With the end of the summer finally here that doesn’t mean that we’re ready to give up the grill.  On the contrary, the grill can be, and should be your best friend for most of the year.  This dish uses a gas grill to its advantage–its ability to let you cook for longer periods without having to add charcoal to maintain you heat level.  I have also discovered something that should become every gas grill owner’s kitchen ingredient-smoked salt.  Add a little of this to your grilled dishes and get some of that smoked flavor on all your endeavors without a lot of fuss.

Tonight I roasted some vegetables with Italian herbs (basil, rosemary, and oregano) with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and added some smoked salt to give yet another layer of flavor.  Since the vegetables take longer than the sausage, I cooked them separately and combined them at the end.  The flavors were wonderful and although the grill time is over 30 minutes, the hands on time is short and the clean up is easy.

You’ll need:

About 2 lbs of unpeeled, small red potatoes

1 lb fresh green bean, ends trimmed and broken into 2-3inch pieces

1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut into wedges

1/2 lb of crimini mushrooms, halved or quartered

3 Tbs olive oil

3 Tbs balsamic vinegar

3 Tbs fresh basil, chopped

2 Tbs fresh rosemary, chopped

2 Tbs fresh oregano, chopped

fresh ground black pepper

1 1/2 tsp smoked salt

1 pkg of smoked sausage

Wash potatoes and trim any bad spots, half or quarter them so pieces are about 2 inches in diameter.  Place potatoes in a medium size pan and barely cover them with cold water.  Place on stove and bring to a boil.  Cook until potatoes just start to yield to a fork (about 10 minutes).  Remove from heat and drain.

While the potatoes are cooking….

Wash and trim the green beans,  cut up the onion and mushrooms.  Place veggies in a foil lined grilling basket.  Chop up your fresh herbs.  Set aside.

Time to fire up the grill.  Set burner to high and let the temp come up to around 400F.

By now the potatoes are ready to drain.  Add them to your grill basket.  Sprinkle chopped herbs  and drizzle olive oil and vinegar over them.  Now for the ground pepper and smoked salt.  Give the mixture a gentle toss and then put it all out on the grill for about 30 minutes until veggies are browned and softened.  Grill your smoked sausage to the basket’s side for the last few minutes letting the casing brown nicely.  Remove from heat and let it all rest for about 5-10 minutes.  Slice the sausages into 1 inch slices and add to the veggies.  Give a final light drizzle of balsamic vinegar and toss it all together.  Serve with a crusty bread if you like and a nice old vine Zinfandel.  Enjoy.