Poppy & Coconut Beef Kebabs with Roasted Chilli Salsa.

Course: Main

These kebabs are lovely to cook on the barbecue, but are just as good on a chargrill pan if the weather isn’t ideal. The toasted coconut adds a nutty sweetness to this spicy dish.

As seen at the BBC Good Food Show Summer 2019.

You can catch Ainsley cooking live in the Big Kitchen on Sunday 18th June at the BBC Good Food Show Summer 2023!

Serves: 4

Difficulty: Easy

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Ingredients

1 kg beef sirloin, cut into 2 ½ cm dice
3tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried red chilli flakes
3 tbsp poppy seeds
3 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
4 tbsp desiccated coconut

For the Roasted Chilli Salsa

3 long green chillies, tops trimmed
6-8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus an extra drizzle
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 large handful of flat leaf parsley
1 handful of mint
Juice of 1 lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat a barbecue (if using)

Method

Place the diced beef in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl mix together the olive oil garlic and ginger and pour over the beef. Mix with your hands to ensure the beef is well coated. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.

Next, make the salsa. Unless using a barbecue, preheat the grill to highest setting.

Place the green chillies on a small baking tray and lightly drizzle with oil. Place the tray under the grill for 5-10mins, until the chillies are charred and blistered – they should be nice and soft. Alternatively, this can be done directly on the barbecue.

Put the garlic, parsley, mint, lemon juice and charred chillies into a food processor and pulse for 4-5 seconds. Aadd the oil and pulse again until the mixture is well combined but still quite coarse. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Heat a small dry frying pan over a low heat, add the chilli flakes, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, cumin seeds and desiccated coconut and lightly toast. As soon as the coconut turns golden remove from the heat and tip into a pestle and mortar. Grind to a coarse texture.

Remove the marinated beef from the fridge, add the spice mixture and massage the spices into the beef. Thread the pieces of beef onto skewers.

Place the skewers on the barbecue (or on a preheated chargrill pan) and grill, turning frequently for about 6 minutes, depending on how you like your beef cooked. Once cooked, remove from the heat and rest for 5 minutes before serving.

To serve, place the beef kebabs on a board and spoon over the salsa.