Grilled Halloumi and Mushroom Skewers
with roasted red pepper and eggplant pesto pasta
Smarts:Halloumi is a salty cheese similar to feta. It is sturdy enough to hold its shape when heated and will turn golden brown and crisp as it cooks.
Cooking methods: This recipe includes instructions for using the grill or stovetop. Select your preferred method.
Ingredients
- Bell peppers, red - 1
- Eggplants, Chinese or Japanese - 3/4 lbs (sub Italian eggplant)
- Garlic - 1 clove
- Walnuts - 1/4 cup
- Lemon juice - 2 tsp
- Cheese, Halloumi - 8 oz, rinsed and sliced into 1" / 2.5 cm cubes
- Garlic - 1 clove, chopped
- Oregano, dried - 1 tsp
- Brown sugar - 1 tsp
- Soy sauce, low-sodium - 2 Tbsp
- Vinegar, apple cider - 2 Tbsp (sub balsamic vinegar)
- Oil, cooking - 2 Tbsp
- Mushrooms, any small button - 8 oz, halved if large
- Skewers, metal or bamboo - 12
- Pasta, any fun shape - 8 oz
- Basil - 8 leaves, chopped
- Eggplant and Red Pepper Pesto (ingredients listed separately) - ~1 cup
Nutrition Facts
Choose Cooking Method
Prep
- Pasta - Boil pasta according to package directions. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Halloumi / Garlic (portion for skewers) - Prep as directed. Store separately. (Note: Halloumi is usually stored in salt water, so rinse and pat dry to prevent it from being overly salty.) (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Marinate halloumi and mushrooms - Whisk together garlic (portion for skewers), oregano, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and cooking oil. Add halloumi and mushrooms, stirring to combine. Marinate for at least 20 minutes and up to a day. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Roast vegetables - (Skip if roasted ahead for Tuesday.) Fire up the grill or turn on the oven’s broiler. Core stem out of peppers. Pierce eggplants all over with a fork. Brush peppers and eggplants with some cooking oil. Place over direct heat on the grill or broil on a sheet pan for 6 minutes each side. When peppers are charred and eggplants are soft, place them in a mixing bowl and cover with a plate to help steam off skins. When cool enough to handle, scrape flesh out of eggplants and peel skins off of red peppers. (Discard skins.) This video shows you how to roast peppers. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make pesto - (Skip if made ahead for Tuesday.) Combine flesh of eggplants, peppers, garlic (portion for pesto), and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until everything is combined and smooth. Finish with lemon juice and season to taste with some salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Skewers - If using wooden / bamboo skewers, soak in water for 10 minutes.
- Assemble skewers - Alternate threading halloumi and mushrooms onto skewers. (Using two skewers together can make it easier to flip the skewers as they cook.) (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Basil - Chop basil.
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Make
- Season halloumi and mushroom skewers with some salt and pepper.
- Heat grill to 400F / 204C, keeping one part of the grill with direct heat and one part with indirect heat. Clean grates and brush with some cooking oil.
- Add skewers to direct heat on the grill and turn to sear on all sides. Move to indirect heat and close the lid. Continue cooking until mushrooms are tender, 5 to 7 minutes total.
- If pasta was made ahead, reheat it in the microwave. Combine with pesto. Season with some salt and pepper. Top with fresh basil.
- Serve halloumi and mushroom skewers with pasta on the side. Enjoy!
Prep
- Pasta - Boil pasta according to package directions. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Halloumi / Garlic (portion for skewers) - Prep as directed. Store separately. (Note: Halloumi is usually stored in salt water, so rinse and pat dry to prevent it from being overly salty.) (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Marinate halloumi and mushrooms - Whisk together garlic (portion for skewers), oregano, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and cooking oil. Add halloumi and mushrooms, stirring to combine. Marinate for at least 20 minutes and up to a day. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Roast vegetables - (Skip if roasted ahead for Tuesday.) Fire up the grill or turn on the oven’s broiler. Core stem out of peppers. Pierce eggplants all over with a fork. Brush peppers and eggplants with some cooking oil. Place over direct heat on the grill or broil on a sheet pan for 6 minutes each side. When peppers are charred and eggplants are soft, place them in a mixing bowl and cover with a plate to help steam off skins. When cool enough to handle, scrape flesh out of eggplants and peel skins off of red peppers. (Discard skins.) This video shows you how to roast peppers. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make pesto - (Skip if made ahead for Tuesday.) Combine flesh of eggplants, peppers, garlic (portion for pesto), and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until everything is combined and smooth. Finish with lemon juice and season to taste with some salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Assemble skewers - Alternate threading halloumi and mushrooms onto skewers. (Using two skewers together can make it easier to flip the skewers as they cook.) (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Basil - Chop basil.
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Make
- Season halloumi and mushroom skewers with some salt and pepper.
- Heat a grill pan over medium heat (if you aren’t using skewers, just heat a wok or skillet to saute the halloumi and mushrooms). Brush pan with some oil. Add skewers to heated grill pan and turn to sear on all sides. Continue cooking until mushrooms are tender, 8 to 10 minutes total. (Note: Covering the skewers with a lid or foil as they cook can help speed the process along and help the mushrooms to cook evenly.)
- If pasta was made ahead, reheat it in the microwave. Combine with pesto. Season with some salt and pepper. Top with fresh basil.
- Serve halloumi and mushroom skewers with pasta on the side. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
Most Helpful
Chicken was delicious. I added pasta water to my pesto until it was more sauce. Lots of salt added to this one, and then it was yummy!
1 Helpful21 reviews
This review is made with the context that I changed it quite a bit. The store did not have halloumi so I bought some vegan sausages instead. I didn't make kabobs but rather grilled the sausages whole and sliced the mushrooms and sautéed them separately. I then sliced the sausages and threw them into the finished pasta along with the mushrooms. I also added a little bit of milk to the eggplant pasta sauce which cut some of the bitterness.
0 HelpfulWish I would have seen that I needed to marinade the chicken ahead of time. So, that part really didn't turn out.
0 HelpfulDelicious, made the pesto ahead and didn't bother to skewer the chicken. The pasta was great and chicken was great, they were kind of an odd flavor pairing but it worked out in the end.
0 HelpfulMade the zucchini noodles with just regular basil pesto from the store, which was very good. Didn't think the chicken was amazing, but we just sauteed it so maybe the grill would be better. Also added corn on the cob on the side.
0 HelpfulOverall I really liked this. It was a lot of work for a weeknight, but not as much as I expected based on reviews. The chicken flavor was great. I liked the pesto too, though it needed quite a bit of salt. I’ll make this again - it was tasty and reheated well - but I think I’ll try more red pepper in the pesto next time.
0 HelpfulTo much work in my opinion. I also feel like I dirtied every dish imaginable making this in the stovetop.
0 Helpful