Sticky Mushroom, Halloumi and Pineapple Kebabs

This is the perfect vegetarian BBQ recipe for any summer parties you might have coming up. I’ve combined plump whole closed cup mushrooms on skewers with salty cubes of halloumi cheese countered by tangy sweet chunks of pineapple, all coated with a sticky honey and soy glaze spiked with chilli, ginger and garlic.

‘More to mushrooms’

Mushrooms are a brilliant ingredient for these summery kebabs as they’re so easy to use, soak up all those lovely flavours and cook as quickly as the halloumi and pineapple so you get a lovely even result. On the nutritional front they’re a great source of protein and vitamins, as well as helping you to notch up one of your five a day.

I’m a complete sucker for the salty sweet combo, so having halloumi grilled next to pineapple that’s all caramelised is a proper bit of heaven. The sticky glaze is punchy and sweet, but not too full-on if you’re serving it to the family. Scale the chilli up or down depending on how sensitive everyone is.

I’ve made this recipe as simple as possible, using corner-cutting ingredients like ginger, garlic and chilli paste that you get in jars from the supermarket. I’ve also bypassed preparing a pineapple from scratch, frankly who can be bothered to do that?! Yep, I was very lazy and bought ready-prepared fresh pineapple.

When it comes to serving them up, I love to use these flat breads from Sainsbury’s, you can whack them in the toaster, dollop them with sour cream and chives and a handful of pea shoots then they’re ready to receive the glorious kebabs!

If the weather takes a turn for the worst, you can easily cook these kebabs under the grill or in a griddle pan. They’re very quick to both make and cook.

Sticky Mushroom, Halloumi and Pineapple Kebabs

Makes: 8 skewers
Prep time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients

For the kebabs
8 small skewers (pre-soaked in water for a few hours if possible to prevent them burning on the grill)
350g closed cup mushrooms
225g block halloumi cheese
450g fresh pineapple

For the sticky glaze
120ml clear honey
30ml dark soy sauce
2 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp chilli paste

To serve
8 flatbreads
Salad leaves
Sour cream
Chives

Method

1. Gently wipe the mushrooms with kitchen paper to get rid of any soil. Chop the halloumi into chunks about 4cm squared and the same with the fresh pineapple. Thread each skewer with a mushroom, a piece of pineapple, a chunk of halloumi, another piece of pineapple and finally another mushroom. Set aside in a shallow dish.
2. To make the sticky glaze combine the ingredients in a small bowl and stir thoroughly. Drizzle over the kebabs, turning them so they’re completely coated. You could cover and chill them in their marinade at this point ready to use on your barbecue later.
3. When you’re ready to grill them, make sure your BBQ is nice and hot and then cook the skewers for a few minutes on each side, turning frequently until those nice little char lines appear.
4. Serve tucked into warm flat breads with salad leaves and a good dollop of sour cream mixed up with chopped chives.

If you’re mad keen on mushrooms, you can find more recipes here: www.justaddmushrooms.com
You can also hop over to their Facebook page More To Mushrooms and tweet them at @MoreToMushrooms using #MTMSummer

Even more mushroom recipes from my blogging friends:

Portobello Mushroom Puff Pastry Tarts from Maison Cupcake

Mushroom and Goats Cheese Frittata from Fuss Free Flavours
Meat Free Mushroom Pasties and Stuffed Mushrooms from Utterly Scrummy
Creamy Chestnut Mushroom and Fresh Herb Pasta Salad from Tinned Tomatoes

Disclosure: I have been commissioned by The Mushroom Board to create and share this recipe with you. All views and images are my own.