, fruit, and vegetables hold their own just as well, sometimes better. These five recipes skip both entirely, proving the grill has more range than the usual weekend lineup.

Salad with Scamorza and Grilled Vegetables grills zucchini, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes, then finishes with thin slices of smoked scamorza laid straight on the hot grate until barely softened. Everything goes over a bed of mixed greens, still warm from the fire.

Pro tip: grill the scamorza on a sheet of parchment paper cut to fit the grate — it keeps the cheese from sticking or melting through the grill bars while it still picks up real char.

Crostini with Hummus, Grilled Peaches, Feta, and Arugula tops toasted bread with chickpea hummus, halved peaches charred on the grill until soft, crumbled feta, and a handful of arugula. The sweetness from the char is what ties the whole thing together.

Pro tip: grill the peaches cut-side down first and don't move them until they release easily — forcing them off too early tears the flesh and loses the char marks that give the dish its look.

Burrata with Grilled Vegetables and Fruit grills radicchio and a mix of seasonal produce until the edges caramelize, then plates it all around whole burrata added fresh at the very end. A dish from Puglia that treats grilled fruit as a genuine side, not a garnish.

Pro tip: let the grilled vegetables and fruit cool to room temperature before plating with the burrata — adding them hot melts the cheese into the plate instead of letting it stay soft and intact.

Grilled Lettuce with Mustard and Goat Cheese halves romaine hearts and grills them cut-side down until charred, then tops them with shaved aged goat cheese, a toasted hazelnut and caper crumble, and a Dijon-maple sauce. Lettuce on the grill sounds unlikely until the first bite.

Pro tip: use a very hot, dry pan or grill and don't touch the lettuce for the first few minutes — moving it too soon steams it instead of charring it, and steamed lettuce turns limp instead of holding its shape.

Grilled Cheese with BBQ Veggies and Mustard marinates Piedmontese tomino in Dijon mustard, then grills it directly alongside eggplant, zucchini, and tomato before stacking everything into a bun with pistachio-mint pesto and arugula. An Italian answer to the veggie burger, built entirely around a grilled cheese instead of a patty.

Pro tip: marinate the tomino overnight in the fridge rather than just the minimum 30 minutes — the extra time lets the mustard penetrate the cheese instead of just coating the surface.

None of this needs meat or fish to earn its place on the grill. Fruit caramelizes, cheese crisps without melting through, and vegetables do what they've always done best over an open flame — which turns out to be plenty.