Vegetable

Beef tenderloin is very lean and cooks quickly. Cooking over wood enhances the flavor of the meat as well as the vegetables. You can substitute small potatoes if you can’t find parsnips. This can easily be made in a conventional oven, though the smoky flavors will be missing. The Horseradish sauce is a version my mom always made to serve with prime rib at Christmas.

This great-tasting dish from Joanne Weir takes you back to medieval times and spit-roasting at the hearth. You can also roast it over a grill or roast in an oven. This version is flavored with Greek herbs and served with a yogurt-cucumber sauce. Accompany with Pita Bread (page 44).

What could be more fun than popping open oysters on the grill or on the coals of a fire? Large oysters work best for the grill. Or you can nestle them in a skillet lined with rock salt. In either case, the cooking skill needed to make mouth-watering oysters is minimal. The basic rule: Don’t overcook the oysters! here, they’re served with an Indian-spiced barbecue sauce that’s cooked over the fire for added flavor.

This recipe from author and cooking teacher Linda Carucci is a family favorite that she and I adapted for the wood-fired environment. The smokiness imparted is a great match with the ham. Use the ham bone to make a batch of this thick, satisfying soup to eat for supper during the week.

Panini are pressed and griddled Italian sandwiches that can be filled with any number of simple fillings. They can be made with focaccia, soft rolls, or other breads. My favorite bread for this nutty, smoky combination is multigrain. Smoky Romesco Sauce flavors the bread and is also used for dipping.

This chowder is easy to make and requires only one pot! The salmon comes out tender and is a good match with the dill and potatoes. For a smokier flavor, roast the ears of corn directly over the fire before removing the kernels. If you don’t have fresh salmon, frozen will work fine, or you can use smoked salmon. If using smoked salmon, cut back on the salt for seasoning.

Many camping menus include pork and beans. You can use ham, salt pork, bacon, or leftover pulled pork to season the beans. If using canned beans, rinse well and add for the last half hour of cooking. An excellent source for dried heirloom beans is Rancho Gordo (see Resources). Chipotle powder adds a little kick to this recipe.

My mother often cooked this dish when my family camped out. If you have leftover cooked chicken, use that instead of the smoked chicken, though the smoky taste is great in this dish.

In this campfire version of an Italian classic, the steak is cooked on the coals, though bistecca fiorentina is traditionally cooked on a grill over the coals. Of course you can make it on a very hot grill or griddle pan if you choose, but it’s fun to watch your steak cook directly on the coals. Choose the best steak you can afford. Add a side of creamy White Tuscan Beans with Sausage (page 119) and you’ve got a magnificent yet simple meal. Buon appetito!

Salade niçoise is traditionally a composition of tender seasonal lettuces, green beans, baby potatoes, olives, and the best-quality tuna packed in olive oil. This version features tuna steaks grilled perfectly, then broken into chunks. You can substitute your favorite seasonal vegetables if you choose. This salad should not be chilled.

Who doesn’t love crispy, salty potatoes? This simple Spanish-influenced dish is a fine accompaniment to grilled fish. The saffron-scented aioli dressing is also wonderful tossed with pasta or on other seasonal vegetables. This dish is even more stunning when made with Peruvian purple potatoes.

Panzanella is a rustic Italian bread salad, created to use leftover bread. The vibrant tomatoes add moisture to the stale bread for a great summer main course or side dish. In this version, the bread is grilled for extra flavor. If your tomatoes are not at the peak of flavor, grill them, cut side down, until marked to bring out their natural sugars. Cut them into chunks and toss in the dressing before adding to the salad.

This is a dish you can make with little preparation or cooking time. Anyone can be a successful shrimp griller. The key things to remember are: (1) brine the shrimp to assure moistness; (2) grill them with the shells on; (3) don’t overcook them. The brightly flavored vinaigrette can be served with any other grilled fish or even chicken.

This combination of sweet, succulent halibut and spring vegetables in a golden saffron broth is visually seductive, while the earthy fragrance of saffron, favas, and mushrooms is intoxicating! Paula Wolfert’s easy method of preparing fava beans makes this dish much easier to prepare.

Tandoori chicken is easily identified by its red color and is named for the oven it’s cooked in. The tandoor is a cylindrical clay or ceramic oven heated to temperatures of 550° to 750°F or more. Meat and vegetables are skewered, then lowered into the oven. The high heat creates a crisp crust and leaves the meat moist. For the best flavor, marinate overnight. The red food coloring is optional. This recipe is adapted to a grill or Big Green egg ceramic cooker, which is the next best thing to an actual tandoor oven.

The Swiss chard in this dish has a slightly bitter flavor that works well with the fragrant fennel and salty olives. The sliced meat is topped with a delicious uncooked Italian sauce thickened with leftover bread and pulverized toasted nuts.

A rich, fragrant dish, these duck breasts are perfumed with the aromatics of southwest France, then grilled to crisp the fatty skin. Served sliced and fanned over tender baby greens lightly dressed with citrus vinaigrette, this is a wonderful dish to serve as a first course or as a light main course.

Italian cuisine often features stuffed and rolled meat or fish. This recipe uses inexpensive yet flavorful flank steak. Pounded chicken or turkey breast, pork loin, or fish can be substituted. The grilled rolls are sliced into beautiful spirals and serve with gremolata reserved from the stuffing and a wonderful wood-roasted wine sauce.