Grilled Vegetables and Their Sauces

Cooking over fire is one of the special pleasures of summer. For most people the barbecue is for meat, but vegetables also taste wonderful grilled. The smoke from various woods and herbs bathes the vegetables with mingled scents, and the heat of the grill will leave rustic crosshatched marks over eggplants and onions as well as steaks. Grilled vegetables are delicious hot or at room temperature, served with a splash of vinegar or any number of sauces. They are also useful as ingredients—their smoky essence can completely transform a corn soup or tomato sauce; charcoal-grilled peppers make a most delicious and useful condiment; and there’s nothing more delectable than a sandwich of grilled vegetables and garlic mayonnaise or pasta tossed with grilled vegetables.