Vegetable skewers

When planning these you should think about the combination of vegetables and seasonings just like in any other recipe. You could just stick a mixture of different veg pieces on without worrying to much and your skewers will be tasty enough, but why not make two or three types of skewers with a limited but more carefully chosen combination of ingredients? Much more impressive. Some vegetables are definitely better than others for making skewers, but let's look at some ideas for marinades first.

It's generally a good idea to marinate your vegetable pieces before putting them on skewers and cooking them. Leave them in a bowl of marinade for half an hour or so, while the fire is getting hot. The ingredients of the marinade can vary widely and they will depend on your taste and the type of vegetables you use.

Most good marinades have oil as one of the ingredients. Using olive oil as a base is a good idea. I've made veg skewers with plain olive oil as a marinade - this is especially good if you're using a lot of tomatoes - but I usually mix it with something else. How about 3 or 4 parts olive oil to 1 part lemon juice? That comes out quite nice, especially if you add a pinch of dried oregano and/or thyme. You could substitute fresh squeezed orange juice for the lemon. A little ground coriander and crushed garlic goes well with orange juice. Soy sauce is another alternative, though it might be better with another kind of oil - say, sesame or groundnut. Ginger would be a nice seasoning in that mix. Red chilli powder makes a great addition to the marinade if you like things hot. I do. The hotter the better. Chilli will work with any of the combinations given above.

What kind of vegetables to use? I find aubergines (eggplants) and mushrooms absorb the marinade well and using a few pieces of tomato provides some moisture when the skewers are cooking. Courgettes and pumpkin are also nice. If you like cheese, try using paneer. It can be a bit dry so use thinnish pieces (about 1 cm thick) and alternate them with some juicy vegetables like tomato or courgette. You can add the paneer to the marinade with the vegetables too. Pieces of sweet pepper taste nice on skewers but be careful to sandwich them between more succulent vegetables to prevent them burning. Cucumber sounds an unusual vegetable for skewers but it cooks well and comes out very succulent.

There are no hard and fast rules for cooking the skewers, but the best time to put them on the fire is when the coals have stopped producing flames and are glowing red. Try not to turn the skewers too often or they can start to fall apart. Let the side facing the coals get well roasted before turning. You can baste the skewers with the leftover marinade as they are cooking. If they seem to be cooking too fast (burning) take them off and leave them to cool for a minute or two then return them to the heat.

Foil baked potatoes are an excellent accompaniment to vegetable skewers of any sort.

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