Vegetable kabobs

One of my all time favorite dishes is Shish Kabob (or Shish Kabab). Whether it’s Middle Eastern, Arabic or Israeli, I love the suckers. I make them with lamb, beef or poultry; in sandwiches, pita bread, or over rice pilaf or steamed white rice. But what do you do if you’re a vegetarian? Well, you can make veggie kebobs. That’s right, veggie style. And just the same way as you would prepare regular shish kebob.

So, for my vegetarian friends, what follows is a vegetable kebob recipe. You can use almost any firm vegetable for this; just cut them up into pieces. You can try broccoli florets, or asparagus, or cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, or even add tofu. In this recipe I went for zucchini, cherry tomatoes, onions, pimentos, and white mushrooms. In terms of mushrooms, you can substitute portobello, cremini, oyster mushrooms, shitake or any other. Let your imagination run wild.

VEGETABLE KEBOBS

2 medium zucchini, washed, with ends cut off, and each zucchini cut into 6 slices
12 cherry tomatoes, washed and dried with paper towels
2 pounds fresh white mushrooms, washed and dried with paper towels
2 large onion, peeled and cut into eights
I large bell pepper (pimento), green, yellow or red, washed and cut into squares
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1.  Place vegetables on skewers, alternating vegetables.

2. Place olive oil in a small bowl. Add parsley, oregano, garlic and pepper. Mix well; and brush over all the vegetables.
3. Place skewers under the grill in an oven; or in an outdoor grill, either using a gas grill or over hot coals. Grill for about 5 minutes. Turn and grill another 5 minutes, brushing with olive mixture frequently while cooking.  
    Yield: 4 to  servings.