Kabab Soltani

Ingredients

• For the barg:
• 450g beef tenderloin, trimmed
• 1 large onion, finely grated
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp fine salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp saffron threads, ground and steeped in 3 tbsp hot water
• For the koobideh:
• 300g minced lamb (about 20% fat)
• 200g minced beef (about 20% fat)
• 1 medium onion, finely grated
• 1 tsp fine salt
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• To serve:
• 4 tomatoes, for grilling
• 30g butter, melted
• Sumac
• Chelo (Persian steamed rice)

Method

1. For the barg, cut the tenderloin into 4 long pieces, slice each lengthways almost through and open it out. Beat gently between sheets of cling film to 8mm thick and cut into 5cm-wide strips.

2. Squeeze the grated onion in a tea towel to collect the juice. Mix the juice with the olive oil, salt, pepper and saffron water, add the beef and marinate in the fridge for 4-12 hours.

3. For the koobideh, squeeze the grated onion dry in a clean tea towel. Knead the minced meats with the onion pulp, salt and turmeric for 10 minutes until sticky. Chill for at least 1 hour.

4. Thread the barg strips lengthways onto 4 flat skewers in a concertina fashion. With wet hands, press the koobideh mixture onto 4 more flat skewers into 20cm lengths, pinching in indentations.

5. Grill over very hot coals, turning once: 4-5 minutes per side for the koobideh, 2-3 minutes per side for the barg. Grill the tomatoes alongside until charred.

6. Brush both kebabs with melted butter, dust the koobideh with sumac and serve one of each per person with chelo and grilled tomato.