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Pattypan, zucchini, halloumi & pepper kebabs on the braai / BBQ

by Jeanne Horak on October 3, 2013 12 Comments in Braai/Barbecue, Main course - vegetarian, Vegetable side dishes

SquashHalloumiKebabs © J Horak-Druiff 2013

 

Aldous Huxley wrote: “Several excuses are always less convincing than one.”

I could give you several excuses for the lack of posts around here over the past two weeks.  I could say that I caught a stinking cold on 18 September, just before we went on holiday, and I’m still shaking it off.  I could tell you that I left my laptop charger at home and ran out of juice on day 3 of our trip.  I could tell you that my memory card mysteriously erased itself and I had no photos of any dish that I could post. I could tell you that I dropped my laptop into the hotel swimming pool and fried its circuits.  But that would be several excuses.  In truth I have only one convincing excuse:  I was having so much fun on my holiday that I could not bear to spend a few hours in front of the laptop writing blog posts.  Mea culpa.

But more on the holiday later – back home we left a house brimming with produce from the allotment – the last of the zucchini and pattypans, a ridiculous harvest of potatoes (like eighty.  EIGHTY!), and the beginnings of the tomatoes. In fact, most of the summer has been spent thinking of creative ways in which to use up our glut of zucchini and pattypans – and judging by what I read online, we are not alone! I made pattypan pasta, courgette and fetea terrine,  pattypan squash with a cheesy bacon stuffing and stuffed zucchini flowers; and I revisited old favourites like stuffed courgettes; zucchini, red pesto  Parmesan tart; zucchini, peppadew and feta bread; and ratatouille bake with feta cheese. And still the squash came.

 

SummerSquash © J Horak-Druiff 2013

 

So when we had a big summer braai a few weeks back, I figured it was a good opportunity to get creative and dream up a new way of using our squash. The thing with feeding a lot of people is that there is never enough grill space to cook everything at once, so we tend to send things out in waves, for people to eat casually standing around the garden – cutlery not required!  So our go-to dishes are usually foods on sticks (witness our spicy BBQ chicken “sundowner” wings, or Cecil’s lamb sosaties) – and this year was no different. Going for as much colour as possible, we strung together kebabs of yellow pattypan squash, red onion, green zucchini and red pepper, interspersed with blocks of halloumi cheese for a salty kick.  It was ridiculously easy, gloriously colourful – and vegetarian-friendly (unusual at a braai!).  If you are reading this from the southern hemisphere, you are lucky and all these things are about to come into season (as is braaing); and if you are in the northern hemisphere, these will also work under a grill or in a ridged griddle pan.

 

Other bloggers making food on sticks include:

  • Michelle’s chicken yakitori kebabs
  • Margot’s Caribbean pineapple & chicken kebabs
  • Jane-Anne’s caramel dipped naartjie (clementine) segments on a stick

 

5.0 from 3 reviews
Pattypan, zucchini, halloumi & pepper kebabs on the braai / BBQ
 
Print
Prep time
30 mins
Cook time
10 mins
Total time
40 mins
 
These super-colourful kebabs make a fantastic addition to any summer barbecue/braai and will bring joy to the heart of any vegetarian guests too.
Author: Jeanne Horak-Druiff
Recipe type: Vegetable side
Cuisine: South African
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 6 metal skewers (or bamboo skewers, soaked in water)
  • 2-3 large zucchini
  • 2 large patty-pan squash
  • 1 large red pepped, deseeded
  • 1 large red onion
  • 2 x 200g blocks of halloumi cheese
  • chilli oil for basting
Instructions
  1. Chop the zucchini and pattypans into roughly 2.5cm (1 inch) square cubes. If the seeds have begun to harden, remove them before chopping.
  2. Cut the pepper into roughly 2.5cm (1 inch) squares.
  3. Peel and cut the onion into roughly 2.5cm (1 inch squares), leaving a couple of layers stuck together in each block.
  4. Slice the halloumi into 12 roughly equal cubes.
  5. Thread the vegetables and cheese onto the skewers, ensuring that there are at least 2 pieces of each type of vegetable and 2 blocks of cheese on each skewer. If you still have vegetables over after making 6 skewers, you can always add more to each skewer.
  6. If you have time, you can pour some chilli oil (or your favourite marinade) over the kebabs and allow them to marinade for a couple of hours. If you are in a rush, simply brush each kebab with the chilli oil and barbecue over medium heat, turning frequently until the vegetables begin to char and soften slightly. Serve hot, straight from the skewers (but warn your guests to grab a napkin if using metal skewers as they will be very hot!)
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe
3.2.1255

 

More deliciousness for you!

  • Courgette & feta terrine with a roasted red pepper chipotle coulisCourgette & feta terrine with a roasted red pepper chipotle coulis
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  1. Asha@fsk says

    October 3, 2013 at 2:44 pm

    I am soooo envious about your allotment! Although I am thankful that I atleast have access to farm produce here. You guys really had a bounty of squash. amazing the dishes you have made with them!

    Reply
    • Jeanne says

      October 8, 2013 at 12:39 pm

      Hahaha – you are only envious because you didn’t have to come up with recipes to use up over 100 zucchini ;o) Seriously though, it has been amazing – zucchini, pattypans, spinach, broad beans, French beans, baby aubergines, kohlrabi, radishes, lettuce, arugula, tomatoes, gem squash, potatoes, onion… and the butternut and pumpkins yet to come!

      Reply
  2. Rosa says

    October 6, 2013 at 1:41 pm

    A wonderful idea and combination! So colorful and tasty.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
    • Jeanne says

      October 8, 2013 at 12:37 pm

      Thanks Rosa! I loved the colours… but the flavours were even better 🙂

      Reply
  3. Kalyn says

    October 13, 2013 at 3:33 pm

    You are just having too darn much fun! xoxo

    Reply
    • Jeanne says

      October 21, 2013 at 4:55 pm

      Kalyn, if we’d known that allotments were this much fun we would have got one earlier 😉 BTW, your vegetable garden posts were a constant inspiration for our own efforts!

      Reply
  4. Jonker - Firefly says

    October 15, 2013 at 9:24 am

    This looks absolutely delish and really healthy

    Reply
    • Jeanne says

      October 21, 2013 at 4:54 pm

      I know – who knew, healthy stuff on a braai?! It kept the guests happy while the oxtail potjie was cooking!

      Reply
  5. Kit says

    October 15, 2013 at 7:29 pm

    We are in an early spring lull with our veggie garden, with nothing but spinach to harvest, since the moles ate all our carrots. But now the strawberries are starting so I don’t need to feel envious of your allotment bounty any more, though it is seriously impressive and I’m wondering if we need more compost on ours.

    Reply
    • Jeanne says

      October 21, 2013 at 4:53 pm

      Oh no!! Damn moles… Could you grow carrots in big tubs?? Nick used the compost that we make from our kitchen & garden waste on ours plus our allotments have a secret weapon: their neighbour is a stable complex, so all the allotment gardeners have unlimited access to horse manure! N reckons the manure made a huge difference to the yield of the soil.

      Reply
  6. Rafal says

    January 17, 2015 at 7:34 am

    Delightful! I made these ‘by the book’. I used whole peppercorns and cumin seeds which I ground fresh just before using. I served them with Derf’s Curried Cous Cous. After grilling I put the ones we didn’t have for supper on paper towels to drain and cool. I wrapped them 3 per packet in freezer paper. Last night I thawed 2 packets for supper. I nuked them for 2 minutes and served them with the thawed and warmed curried Cous Cous. We couldn’t tell the frozen from the fresh. Most definitely a keeper. Thanx for posting this great recipe. Pierre

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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