Joojeh Kabab - Persian Chicken Kebabs with Lemon and Saffron (includes Thermomix instructions)

More delicious flavours for chicken - something just a little different, perfect for the barbeque or grill.

The zesty marinade helps keep the chicken tender and moist while cooking, and the subtle flavours infuse the chicken with Middle Eastern flavours, whilst the saffron gives it a delicious golden colour.

If possible, cook over a barbecue to really capture the authentic smoky flavour of this dish - if not, you will still get incredibly tasty and moist chicken if cooked under the grill or on a griddle. Ideally marinate this the night before, or several hours in advance - although if you're pressed for time you could probably just get away with an hour or two.

Joojeh kababs, (aka Jūje-kabāb) are a popular dish in Iran, commonly served with rice or lavash bread (Persian staples), along with grilled tomatoes and peppers. We enjoyed them with some quinoa and lentil salad with roasted vegetables, sumac and fresh herbs (recipe here), and a deliciously refreshing Persian salad Shirazi with pomegranate.

Serves four, at 166 calories per serving. [Calories in square brackets, 1/4 marinade calories used as the majority left in the bowl once chicken is threaded onto skewers].

Calorie information
Serve with a portion of salad Shirazi (38 calories) and a portion of my quinoa and lentil salad (an eighth for 174 calories) for a total of only 378 calories for the whole meal.

If you're keeping the carbs down serve with a 200g portion of cauliflower rice instead of the quinoa salad for just 76 calories (you could stir in some chopped fresh coriander, mint and parsley with a squeeze of lemon for less than 10 extra calories, and bags of flavour!), and a total of 280 calories for the whole meal including a serving of salad Shirazi.

Bulgogi - Korean Barbequed Beef (includes Thermomix instructions)

This is a delicious way of cooking beef on a barbeque - the marinade makes the meat really tender.

Listed at number 23 of the world's 50 most delicious foods (from a reader's poll in CNN Go - have a look here if you're intrigued as to what else is on it) - if you're a lover of all things beefy and barbecued and keen on Asian flavours this is something you might want to try!

         

If you fancy something a little different, but not too 'out there', this is a great way to cook rump* steak. One of the tastiest cuts of steak, it is also from a hard-working muscle which means it is not the most tender steak - however in this dish, the Asian pear in the marinade really tenderises the meat. And on top of this, it's packed full of robust Asian flavours - garlic, ginger, soy and onions, with a hint of sweetness (and all you need to do is blitz up all the ingredients for the marinade in a food processor or blender - so it's easy to prepare too!).

Serves four people, at 287 calories per serving.

Tea-Smoked Teriyaki Trout (or Salmon)

Smoking, Brining and Photo-Editing

No, I'm not talking 20 Marlboro...

I'm itching to get my smoker fired up (it's an eco smoker, which is essentially a cardboard box with metal shelves in it, and a fantastic little smoker in the bottom that burns for up to 10 hours and cold-smokes your food). I love that thing - it paid for itself on the first use, by smoking a side of salmon that I got half price (£10), with a variety of cheeses, sea salt and garlic bulbs using up the spare space.And then there was the home-made pastrami, marinated in spiced brine, cold smoked, then cooked sous vide... but more on all that another time. As a distraction from trying to make some kind of cool title photo involving forks and food, I was thinking about smoking in the house, in a wok (or possibly even large pan), something easy to do at home, where you don't really need special equipment. I've tea-smoked fresh-caught mackerel and teriyaki-marinaded trout on a barbeque before (recipe below), with a mix of tea, sugar and raw rice on some foil on top of the glowing coals, lid down once the smoke is going, then within a short time, luscious, smoky fish...

I was thinking of tea-smoking some duck breasts I bought last week, but didn't get around to it. And I was still thinking about smoking something indoors (rather than outside) yesterday. And the day before. And today. So, I'm going to do it...