Get the barbecue on the go tonight for these smoked veggie kebabs

I’ve long said that some of the best vegetarian cooking in the country happens at restaurants that are anything but vegetarian.

Bavel, one of my favorite restaurants in Los Angeles, is a prime example. The first time I went, the signature design – especially its high ceiling of ivy that hangs so long and low you can practically touch it – made me smile at its obvious proclamation: we are into plants! Well, I thought: so am I. The connection got stronger the more my dining companions and I ordered and ate. Breads: outstanding. Spreads: dreamy. But it was an appetiser of oyster mushroom kebabs, sitting on a bright green herbaceous purée, that I couldn’t stop thinking about for months.

How did they get such a concentration of flavour into those mushrooms?

Years later, this spring, when I opened the restaurant’s newly published cookbook, it practically fell open onto the spread with the kebab recipe. The same day, a colleague messaged me to say: did you see these mushrooms in Bavel?

The secret to those mushrooms, it turns out, is pretty simple: they’re packed onto skewers, generously oiled, sprinkled with a little salt, pepper and sumac, and grilled over a medium charcoal fire until they shrink, soften and concentrate. The oil dripping from the grates creates the smoke that flavours them.

Meanwhile, there’s that purée. At Bavel, it was made with lovage, which author-owners Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis describe in the cookbook as “a minerally, almost salty green that tastes like a mix between overgrown parsley and celery leaves”.

I’ve had lovage a few times and can attest to its deliciousness, but unless you’re growing it (or know somebody who is), it’s pretty hard to come by. So for my version, I subbed in parsley – along with yoghurt instead of the book’s crème fraîche and whey – and loved the result. Fresh turmeric and cardamom add earthy and sweet flavours, respectively.

The mushrooms, though, are the star. In fact, the only other change I made to the recipe was to double the quantity, because sometimes more is more.

Time:35 minutes (plus time to prepare the grill)

Makes: 4 servings

Storage notes: The mushrooms are best eaten freshly made, but they can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. The purée can also be refrigerated for up to 1 week; freezing is not recommended.

Ingredients

58g (2oz) loosely packed fresh parsley (leaves and stems)

140g (5oz) packed baby spinach leaves

160g plain whole milk yoghurt (may substitute non-dairy yoghurt of your choice)

1 (5cm) piece fresh turmeric, peeled and chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tsp fine sea salt, divided, plus more to taste

½ tsp ground cardamom

Water, if needed

900g (2lbs) oyster mushrooms

125ml (½ cup) grapeseed oil

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp ground sumac, divided

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and fill a large bowl with ice water. Blanch the parsley in the boiling water for 2 minutes, then add the spinach and blanch both together for another 2 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the greens to the ice water and leave until they are cool enough to handle. Drain the greens in a colander or fine-mesh strainer, removing any ice. Using your hands, form the greens into a ball and squeeze out as much water as possible. Transfer the ball to a kitchen towel, and wring it out until the greens are almost completely dry.

2. Transfer the greens to a blender and add the yoghurt, turmeric, garlic, ½ teaspoon of the salt and the cardamom and purée until smooth. (Add water, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, if needed, to help the mixture blend.)

3. If using a charcoal grill, fill a chimney starter with charcoal, light it, and when the coals are red hot, dump them into your grill. Add more charcoal. When all the coals have ashed over and are gray but are still very hot, about 15 minutes, your grill should be medium hot. (Use a grill thermometer or to test the heat by holding your hand, palm-down about 12cm from the grill. If you can hold it there for 4 to 5 seconds, the heat should be medium heat, or 180C to 230C. (Alternatively, you can cook these on a gas grill or on a stove-top grill pan.)

4. Slice the mushrooms off their cluster, leaving a very small amount of stem intact. Using four metal or soaked wooden skewers, thread the mushrooms through the stems, gill-side down, alternating the tops of the mushrooms from left to right so they cook evenly. You should end up with four full skewers.

5. Brush the mushrooms with a generous amount of oil to coat, making sure to oil the gills. Season with the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, pepper and ½ teaspoon of the sumac.

6. Grill the mushrooms for 2 minutes, then flip the skewers and continue to grill, flipping every 2 minutes, until the edges start to curl and brown, the mushrooms have shrunk significantly, and the stems are soft to the touch, about 8 minutes total.

7. Spread the purée evenly on a platter. Lightly dust the purée with the remaining ½ teaspoon of sumac, place the mushroom skewers on top (or remove the mushrooms from the skewers, if desired, and place over the purée), and serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition per serving (1 skewer, ⅓ cup purée) | Calories: 369; total fat: 30g; saturated fat: 4g; cholesterol: 7mg; sodium: 698mg; carbohydrates: 20g; dietary fibre: 7g; sugar: 6g; protein: 11g.

Adapted from ‘Bavel’ by Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis (Ten Speed Press, 2021).