Halloumi, a salty cheese from Cyprus in the Mediterranean, has a high melting point, which makes it great for grilling. Toss the cheese, eggplant, mushrooms, and bell peppers with an easy blended tomato-artichoke sauce, then skewer and grill until charred. Serve with a Mediterranean Couscous Salad to round out an alfresco vegetarian meal.

What to buy: We prefer smaller Japanese or Chinese eggplants for this recipe since they taste sweeter and have fewer seeds, but a larger globe eggplant will work well too.

Game plan: If you’re using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes beforehand so they don’t burn on the grill.

See more grilled vegetarian main dishes.

  • Yield: 4 servings as a main course, 6 to 8 servings as a side dish
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Total: 1 hr

Ingredients (15)

For the sauce:

  • 1 pound Roma tomatoes (about 4 medium tomatoes)
  • 1 (14-ounce) jar marinated artichoke halves or quarters, drained
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh oregano leaves
  • 2 medium garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the skewers:

  • 1 pound eggplant
  • 24 small to medium cremini mushrooms
  • 2 medium red bell peppers
  • 1 pound halloumi cheese
  • 15 (12-inch) wooden or metal skewers (soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes to avoid burning on the grill)
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Vegetable or olive oil, for oiling the grill

Instructions

For the sauce:

  1. Core the tomatoes, coarsely chop, and place in a blender.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Transfer 1 cup of the sauce to a small serving bowl and set aside for serving. Divide the remaining sauce between 2 large bowls; set aside.

For the skewers:

  1. Trim and cut the eggplant into 1-inch chunks and place in one of the large bowls of sauce. Trim the stems from the mushrooms, add them to the bowl with the eggplant, and toss to combine; set aside.
  2. Core and seed the bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces, and place in the second large bowl of sauce. Cut the cheese into 24 pieces, add to the bowl with the peppers, and toss to combine; set aside.
  3. Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium high (about 375°F to 425°F). Meanwhile, thread the vegetables and cheese onto the skewers (alternating each ingredient), leaving about 1/8 inch of space between each piece. Place on a baking sheet and season generously with salt and pepper.
  4. When the grill is ready, rub the grates with a towel dipped in oil. Place the skewers on the grill. Close the grill and cook, turning the skewers every 3 minutes, until all sides are lightly charred on the edges and the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 15 to 20 minutes total. Transfer the skewers to a serving platter and serve with the reserved sauce.