Burnt lime and honey chicken kebabs, potato salad and beetroot
An epic feast of sticky chicken skewers, all-the-pickles, potato salad and two-way beetroot and burrata salad.
You will need eight wooden or metal skewers for this recipe.
Ingredients
For the kebabs
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 limes, 2 sliced into thin rounds
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú honey
- 3 tbsp tamari
- 6 tbsp hot sauce, such as sriracha
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 800g/1lb 12oz boneless chicken thigh fillets, skin removed and cut into medium-sized chunks (about 4cm)
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 2 × 400g tins black beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ small bunch fresh coriander
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the potato salad
- 750g/1lb 10oz baby new potatoes, halved
- small bunch fresh mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped
- 2 small bunches fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 60²µ/2¼´Ç³ú capers, roughly chopped, plus 3 tbsp brine from the jar
- 50g/1¾oz cornichons, roughly chopped
- 4 pickled guindilla chillies, roughly chopped
- 1 lemon, juice only
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 12 tbsp olive oil
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced
- 200g/7oz fine green beans
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salad
- 300g/10½oz raw candy beetroots, or regular beetroot, peeled and finely sliced on a mandoline
- 2 limes, juice only
- 5 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 250g/9oz cooked beetroot, chopped
- 1 shallot, finely sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 1 red chilli, finely sliced
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp black mustard seeds
- bunch fresh curry leaves
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- ¼ tsp caster sugar
- 1 burrata
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Soak eight wooden skewers in water overnight – this will stop them burning when they cook. Alternatively, you could use metal skewers.
Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, then add the lime slices. Fry for about 4 minutes on each side until the flesh has caramelised. Remove the lime slices from the pan and transfer to a chopping board. Roughly chop, skins and all, then scrape it all into a blender, along with the honey, tamari, 4 tablespoons hot sauce, 4 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Blend to create a smooth marinade, then spoon 2 tablespoons of it into a bowl for later.
Tip the chicken chunks into a medium-sized bowl and pour over the lime marinade. Mix so the chicken pieces are totally coated, then transfer to the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour (or preferably overnight).
Meanwhile, put the red onion slices into a fresh bowl. Squeeze over the juice from the remaining lime and sprinkle over ½ teaspoon salt. Scrunch the onions up with your hands to encourage them to start lightly pickling, then set aside.
Once the hour is up, remove the chicken from the fridge. Thread the chicken pieces onto the soaked skewers, ensuring you don't push the pieces too close together. Heat a grill or barbecue to a medium heat. Once it’s really hot, add the chicken skewers. Cook for about 12 minutes, turning them frequently so that they cook evenly.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium-sized sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and cook gently for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the paprika, black beans and 250ml water, then bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, smooshing down some of the black beans to create a saucy affair. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons hot sauce and season with salt.
Pour any chicken cooking juices into the reserved 2 tablespoons marinade and give it a mix. Brush this all over the chicken skewers so they turn sticky. Pop the chicken skewers onto a plate, pour any remaining sauce on top and scatter over the pickled red onions and coriander. Spoon the black beans into a bowl and serve alongside the chicken.
For the potato salad, bring a large pan of water to the boil and salt it as though it were a soup. Once the water is simmering, add the potatoes and cook for 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the dressing. Add the mint, parsley, capers, cornichons, chilli, lemon juice, mustard and 12 tablespoons olive oil to a food processor. Add the caper brine, then blend until you have a chunky green dressing. Fold the spring onions through the mixture, then season with salt and pepper.
When the potatoes have been cooking for 12 minutes, add the green beans to the pan and cook the beans and potatoes together for 3 minutes. Check that the potatoes are tender with a fork, then drain both in a colander. Let them steam-dry and cool for 15 minutes.
Tip the potatoes and beans into a serving bowl, then add the dressing. Give it all a really good toss to combine. Set aside until ready to serve.
For the salad, put the raw beetroot slices in a large bowl and squeeze over the juice of 1 lime. Set aside.
Heat about 5 tablespoons rapeseed oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the shallots while the oil is still heating up and fry for about 3 minutes until they just start to take on colour. At this stage, add the garlic, chilli, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Cook for 2 minutes until the seeds pop and the garlic is just starting to turn golden. Scoop the crispy bits out of the pan with a slotted spoon and leave them on a plate lined with kitchen paper to cool and crisp up.
Tip the oil from the pan into a heatproof bowl and allow it to cool, then add the rice wine vinegar and squeeze in the remaining lime juice. Season the dressing with salt.
Add the cooked beetroot to the bowl of raw beetroot slices. Pour over most of the dressing and give it all a toss to combine. Arrange your beetroots on a plate, then tear open the burrata and place it on top. Sprinkle over the crispy shallots and curry leaf mixture, then pour over any extra dressing and serve.
