Farmer tan lines and spontaneous trips to the local siopa for ice-pops, summer has well and truly landed in Ireland! It’s time to put the stew pot away and throw a veggie burger on the barbie…even if you don’t actually have a BBQ grill.
If you’re super lucky you’ve got a garden and some sort of BBQ set-up…or, if you’re like me you don’t have a garden or even a balcony. But if you’re lucky enough to have a cooker you can still barbeque up a mini feast. This one is for the vegans in the house/at your party but you can add whatever dishes/ingredients you like.
Depending on your set-up or preference you may want to make your own homemade burgers etc. Of course, it’s completely up to you, but as I’m a kitchen BBQ’r and the sun is so rare it may disappear as quickly as it has arrived, unless I have some pre-made earlier I like to grab some tofu burgers or burger mix from the shop for as minimal effort as possible. So my prepping and cooking is mainly centred around the sides. Today’s quick recipe is for some chunky veg and tofu skewers with a simple homemade BBQ marinade. I pop the skewers in a casserole dish and cook them in the oven, but you may prefer to use the grill, or obviously an actual BBQ grill if you have one.
You can add your favourite vegetables to this recipe. Next time I’ll use the same veg as I have here but I’ll add aubergine. All are available to buy loose at Small Changes so you can choose just as much as you need. I used sweet potato and baby potatoes as they add some extra bite and flavour to the dish and most importantly they make great stoppers so the veg doesn’t slip off at either end. All of the marinade ingredients can be picked up in Small Changes except the sriracha, but that should already be a staple in any kitchen press!
Super quick vegan BBQ skewers so you can spend less time over the cooker heat and more time enjoying the heat of the sun. You will need:
- Sweet potato
- Baby potato
- Pressed tofu
- Multi-coloured peppers I used red, green, and orange.
- Courgette
- Chunky mushrooms I used organic portobello
- Cherry tomato
- 2 tbsp agave syrup or maple syrup
- 3 tbsp tamari sauce I use Biona tamari sauce but you can use soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tbsp peanut oil I use Bayin cold pressed peanut oil
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Scrub and chop the sweet potato and baby potatoes into chunks at least an inch in diameter, parboil for about 10 minutes, drain and set aside.
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Wash and chop the rest of the veg (I just lightly dry brush the mushrooms), I like these quite chunky as they reduce considerably in the heat.
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Chop the tofu into 1-inch chunks. I used pre-pressed bought tofu unless I have some pressed and ready to go.
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Add your chunky chopped veg to the skewers, mixing it up to keep it colourful and remembering to use the potatoes as stoppers.
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Brush marinade over skewers, coating generously. Cover and leave in the fridge for 10-30mins while you prep the rest of your BBQ and have a cool drink.
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If you're an indoor BBQ'r, preheat the oven to 200c (for fan assisted) and pop in the oven for 15 mins turning at least once. On an actual BBQ turn several times and these will be done in 8-10 mins.
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Serve immediately with burgers/sausages/salad and your favourite drink.
Earlier today the sun was splitting the stones (or at least it was splitting our little car while we melted inside it) but just as I’m about to hit publish on this post the clouds are hovering and the wind is starting to stir…typical Irish summer. Hopefully, the next BBQ isn’t too far away though. Keep an eye out on the blog for more recipes, and feel free to leave a comment and tell us how you barbeque!
