You Pinspire Me
We’ve eaten a lot of black beans & chick peas this winter on Meatless Mondays. Recipes that are good sources of protein, but I’m a little bored of them already and I only make a meatless meal once a week! When I went to the Food & Drink Show in Hamilton last month, I was introduced to Paneer cheese as another protein option for meatless meals. I can use CHEESE as the source of protein in a meal?! Yes, please!
I went online to look up some recipes for Paneer, but most were South Asian recipes, and I just don’t keep those ingredients in my house! I remembered the fellow at the paneer booth telling me that it can be grilled on a kabob, so I chopped it up, marinated it in bbq sauce, and popped it onto skewers with some peppers & tomatoes. In an effort to increase the amount of veg that we consume and decrease the amount of carbs, I served it on a bed of lettuce, but it would also be quite nice on quinoa cooked in veggie broth.
Paneer comes in a package that makes it look like tofu, but rest assured, you’re buying cheese. In the grocery stores that I go to, I pick it up in the sandwich meats & pre-sliced cheeses refrigerator section, near the feta.
This is a quick and easy Meatless Monday meal that’s perfect to pull out on these early spring days that just beg for you to light the barbecue – after all, we need to take a break from hamburgers & hot dogs sometimes, right?!
To top off this delicious meal & add a bit more protein, I hard boiled a couple eggs and grated them in our hard cheese grater over the plated servings.
My husband is excited to try smoking paneer in his smoker, and I’m just excited about coming up with some new & exciting ways to use paneer in upcoming Meatless Monday Recipes!!
- 1 pkg Paneer cheese, cut into 1-2" cubes
- 1/4 cup of your favourite barbeque sauce
- a variety of veggies, chunked (mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, etc)
- 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
- pinch of salt
- 1 head of lettuce, chopped, or several cups of quinoa, cooked in veggie broth
- 3 hard boiled eggs
- a handful of wooden skewers
- Light BBQ, heat on med-low.
- Soak skewers in water for 15 minutes (to avoid burning them on the bbq!)
- Toss cubed paneer in bbq sauce and let sit for at least 30 minutes (the longer the better - do this in the morning & leave in the fridge until you're ready to use them, if possible).
- Thread the veggies & paneer cubes onto the skewers.
- Drizzle skewers with olive oil & sprinkle with salt.
- Grill on med-low on BBQ for 20 minutes, turning occasionally.
- Divide lettuce or quinoa between plates; slide grilled veg & paneer off skewers and place on lettuce.
- Grate eggs in cheese grater (or slice them up) over plates. Serve immediately.
Jenn vanOosten
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I’ve been thinking of making paneer from scratch 🙂
Of course YOU would, Anne. 😉 Actually, when I was reading some different sites that talked about what to do with paneer, I learned that Paneer is the ‘beginner’s cheese’ for aspiring cheese makers. And I have definitely been contemplating it. You know, now that I’m a pro at making butter, too. 😀
This looks great, jenn! I’m excited that you found the product we tried as it was definitely a highlight from the food and drink fest for me too. I look forward some paneer adventures of my own in the near future!