Christmas in New Zealand is without snow, ice and cold. It’s summer and of course, it is different from the Northern Hemisphere. Christmas in New Zealand comes in the middle of summer holidays and this is a perfect time to gather your family and friends, enjoy BBQs and fun on the beach under beautiful Pohutukawa trees, swim in the crashing waves, treat yourself with strawberry desserts and ice cream.
The grill is one of the best tools for making summer dinners: It’s easy to use and cooks full meals in a flash. Use these delicious grilled recipes as inspiration for your meals: spicy barbecued chicken skewers, flavour packed tempeh skewers with vegetables and juicy grilled corn on the cob.
Thick, spicy and sweet, Mamia’s Ethiopian sauce could be your secret weapon for perfect BBQ. Goes beautifully with chicken, tempeh, and corn. Can be used both ways for marinade and serving.
I would recommend using the charcoal grill if it’s possible. The charcoal grilled food had a distinct smoke flavour, which I personally love so much. It cooks the chicken slowly and over a long period of time, due to which the meat retains its tenderness and remains moist.
Firing up the grill doesn’t mean you’ve got to stick to the traditional meat-filled spread. There are plenty of veggies and vegetarian dishes such as delicious seasonal sweet corn on the cob, or these finger-licking tempeh, vegetables and mushrooms skewers.
Tempeh is a product made from soybeans cooked and fermented with a special culture. It has a firm chewy texture and a light nutty mushroom flavour. Tempeh is a nutritional superhero. It is high in protein, dietary fibre, iron, potassium, and calcium.
Uncooked tempeh has almost no taste, but has an excellent texture and a high absorbency. It absorbs flavours even more readily than tofu does!
Tempeh skewers can be absolutely delicious if it has been cooked properly. A few steps for cooking is required: steaming, marinating, grilling. Steaming makes the tempeh tender, it opens up its pores, so it better absorbs sauce and flavours. I recommend marinating tempeh slices in rich marinade at least 24 hours for a more intense taste. Rich and flavourful Mamia’s sauce works beautifully here.
Try to sprinkle the grilled corn with nutritional yeast for cheesy taste and more umami flavour. It works as natural flavour enhancer here. Nutritional Yeast is a deactivated yeast related to brewer’s yeast, which is used as a fermentation agent in beer making. The yeast is grown on a food source before being harvested, heated, dried and crumbled. This process deactivates the yeast and creates a wonderfully nutty, tasty and versatile ingredient.
Nutritional yeast is a great source of Vitamin B-12.
INGREDIENTS
Chicken Skewers:
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2 free-range chicken breast
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Salt
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2 red capsicum
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1 red onion
Tempeh Skewers:
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1 block of organic tempeh
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2 red capsicum, cut into equal chunks
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1 red onion, cut into equal chunks
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1 punnet cherry tomatoes, rinsed and dried
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1 punnet brown button mushrooms, rinsed and dried
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Salt
Grilled Corn:
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Sweet corn, shucked
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Salt
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nutritional yeast
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Ghee butter (optional)
METHOD
CHICKEN SKEWERS: Cut chicken breast into equal chunks, season with salt and place in a ziplock plastic bag. Pour in the Mamia’s sauce and mix well using the fingers. Squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. When your chicken is marinated in a plastic bag and all of the air sealed out, the marinade completely surrounds the chicken. This promotes an even marinate of your chicken from top to bottom and allows maximum penetration from all sides. Place the bag on a rimmed plate and leave in the refrigerator for about 24 hours.
Remove chicken from marinade. Thread chicken and vegetables onto metal skewers. Heat the grill. Cook the skewers to golden-brown all sides, turning occasionally. Remove from heat and serve immediately with lemon wedges, coriander leaves and bowl of Mamia’s Kiwi-Hot
Tempeh skewers. Cut tempeh into equal chunks. Put tempeh chunks into a steamer or colander set over a pan of boiling water. Cover with a lid and steam for about 10 mins or until soft. Chill tempeh slightly. Season with salt, transfer to zip lock plastic bag. Pour in the Mamia’s sauce and mix well using the fingers. Squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Place the bag on a rimmed plate and leave in the refrigerator for about 24 hours.
Remove tempeh from marinade. Thread tempeh and vegetables onto metal skewers. Heat the grill. Cook the skewers to golden-brown all sides, turning occasionally. Remove from heat and serve immediately with lime wedges, coriander leaves and bowl of Mamia’s Kiwi-Hot
GRILLED CORN: Preheat the grill. Place corn directly over hot side of grill and cook, turning occasionally, until charred on all sides and fully tender, about 10 minutes total. Remove corn from grill and allow to rest for 2 minutes. Roll in butter and Mamia’s Kiwi-Hot sauce, sprinkle with nutritional yeast and chopped coriander, drizzle with lime juice and serve immediately. Enjoy!
* Recipes and Photos by Crazy-Cucumber