Key facts
- Chef Isaac Toups has shared a recipe for grilled vegetables with bacon vinaigrette.
- The recipe is featured in his cookbook "Chasing the Gator."
- The dish requires grilling vegetables on high heat to achieve a charred exterior.
- The vinaigrette is made with rendered bacon fat, garlic, anchovies, and apple cider vinegar.
- Toups is a four-time James Beard Best Chef of the South nominee.
Chef Isaac Toups, known for his culinary achievements including multiple James Beard nominations, has shared a recipe for grilled vegetables with a bacon vinaigrette. The recipe, featured in his cookbook "Chasing the Gator: Isaac Toups and the New Cajun Cooking," emphasizes charring vegetables on a high-heat grill and tossing them in a flavorful, rich vinaigrette.
The preparation involves preheating the grill to high (around 500°F) and the oven to 400°F. Thick-cut bacon is cooked until crispy, with the rendered fat reserved for the vinaigrette. The vinaigrette itself is prepared in a blender with garlic, anchovies, apple cider vinegar, canola oil, and the reserved bacon fat, noting that it will not be fully emulsified.
Assorted vegetables, sliced to about a quarter-inch thickness or cut into florets, are tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. They are then grilled for approximately two minutes per side to achieve a charred exterior while maintaining a crisp texture. Finally, the grilled vegetables are tossed with the bacon vinaigrette and topped with crumbled bacon.