Roasted rosemary veggie skewers

I loved this concept so much and I wanted to share it with you. It's not so much of an amazing recipe- more just the quirky skewer thing going on ;-)

Perfect for BBQ's or summer dining al-fresco, the flavours are fresh and enticing and it will make your dinner companions smile.

There are two simple requirements for this dish:

1- some veggies that can be skewered

2- robust fresh rosemary 'stalks' to act as the skewers

I have a rosemary plant in the garden so had easy access to cut some skewers, some of the skewers I cut were not quite robust enough but they still do the trick and infuse the veggies with flavour. I used my fingers slide the veggie chunks onto my plate just before I ate them and many of the rosemary leaves came away too- yum!

The light oil baste over the veggies was kept simple here so the flavour of the herbs could do their thing, but you could add some more spice if you liked with chipotle sauce or chilli flakes. I served the skewers as a side dish along with the samphire quinoa dish and flatbread wedges.

Bon apetite!

Recipe: Roasted rosemary veggie skewers

Serves 2 as a side

Ingredients:

2 cup worth mixed veg- (I used 1 red onion, 1 red pepper and 1 courgette)

2 tsp oilve oil (or preferred oil)

1 tsp mixed herbs and spices of choice (i.e chili or cajun)

4 robust rosemary stalks to act as skewers

Method:

Prepare the vegetables to be skewered and toss in the oil and spices.

Carefully thread the veg pieces on the rosemary stalks, going along the direction of the leaves so that they largely remain intact).

Toast the skewers under a medium grill for 5-10 minutes until golden along the edges.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Satay sauce

It’s still sunny and it has been all week! Today I sat outside at my dad’s house writing up some posts to schedule whilst I am away on holiday next week. However I didn’t sit out too long as it wasn’t the most comfortable bench in the world! I’m just hoping the weather holds next week for my family break in Cornwall…well as long as we have some sun I will be happy!

Anyway, time for food……….

Remember my little teaser from this post at the weekend? Well, the wait is over and if you hadn’t guessed it already this is my current favourite, simple, speedy, no-fuss, super yummy (all my favourite words)… peanut satay sauce.

Even before I became a fan of peanut butter I always loved peanut satay sauce. Particularly on chicken skewers in a Thai restaurant! But now I have my own. I can’t believe I haven’t made it before. To me it tasted pretty much like the real thing but with only 4 ingredients and 2 minutes of time. Yes this is another one of my 5 minutes recipes.

As it was such a lovely spring day last Saturday I fancied a simple light lunch but wasn’t in the mood for salad. So instead here we have simple grilled veggie skewers with a satay marinade and drizzle sauce. It was so good. The drizzle sauce is quite light in colour as it is simply a thinner version of the marinade, you could add extra soy sauce or maybe even a touch of molasses if you want extra colour and depth. I felt it was perfectly tasty enough without.

I think this may even become my new quick snack recipe alternative to veggie sticks and dips, the whole meal took no more than 10 minutes, and you could easily add some carbs or lentils for a more substantial meal.

Want more peanut recipes? Well, I would suggest giving this unusual but yummy soup a try…plus I might just have a PB&J granola recipe currently undergoing a few tests….nom nom nom.
 

Recipe: Satay sauce

Makes one ramekins worth (for roughly one serving of veggie skewers)

Ingredients

2 tbs peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs soy milk
Approx. ½ tsp hot sauce or chipotle pepper sauce (to taste depending on what type you use)

Additional 1-2 tbs soy (or other) milk to thin out once the veggies have been basted in half the sauce.

Method

Mix together all the ingredients to get a fairly thick paste. Coat the veggies and feed onto skewers for grilling. Grill for up to 10 mins turning once.

Meanwhile, you should have about half the sauce remaining. Add additional soy milk until you reach a drizzle consistency. Taste and add extra soy sauce etc if required. Heat the sauce in the microwave for approx. 1 minute on 50% power (not full power as I found it burnt the sauce).
Serve along with the skewers.