Grilled Vegetables And Halloumi Skewers With Pistachio Pesto
Andi Healey
Web Manager
For your veggie friends, a simple grilled halloumi and veggie skewer will ensure they don't go hungry at your carnivorous BBQ.
Ingredients
- 227 grams cherry tomatoes
- 88 grams of baby bella mushrooms with their stems removed
- 140 grams of baby new potatoes
- 8 skewers (if using wooden skewers soak in water for 30-minutes before grilling)
- 120 grams of radishes, halved
- 1 courgette sliced
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- salt and pepper, for seasoning
- 300 grams chopped haloumi cheese, 1 inch chunks
- olive oil to drizzle
For the Pesto
- 150 grams of shelled pistachios
- 20 grams of loose basil leaves
- 10 grams of rocket
- 2 tablespoons of fresh oregano
- 3 garlic cloves
- 30 grams grated parmesan cheese
- 110 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Method
- The key to the skewers is making sure your vegetables are all roughly around the same size. I like to look at the size of my tomatoes, radishes and halved baby potatoes, then chop the onions, courguette, mushrooms and peppers accordingly. If anything, you want the potatoes slightly smaller and the tomatoes slightly larger. The potatoes will take the longest to grill, and if you wish, you can partly boil them ahead of time.
- To partly boil the potatoes, place them in a pot of cold water and bring it to a boil. Boil for 5 to 8 minutes until they are slightly softened.
- Then… skewer! There is no rule book to skewering. I like to do 1 or 2 potato halves, 1 or 2 radish halves, 1 or 2 potatoes, and in between all of that, your stacked peppers, onions, mushrooms and courgettes . I skewer roughly 12 to 15 pieces of vegetable on each skewer. Some pieces, like the peppers and onions, require a stack of 3 or 4 slices together. These veggies should make roughly 8 large skewers, give or take a few veg pieces depending on how you slice them.
- To make the halloumi skewers, skewer 4 to 5 pieces halloumi on each skewer. I find that 1 halloumi skewer is perfect for 2 veggie skewers!
- Preheat your grill to medium heat for at least 15 minutes. You want the temperature around 180-190 degrees C.
- Brush or spray your vegetable skewers with an olive oil or even a coconut oil spray if you wish. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper. You can also brush or spray the halloumi, but it does not need salt.
- Place your vegetable skewers directly on the grill. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, rotating 3 to 4 times so each side of the skewer gets nice and charred.
- Place the halloumi skewers directly on the grill. Grill for just 1 to 2 minutes per side, until grill marks appear.
- Place the pistachios, basil, rocket, oregano, garlic and cheese in a food processor. Pulse and blend until the nuts are coarsely chopped, then with the processor on, stream in 100ml of olive oil. Add a little more if necessary, depending on how “spreadable” you want your pesto to be. Taste the pesto and add in the salt, blending once more. This will make a little extra pesto than needed, so store it sealed tightly in the fridge for up to a week.
- Serve the veg skewers with the halloumi skewers and the pistachio pesto. Enjoy!
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