FIRED UP Expand your grilling repertoire with recipes that bring unexpected ingredients to the cookout.

FIRED UP Expand your grilling repertoire with recipes that bring unexpected ingredients to the cookout.

Photo: F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal, Food Styling by Kim Ramin

I HATE GOING to barbecues,” a vegetarian friend once confided as she poked at flavorless charred zucchini and bell peppers, an obvious afterthought by our host that evening. That’s why the grilled avocado made such an impression on me during a recent meal at Daniel Boulud’s Le Pavillon, recently opened in New York City. The soft green fruit possessed a perfect crisscross of brown grill marks. Adorned with einkorn and tart goji berries, the dish got a touch of spice from harissa and an additional hit of smoky flavor from charred kale. This clever combination would make a satisfying dish for most any diner, regardless of dietary habits.

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Although some components of the dish demand the superior culinary savvy of Mr. Boulud, the multi-Michelin-starred chef confessed that the preparation of the centerpiece—that grilled avocado—is quite simple. “You need a ripe but firm avocado, split into four wedges,” he said. “Leave the skin on, marinate with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Quickly grill the avocado on each cut side, then remove the skin.” Voilà.

An enthusiastic omnivore, I happen to love going to barbecues and grilling season in general. But I do get tired of the same meat, fish and usual-suspect vegetables. The grilled avocado inspired me to think about what other surprising ingredients I could add to my cookout repertoire. That’s just when a Twitter thread from Canadian writer Steffani Cameron jumped out at me. “Apparently I unwittingly have sparked an uprising against the boring fluffy deli potato salad,” Ms. Cameron wrote after her own version briefly blew up a few weeks ago. First published in her 2015 e-cookbook, “Late Summer Nights,” the recipe features potatoes, radicchio, leeks, scallions, yellow onions and endive, all grilled to a char and then dressed with mayonnaise, lemon juice and mixed herbs. “The warm grilled potatoes are a sponge to soak up the lemon and mayo, making them the perfect backdrop to a revolving door of accompanying aromas and herbs,” Ms. Cameron explained when I reached out to her. “The char and the smoke just bring so much depth and character, from the caramel notes in the onions to the char on the leek.”

The grilled-salad possibilities don’t end there, according to chef Brandon Silva of Degust in Houston. “There are really no rules and boundaries anymore,” he said. “So yes, a grilled salad is a great idea.” He has developed a grilled cucumber and radicchio salad, wherein charred cucumber adds a coolness and a snappy counterpoint to wilted radicchio. (See recipe, at right.) “Radicchio can be bitter, so balancing out those flavors with grilling adds a little sweetness,” he said. A dressing of citrus yogurt, trout roe and mint provides a brisk complement. The recipe can adapt to include other sturdy salad greens, such as romaine and kale, and other cucurbits such as squash, cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon.

Grilled cucumber and romaine play well with cool yogurt and briny trout roe.

Grilled cucumber and romaine play well with cool yogurt and briny trout roe.

Photo: JENNY HUANG FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, FOOD STYLING BY Tyna Hoang, PROP STYLING BY SOPHIE STRANGIO

Chef Ashleigh Fleming of Blue Jay Bistro in Littleton, N.C., grills watermelon when faced with a surplus. “I’d made gazpacho with them, compressed them, used them in different approaches for salads,” she said. “That’s when I started to think that grilling them would be a good idea. Because of their sugar content, it works out well. It really amps up the sweetness.” After steeping chunks in a ginger simple syrup, she tosses them on the grill. She serves them in a simple fruit salad, on a skewer with pickled shrimp, or puréed and frozen into a popsicle (as in the recipe at right), a crafty combination of hot and cold methods producing a flavor both roasty and refreshing.

If “grilled” popsicles are a thing, why not grilled ice cream? Chef Emma Bengtsson of Aquavit in Manhattan makes one by pouring cream through hot charcoal before churning and freezing. She finds it an especially great companion for stone fruits such as peaches and plums—and you can grill those, too. She garnishes her grilled ice cream with a crumble to make a smoldering take on a cobbler. “I like how the method imparts a smoky flavor and makes use of still-hot leftover coals,” Ms. Bengtsson said. “Just make sure to use uncoated, chemical-free, natural charcoal.”

