Roasted Veggies and Saffron Rice

I was searching for something to use up a large quantity of produce and decided to stick them on skewers. I love the saffron rice our local Mediterranean cafe makes, so I attempted to replicate it. The resulting rice wasn't even close to theirs, but it was still really good!  If you've got a boatload of produce and access to wooden skewers and a grill, these roasted vegetables are a filling dinner!  Cooking them outside on the grill will ensure that your house stays cool during these last hot days of summer!

Roasted Veggies and Saffron Rice

Rice- 

1 cup rice, uncooked

3 cups water

2 vegetable bullion cubes

5 threads Saffron

Mix all ingredients together in a large saucepan. (Make sure it has a lid.). Bring to a rolling boil. Stir well, cover, and lower heat to low. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes. 

Roasted Veggies

In season produce, cut into chunks

(We used patty pan squash, heirloom tomatoes, red onions, bell peppers)

Wooden skewers

Black pepper (we used a 4 peppercorn blend in a pepper grinder)

Grape Seed Oil

Soak skewers in water while chopping vegetables. 

Thread vegetables on wooden skewers. 

 We put our threaded skewers in a 9 x 13 inch pan as we finished. As we finished one layer of skewers, we sprinkled that layer with Grapeseed Oil, and then ground pepper over top until it "looked good". 

Once all the skewers are threaded, grill on medium high heat, turning as needed. Remove from heat when the veggies are sizzling & the onions are translucent. Your standard for when the veggies are done will be different from mine. I like my vegetables to still be a little crunchy. 

Serve immediately over rice. 

Note- I threaded the skewers first, then started the rice while husband grilled the skewers. Everything was finished at the same time. Total time, prep + cooking = 1 hour.