These veggie barbecue skewers are super-easy and delicious

One of the easiest ways of cooking vegetables on the barbecue is to thread them onto skewers – ideal for preparing at home and transporting to a barbecue party. I love to combine a mix of vegetables with something powerfully savoury in flavour such as halloumi cheese or mushrooms. Serve these skewers with a creamy red pepper sauce and a refreshing watermelon and buckwheat salad. Naturally, you can vary the skewered vegetables based on season and availability.

Halloumi Veggie Skewers with Watermelon Buckwheat Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the watermelon and buckwheat salad
100g buckwheat
500ml water
100g baby spinach or rocket
1 red onion, sliced
200g watermelon, diced
100g tomatillos or cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp fresh finely chopped herbs, such as coriander, parsley or mint
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt, to taste

For the halloumi veggie skewers
300g halloumi cheese or mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces
8 small or 2 medium red or yellow peppers, cored, deseeded and cut into bite-sized pieces
4 small red onions, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 green tomatillos (or substitute yellow tomatoes if you can’t source)
200g cauliflower florets
8 radishes
olive oil, for drizzling
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the creamy red pepper sauce
½ red chilli, chopped
2 roasted red peppers from a jar, drained
2 garlic cloves, chopped
100g walnuts
50ml water
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp honey or agave syrup
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method
Cook the buckwheat in the water for 10 minutes. Put all the ingredients for the creamy red pepper sauce in a blender or food processor and whizz until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and cover tightly or put in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve. Mix the ingredients for the Watermelon and Buckwheat salad in a bowl and set aside until serving.

Put the halloumi or mushrooms with the prepared vegetables in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, then toss to coat. Thread the halloumi or mushrooms onto skewers, alternating with the vegetables.

When the coals of your charcoal barbecue have burnt down or your gas barbecue is hot, place the skewers on the metal rack and grill for a few minutes, turning frequently, until charred on all sides. Serve the skewers with the Watermelon Buckwheat Salad and creamy red pepper sauce.

Vegan option
Opt for mushrooms for the skewers, and vegan crème fraîche for the soured cream and agave syrup for the salsa verde.

GF

Extracted from Feasts of Veg by Nina Olsson (Kyle Books, approx €21.50). Photography by Nina Olsson.