Be creative this Christmas with party starters and splurge on a delicious meaty dish that is perfect to kick off a braai or outdoor meal.
This recipe for lightly spiced fillet beef with peppers is from Kay Plunkett-Hogge’s cookery book A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas.
You could use sirloin for this, but the butteriness of the fillet steak goes beautifully against the smoky paprika and sweet red peppers.
You will need little sticks or skewers and the recipe makes 8-12 skewers.
Lightly spiced fillet beef with peppers
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp olive oil1 tsp mild smoked paprikaGood pinch of dried oregano1 garlic clove, crushed500g fillet steak, about 2½-3cm thick
For the garnish
2 long red peppers, halved lengthways and deseeded, then halved again across the middleOlive oil, to coat
METHOD
Mix together the olive oil, paprika, oregano, garlic, and some salt and pepper in a bowl.
Slice the steak into lengthways strips about 1cm thick. Pop them into the bowl of marinade and leave for about an hour.
Heat a frying pan until very hot.
Coat the red pepper halves in olive oil, and place them in the hot pan. Season with a little salt. Turn them every now and then.
Add a splash of cold water – the steam will help them soften.
Then, when they are soft and have caught some colour, remove and set aside.
Now take the skewers and thread a beef slice on to each one – you want the skewer to pierce the meat three times.
Cook until you have a nice char on the outside, but the meat is still pink and tender on the inside. This should take about two minutes, depending on if you are cooking the skewers in a pan or on the braai.
Remove from the heat and serve each skewer with a few slices of red pepper. Recipe from A Sherry & A Little Plate of Tapas by Kay Plunkett-Hogge (Mitchell Beazley, £15.99)