The grill is a highly versatile tool, noted chef Justin Smillie of Manhattan’s Smillie Pizza by Il Buco Alimentari. Especially at this time of year, he recommends using a grill to make pizza. “There’s no need to turn on the oven indoors on a hot summer day, and it’s an easy way to cook a pizza,” he said. “The grill caramelizes the sugars of the dough in a different way than an oven would, and it creates a unique char, which impacts the taste.” Mr. Smillie especially enjoys the possibilities that seasonal toppings can offer, from vegetables such as summer squash and zucchini blossoms (as in the recipe at right) to simple smears such as spreadable cheeses, tomato chutney, pesto and hummus.

These yaki onigiri crisp on the grill, but the rice remains soft inside. Two different glazes switch up the flavor profile.

These yaki onigiri crisp on the grill, but the rice remains soft inside. Two different glazes switch up the flavor profile.

Photo: JENNY HUANG FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, FOOD STYLING BY Tyna Hoang, PROP STYLING BY SOPHIE STRANGIO

I wondered if pasta would grill as well as pizza dough. Chef Antimo DiMeo of Bardea in Wilmington, Del., responded with a resounding yes—as long as the pasta is fresh or parboiled before grilling. “Dried pasta will just shrivel up and burn,” he said. Mr. DiMeo has concocted a grilled ricotta gnudi. “I bury them in semolina overnight to create a crumb crust. Then I pierce them with a flat metal skewer and place them on the grill,” he said. “When grilled, they remind me of savory marshmallows, soft and pillowy on the inside with the charred, crispy semolina crust on the outside.” Baby tomatoes and basil leaves give the dish a “Caprese-style” spin. Mr. DiMeo considers lasagna sheets another particularly grillable pasta. “Just parboil the sheets a little bit, toss them on the grill, then take the grilled sheets and make the lasagna like you usually would,” he said. “Add a mixture of vegetables and cheese, bake it, and you have a grilled vegetable lasagna. What’s surprising is that the grilled flavor is coming from the pasta as opposed to the vegetables. It’s a fun, untraditional play on a classic.”

Grilling rice might seem as surprising to some as grilling pasta, but it is a traditional method for making yaki onigiri, or grilled rice balls, in Japan. “Grilling the rice lends an aromatic quality and creates a tight crispiness on the outer layer,” said chef Sho Boo of Maki Kosaka in Manhattan. “When you bite into the rice ball, the crispiness yields to a soft interior, so you are really enjoying the rice two ways.” She recommends miso and soy glazes for extra flavor. Usually made on a small, tabletop grill filled with bintochan, or white charcoal, yaki onigiri works very well on an outdoor grill too.

Out-of-the-box grilling can even transform an underappreciated dish into a full-on favorite. “I was never a lover of stuffed grape leaves,” said chef Ayesha Nurdjaja of Manhattan’s recently opened Shukette, where the charcoal grill is a centerpiece and workhorse. But Ms. Nurdjaja’s innovation of finishing lamb-and-rice-stuffed grape leaves on a grill gave the dish new layers of flavor. “After braising them, I just rolled them on the grate so they were kissed by the grill,” she explained. “Suddenly the exterior of the leaf got this nice, charred flavor. I fell in love and I’ll never eat them another way.”

To explore and search through all our recipes, check out the new WSJ Recipes page.

The chefs we talked to recommended these tools for easy grilling. From left: Edlund Stainless Steel Tongs; Hell's Handle Spatula; Norpro Stainless Steel Skewers; OXO Basting Brush

The chefs we talked to recommended these tools for easy grilling. From left: Edlund Stainless Steel Tongs; Hell's Handle Spatula; Norpro Stainless Steel Skewers; OXO Basting Brush

Photo: F. Martin Ramin/ The Wall Street Journal

GRATE STUFF / Chef-recommended grilling tools

Edlund Stainless Steel Tongs

Available in 9-, 12- and 16-inch lengths, these tongs are a heavy-duty workhorse. From $13, surlatable.com

Mercer Culinary Hell’s Handle Long Handled Spatula

An extended, high-heat-resistant handle makes this ideal for outdoor grilling. $35, amazon.com

Norpro 12-inch Skewers

Flat, sturdy, comfortable to handle and made with non-rust stainless steel. $9, amazon.com

OXO Large Silicone Basting Brush

Easy to clean, with silicone bristles that can stand high heat. $13, oxo.com

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