Vegan on the grill with Gustav “Damn good” Johansson

“Damn good” blogger Gustav Johansson suggests

Gustav Johansson is a griller of rank.

The profile behind the food blog “Damn good” tips here on how to get the perfect vegan dinner on the charcoal grill.

– All of a sudden you have a huge range of dishes you can cook, he says.

When Gustav Johansson has to choose what he prefers to put on the grill, it is hamburgers that count. Vegan like that, of course.

– I grill burgers at least once a week. The dream is to make as good burgers as possible.

How far do you have to get there?

– I have grilled thousands of burgers so I should be well on my way anyway.

For more than ten years, he has run the blog “Damn good”, a food blog where he shares recipes and tips on vegan cooking. Gustav’s niche is to veganize classic meat dishes. But he tries not to focus so much on why the food is vegan but how it turns out.

– The primary thing is that it is good, then people want to eat, it’s that simple. Food is such a big part of our lives. Food, music, love and politics are our major identity markers. You can not ask people to change their eating habits, it’s like asking them to change their taste in music or become someone else. It’s really hard.

The same is true with grilling. For many, grilling is strongly associated with meat and then it is easy for it to stop when the dinner is to be vegetarian. Gustav Johansson wants to strike a blow to cook complete dishes on the grill.

– You can very well fry, cook and bake on the grill as long as you use ovenproof pots, pots and pans. Then all of a sudden you have a huge range of dishes to choose from.

How do you keep the right temperature on the grill?

– I usually put briquettes on only one side of the grill. Then you have a side that is very hot where you can fry and brown and then you have a side where you have indirect heat and where the food can be cooked longer.

The pot or saucepan should not have a lid when cooking, instead it is the grill lid that can control the cooking, according to Gustav Johansson.

– That way you get like an oven grill, which is fantastic and gives a rich charcoal grill taste to the food. You regulate the temperature by opening and closing the valves on the grill.

Have you grilled something that turned out unexpectedly good?

– Yes! Melon becomes very tasty, it becomes almost caramelized. Overall, the fruit is great to grill. The combination of the smoked and the caramelized is immensely good.

The perfect barbecue dinner for Gustav is when he gets to invite family, friends and neighbors to the farm in Östergötland.

– Then I first offer a mess of seaweed caviar, crumbled salty country chips, chopped red onion and dill mixed with herbal yogurt or crème fraiche. And then you dip chips in. You can also take the opportunity to grill cucumber pieces and melon slices while waiting for the barbecue glow. They just need a shock of strong heat, serve as a pick-me-up with a vinaigrette.

Then Gustav sets up a large buffet with, for example, carnitas, which you will find recipes on the next page, along with lots of good stir-fries and accessories. For dessert, berry pie is baked on indirect heat in a cast iron pan on the grill.

– It’s going to be damn good! No matter how good, says Gustav.

Gustav’s 6 tips – how to make vegan sauces

Use oat cream, it works like regular cream.

Buy or make vegan mayonnaise, it is based on chickpea spatula instead of eggs. The mayonnaise can be seasoned or used in different sauces.

Make a salsa, they can be flavored in a variety of ways. Think Romanesque, guacamole or ajvar.

Tzatziki can be made with vegan alternatives to yogurt and crème fraiche.

Boil cashews for 15 minutes and mix them into a mixture that becomes a rich base that you season with your favorite spices and garlic.

White beans can also be mixed into a cream and seasoned with garlic, dijon and lemon. It will be a good hamburger dressing.

Gustav Johansson

Bor: Stockholm

Profession: Food creator, entrepreneur and cookbook author.

Current with: The cooking program “Vegan on the grill” on the Godare channel. The Vego campaign at school with courses for school chefs. Working on a new cookbook.

Every week it’s Wednesday. But not just any Wednesday. The is Matsmarta on Wednesday! Through knowledge, wonderful tips and recipes, Aftonbladet wants to inspire you and the entire Swedish people to eat a little climate-smarter. And you have to start somewhere – so why not one day a week?