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Friday, March 25, 2011

Beef Shish Kebab with Tabbouleh

It was a revelation to me how good shish kebab can be broiled in the oven! Of course, the grill is best but I live in an apartment and grills are not allowed. To me the oven is easier, too, but use either method you prefer. Groceries often have kebabs already arranged with vegetables on the skewers. But the following recipe allows you control of the quality of the beef, the selection of the vegetables, and the ingredients of the marinade. And the meat and vegetables will not have been sitting for who knows how long at the butcher's counter! Remember that any cut surface on a food exposed to the air loses quality and flavor rapidly. It's best to cut the beef yourself just before marinating. Or ask the butcher to cut it for you. You need a lean, tender cut of beef -- sirloin, top sirloin, or rib cut. Trim off as much fat as possible.

Beef Shish Kebab

2 pounds lean beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
Marinade:
2/3 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
Vegetables:
mushroom caps
squares of green pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine marinade ingredients in a glass or pottery bowl. Add cubed beef and marinate 4 to 48 hours, turning frequently.
When you're ready to cook, preheat the broiler and thread the skewers leaving about 2 inches at the handle and tip. The pieces should be close together so they don't dry out. You can alternate the beef with vegetables on the same skewer or use separate skewers.
Remove the rack from the broiler pan (or -- easy clean-up -- use an aluminum foil broiling pan!). Arrange the skewers across the pan, with the tips resting on one side and the handles on the other. Brush kebabs with oil.
Place in the oven with the meat about 3 inches from the heat. Turn often, brushing with the marinade (pay particular attention that the mushrooms stay well-oiled -- they can dry out and shrivel up). For rare beef, cook about 9 minutes. For medium-rare, about 12.

Tabbouleh

This is one of my favorite foods! On a hot summer day, tabbouleh has often been my entire lunch or supper. You can buy tabbouleh at many grocery delis (Central Market and Eatzi both have tasty versions), but -- as with most foods -- it is much better made fresh.
Tabbouleh is traditional in the Middle East with grilled or broiled foods. And with the vegetables from the kebabs, this rounds out a very healthy and tasty meal!
If you can't find the fine bulghur (or if you have leftover rice), a rice salad would be good, too. Just toss the cooked rice in vinaigrette (the rice should be moist but not soggy) and mix in chopped green onion, diced peeled seeded cucumber, chopped peeled seeded tomato, and chopped parsley.

1/2 cup fine bulghur (cracked wheat -- make sure you get the fine grade as others are too coarse)
3 medium ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped parsley
1 cup finely chopped green onion
1/3 cup lemon juice
salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves

Soak bulghur in cold water to cover for 30 minutes. Drain in a sieve lined with cheesecloth (to prevent fine grains from falling through), then twist the cheesecloth into a bag and wring out remaining moisture from the bulghur. Spread the bulghur on a dishtowel and leave until fairly dry. Put bulghur in a large bowl and add tomatoes, parsley, onion, lemon juice, and salt (to taste). Mix thoroughly but gently -- your hands are really best for this so as not to break the grains. Mix in the olive oil and mint just before serving.

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