Marinated TOMATOES, VEGGIES, OLIVES, MUSHROOMS, & FETA CHEESE on Skewers

Marinated TOMATOES, VEGGIES, OLIVES, MUSHROOMS, & FETA CHEESE on Skewers

Table of Contents: APPETIZERS

A perfect appetizer for vegetarians. Adapt this recipe to your own preferences of ingredients. Meat eaters can add cubes of ham, chicken breast, sausage, etc.  Select ingredients that are a good size for placing on skewers - large enough to skewer, but bite-sized for eating.

Plan ahead the type of base to use for the skewers.  I was going to use a half-sphere of Styrofoam covered with purple cabbage leaves for the photo.  But, alas, in my usual hurry, I picked up floral Oasis instead of Styrofoam, and Oasis is not strong enough to use!   At home when I discovered my mistake, I decided to use the purple cabbage as the base.  As it turned out, the cabbage that I had selected would have been great for using the leaves, but it was wimpy as a base.  So the moral of this story is to buy a very firm cabbage and cut about 1/3 off the bottom-side of the cabbage to make a strong, sturdy base for the skewers.

Marinate in the refrigerator, the tomatoes, mushrooms, and cucumbers overnight, if possible, or at least 6 hours.

Marinade:

½ cup olive or vegetable oil

¾ cup balsamic vinegar

4 tsp. salt

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. crushed oregano

2 tsp. granulated sugar

Skewer Ingredients:

1 (10 oz.) package fresh cherry tomatoes, washed

2 (4.5 oz.) jars whole mushrooms, drained

2 large fresh cucumbers, do not peel

1 jar queen-size stuffed green olives, drained

1 jar Kalamata olives, drained

1 jar whole pepperoncini peppers, drained

1 block Feta cheese, cut into cubes for skewers

Long wooden skewers

Skewer base

In a glass bowl, whisk together all marinade ingredients until thoroughly blended.

Pierce each cherry tomato with a cocktail pick about 4 times and add to the marinade. Then, add the whole, drained mushrooms.  

Thoroughly wash the cucumbers; then, score the sides of the cucumbers lengthwise using a fork.  Be sure to allow the fork tines to pierce the green skin of the cucumber in order for the cucumbers to look “fluted” when sliced.  Score around the entire cucumber; then slice the cucumber into medium-thick rounds for skewers.  Add the cucumber rounds to the marinade and toss to completely coat all of the ingredients.  Stir several times during the marinating time.

After the marinating time, thread the skewers beginning with the pepperoncini and ending with a cherry tomato at the top.

“Stab” the filled skewers into the base in a porcupine pattern making sure that the cherry tomatoes are at the tops of the skewers.


Our great-nephew, Zac, gave me this recipe via his grandmother, Helen.  At almost 18 years old, he can “wipe-out” quite a number of skewers by himself!  This makes a beautiful, very appealing, presentation.  When serving, have extra skewers already filled to replace the ones removed or serve extra ingredients in a bowl on the side with cocktail picks.