Lighten up the meal at your next cookout with these vegetable kabobs. In this recipe, a dressing made with lemon, tahini, and cilantro coats the juicy vegetables for a refreshing kick of flavor.

Tip for the cook: Mushrooms, peppers, onions, and tomatoes are used here, but experiment with what you have available. Eggplant and summer squash are other vegetables that hold up well on the grill.

Yield: 6 kabobs

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Grilling time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 grape or cherry tomatoes
• 12 large white button mushrooms
• 1 large bell pepper, cut into 12 pieces
• 1 large onion, cut into 12 pieces
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice
• ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 4 tbsp tahini
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• ¼ tsp salt
• 6 wooden or metal grilling skewers
• Olive oil (for the grill)

Directions

1. Preheat the grill to about 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. To make the kabobs, slide one cherry tomato, one mushroom, one piece of pepper, and one piece of onion onto a skewer. Follow with another mushroom, piece of pepper, and onion. End with another cherry tomato.
3. Repeat the steps for the remaining kabobs and arrange them in a single layer on a large platter.
4. In a blender or small food processor, add the lemon juice, cilantro, tahini, garlic, lemon zest, and salt. Puree until the cilantro is finely chopped and all ingredients come together into a sauce.
5. Reserve two to three tablespoons of the sauce to add during grilling, if desired. Brush or spoon the remaining sauce over the vegetables. Turn to coat evenly.
6. Brush the grill rack with olive oil. Place the kabobs on the grill, turning once or twice as they cook. Brush the vegetables with the reserved sauce. Grill for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables become tender and begin to brown.

Lori Rice, M.S., is a nutritional scientist and author with a passion for healthy cooking, exercise physiology, and food photography.