Quick and easy fish and meat kebabs for the barbecue

Feast on kebabs

Barbecuing tips:

• Metal skewers ok, but try to get flat-bladed ones and avoid the rounded, smooth-bladed variety, because as the meat cooks, it shrinks away from the skewer (remember metal is a heat conductor, so it will cook the meat from the inside) and won’t cling to the stick, making it almost impossible to turn and cook the kebab evenly.
• If using wooden skewers, always soak them in water for at least 20 minutes before using – otherwise the exposed tips will burn on the barbecue.
• Never cook kebabs directly over flames, otherwise you will end up with kebabs that look like the coal or firewood beneath and are generally raw on the inside.
• Cook both the fish and lamb kebabs (recipes below) for about eight to 12 minutes - rotating at intervals to brown all sides - or until cooked on a lightly-oiled, medium-to-hot barbecue. As you cook the kebabs, be sure to continue coating them with their respective marinades.

Fish sticks (serves six)

Ingredients:
500g of cod, plaice, trout or salmon into 3cm chunks*
4 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced crossways into 1cm pieces
2 courgettes, washed and sliced into 1cm pieces

*You could wrap the salmon pieces into 3cm to 4cm-wide strips of thin, streaky, unsmoked bacon 

Marinade and dip sauce:
Half an onion, finely chopped
Half a cup of sunflower oil
4 tsp of fresh thyme
3 tsp of fresh parsley chopped
200ml sour cream
100ml thick cream
185g jar of Dijon mustard

• Combine marinade ingredients in a big bowl
• Place the fish in a flat-bottomed dish and pour enough of the marinade over to coat each chunk well
• Keep the remaining marinade, dividing it evenly into two bowls – one to use while the meat is cooking and the other as a dipping sauce.
• Cover the dish with cling film, put it in the fridge and leave for about five hours. Once the meat has been marinaded, thread it on to the skewers in alternate order with the kiwi fruit and courgette
• Cook on barbecue

Lamb satay (serves six)

Ingredients:
600g lean lamb steaks, cut into roughly 2cm to 3cm chunks
A small tin of pineapple pieces in natural juice
2 peppers of different colour, cut into 2cm to 3cm chunks 
1 red onion, cut into 2cm to 3cm chunks

Marinade:
2 tbsp sunflower oil
3 tbsp (rounded) smooth peanut butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp of pre-prepared Indonesian or Singaporean satay sauce (use a 415g jar as you will need the rest for the sauce)

For the satay sauce:
Rest of the jar of pre-prepared satay sauce
6 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
3 tsp ginger, peeled and chopped finely

Method:

• Combine marinade ingredients in a large, flatbottomed dish. If the mixture is too sticky, then too much peanut butter has been added. You can fix this by adding half a tablespoon more oil and the same of sweet chilli sauce. If the mixture is too oily, add a bit more peanut butter.
• Mix the lamb pieces into the marinade, cover and leave in the fridge for no less than five hours (or leave overnight  – if you’re preparing in advance).
• Once the meat has been marinaded, thread it alternatively with the pineapple, onion (use two pieces at a time) and peppers (rotate the colours) onto skewers.
• Take the left-over marinade and put it in a bowl with a third of the satay sauce and combine well.
• This sauce will be used to marinade the kebabs while they cook, while the remaining satay sauce is a dip once the kebabs are cooked.

Enjoy!