Beef Skewers with Puy Lentil and Chickpea Salad
Made with tender beef fillet and accompanied by a crunchy chickpea and lentil salad, these skewers from Nadiya Hussain are quick and simple to make. Perfect on the barbecue!
From the book
Nadiya’s British Food Adventure
Over 120 easy and inspiring twists on British classics
Irresistible bakes from the celebrated GBBO winner
All of the recipes from the hit TV series
Introduction
These are my favourite beef skewers that I cook every year on the barbecue. The recipe has lots of lemon in it, which means the meat doesn’t have to sit in the fridge overnight to marinate. Seeing as I never have any room in the fridge, this seemed the best idea. I love these skewers served with a simple fresh lentil and chickpea salad.
Ingredients
| For the beef skewers: | |
| 4 | beef fillet steaks (approx 600g), very thinly sliced |
| 4 tbsp | olive oil |
| Peeled rind and juice of 2 lemons | |
| 2 | small green chillies |
| 30g | fresh coriander, chopped |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| For the salad: | |
| 1 | large clove of garlic, crushed and finely chopped |
| 1 | large red onion, diced |
| 15g | fresh coriander, finely chopped |
| 1 | small chilli, deseeded and finely chopped |
| 1 tbsp | wholegrain mustard |
| 3 tbsp | olive oil |
| 250g | cooked Puy lentils (buy a ready-cooked pouch) |
| 2 x 400g | tins of chickpeas, drained |
| Juice of 1 lime | |
| ¼ tsp | salt |
Essential kit
You will need wooden skewers and a food processor.
Method
Soak 8 wooden skewers in cold water for 15 minutes. This will prevent them from burning during cooking.
Slice the steak lengthways as thinly as possible and set aside in a bowl.
Put the oil, lemon rind, lemon juice, chillies, coriander and salt into a food processor. Blitz to a smooth paste, then add the paste to the bowl of steak pieces. Mix well, then cover and set aside for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the salad. Put the garlic, onion, coriander, chilli, mustard and oil into a bowl and mix well. Add the lentils and chickpeas. Squeeze in the lime juice and mix through, then cover and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 240C / 220C fan / gas 9 and lightly grease a roasting dish. Or if you prefer to cook your skewers on a griddle pan, grease it lightly and put in on a medium to high heat to start warming up.
Meanwhile, skewer the beef pieces in a zig zag pattern. Do this until you have filled all eight skewers. If you have any leftover marinade, just dab it on top of the beef.
Line the skewers onto the greased roasting dish and bake for 8-10 minutes, making sure to turn them over halfway through. Or, if griddling, put them on the hot pan and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.
Once cooked, serve the warm beef skewers with the salad alongside.
Tip: once the meat has been marinated and skewered, these can be frozen and later cooked straight from frozen.
