Grilled Vegetables with Brown Butter and Parmesan
The Story
Grilled vegetables have a problem: they're often finished and presented plain, letting all the potential flavor evaporate with the steam. Brown butter is the solution. It takes 4 minutes on the stove and transforms grilled vegetables into something you'd pay restaurant prices for.
Instructions
- Prep and Grill. Toss all vegetables with olive oil and Gunner Blend. Grill over direct high heat — 4–5 minutes per side for zucchini and eggplant, 3 minutes for asparagus and peppers, 6 minutes for onion rings. You want grill marks and char, not steaming. Get them off the heat while they still have some body.
- The Brown Butter. In a small pan, melt butter over medium heat. Continue cooking, swirling the pan, until the milk solids turn golden brown and smell nutty — about 4 minutes. Add fresh sage leaves (they'll crisp immediately) and Gunner Blend, then immediately remove from heat and add lemon juice. It will sizzle dramatically.
- Plate and Finish. Arrange grilled vegetables on a platter. Spoon the Gunner brown butter over everything. The sage leaves will scatter and crisp on top. Shave Parmesan generously over the platter and serve immediately while the butter is still warm.
Pro Tips
- Brown butter waits for no one. Have the vegetables plated before you start the butter.
01The Look▼
Charred grill marks on a spectrum of summer colors — purple eggplant, green zucchini, red pepper — glazed with butter and flecked with Parmesan snow
02The Nose▼
Nutty brown butter and sage wafting over the smoky char of the grill — savory and aromatic
03The Layer▼
Char bitterness first, then the richness of brown butter, then Gunner's herb warmth, the Parmesan adding savory umami depth at the finish
04The Touch▼
Each vegetable at its own stage: tender eggplant, yielding zucchini, asparagus with a snap still in the tip
05The Legacy▼
This is the side dish that becomes the conversation. "What did you put on the vegetables?" is what you'll hear