African Kebabs

Bret and I loved these marinated vegetable kebabs!! They were so good we had to share the recipe. We substituted some of the suggested ingredients just because they were hard to find at our local grocery store and some were hard to find given the season. The kebabs are delicious and can be served as a main dish with rice or as a vegetable side dish.

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 oz pumpkin (we did not use the pumpkin but we hope to in the fall)

1 red onion

1 small courgette (could not find courgette at our local grocery store)

1 ripe plantain

1 aubergine (could not find aubergine at our local grocery store)

1/2 red  pepper, seeded

1/2 green pepper, seeded

12 button mushrooms

4 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp olive oil

3-4 tbsp soy sauce

2/3 cup tomato juice

1 green chili, seeded and chopped

1/2 onion, granted 

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 1/2 dried tarragon

3/4 tsp dried basil

3/4 tsp dried thyme 

3/4 ground cinnamon

2 tbsp butter or margarine

1 1/4 cups vegetable stock

freshly ground black pepper   

1 Peel and cube the pumpkin, place in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Blanch for 2-3 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold water. 

2 Cut the onion into wedges, slice the courgette and plantain and cut the aubergine and red and green peppers into chunks. Trim the mushrooms. Place the vegetable including the pumpkin in a large bowl.

3 Mix together the lemon juice, oil, soy sauce, tomato juice, chili, grated onion, garlic, herbs, cinnamon and black pepper and pour over the vegetables. Toss together and then set aside in a cool place to marinate for 2-3 hrs.

4 Thread the vegetables on to eight skewers, using a variety of vegetables on each skewer to make a colorful display. Preheat the grill.

5 Grill the vegetables on a low heat, for about 15 minutes, turning frequently, until golden brown, basting with the marinade to keep the vegetables moist.

6 Place the remaining marinade, butter or margarine and stock in a pan and simmer for 10 minutes to cook the onion and reduce the sauce.

7 Pour the sauce into a serving jug and arrange the vegetable skewers on a plate.

ENJOY!