Grilled Kebabs

• Begin with 16-20 bamboo skewers. Break each in half and soak in water for at least 30 minutes. This will prevent them from burning on the grill. Alternatively, you could use flat metal skewers if you have them, but I find wood or bamboo to be the most grippy.
• Prepare the chicken by cutting it into large cubes. Each breast, assuming they’re a similar size to mine) should yield about 9-10 cubes.
• Place the chicken cubes in a freezer bag. Add olive oil, salt, black pepper, chili flakes, dried oregano, minced garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley (stems removed), and fresh thyme leaves to the bag.
• Seal the bag and mix the marinade well, ensuring the chicken is coated. Marinate the chicken in the fridge for 2 hours.
• Tenderize the sirloin steaks using a jaccard tool (or poke it many times with a thin, sharp knife or fork). Avoid jabbing the steaks excessively; 10-12 times should be sufficient. Cut each steak in half and then into chunky squares, around the same size as the chicken.
• In a separate bowl, combine Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, balsamic, salt, pepper, Dijon, olive oil, and agave. Whisk well to create the marinade for the beef.
• Place the beef in a freezer bag and pour 2/3 of the marinade into the bag. Reserve the remaining marinade. Seal the bag and toss to coat the beef. Marinate in the fridge for 2 hours.
• Clean the portobello mushrooms by removing any excess thin cap around the edges. Dice the mushrooms into chunky cubes, slightly smaller than your meat cubes.
• Peel the eggplant and slice into large cubes, about 1″/2.5cm in diameter.
• Place the eggplant and mushrooms in a freezer bag. Pour the reserved marinade from the beef over the vegetables and mix to coat. Seal the bag and let them marinate for 2 hours.
• Preheat the grill on its highest setting.
• Skewer the chicken cubes onto the soaked bamboo skewers, about 5 pieces per half skewer.
• Skewer the beef cubes onto separate soaked bamboo skewers, also about 5 pieces per skewer.
• Cut zucchini into thick half moons. Cut the flesh from the bell pepper in large planks and remove the rib. Cut into large rectangles. Add both to a bowl with a long drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix and toss to combine. Allow to season for 10 minutes before skewering.
• Remove the marinated vegetables from the bag and load them onto additional soaked skewers, alternating between zucchini, bell pepper, mushroom, and eggplant. I like to stab an end of the skewer into a potato to create a base for loading the veg onto the skewers. Starting and ending with the zucchini (placed through the skin) makes a good stopper on either end of the skewer.
• Clean and oil your grill, then place the chicken and beef skewers on the preheated grill. I usually toss my veggies on a littler later than the meats to allow meat to rest while the veg finishes cooking.
• On my Weber spirit grill, I grill the meat skewers for about 10-15 minutes with the lid closed, flipping after about 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the beef is cooked to your desired level of doneness. Rotate meats to hotter or cooler parts of the grill if needed. An instant read thermometer should read 130F/55C on the steak when done. The temp on the chicken should read 150F/60C when done. The chicken will likely take longer to cook than the steak. I add the veggies to the grill last. The veggies will need to cook for around 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway through, until well browned and tender.
• Remove the cooked meat skewers from the grill and let them rest for a few minutes under a foil tent while the veg finishes cooking.
• Serve over saffron rice.

SAFFRON RICE

• Stir ingredients into a rice cooker and cook on white rice setting.