Beef Souvlaki with Greek Potatoes and Purple Cabbage and Feta Salad. Are you itching to get your barbecue going? I say get grilling and go Greek, with these kebabs.
I can't rant and rave enough about this quality of beef the Italian Center Shop is selling in their stores. It is called Piedmontese beef. Usually only found in Italy in the area of Piemonte, but someone's passion helped make its way into Alberta in the late 70's. The product is antibiotic and hormone-free, grass-fed, certified organic. It is so tender that even raw the texture is so soft and the marbleization amazing. Seeing the richness of this meat brings many recipe ideas to mind. Having done a tagliata which you can see in this link, I wanted to do something a bit different. My love of the barbecue and kabobs leaves me with a great option.
I love going to cultural events like Heritage Days here in Edmonton Alberta Canada, in August usually. One of my go-to foods is always a kebab of some sort, but if available I will always go for the Greek kebab called souvlaki. There are many different kinds of souvlaki ranging from chicken to lamb and even pork, but today I am utilizing this nice beautiful Piedmontese ribeye cut, and am creating a Beef Souvlaki with Greek Potatoes and Purple Cabbage and Feta Salad.
Looking at the beef you can see the marbleization in the meat and those morsels of fat that will keep this meat succulent and tender. The key to cooking any beef on the barbecue is very high heat. This sears the outer surface of the beef sealing all the juices in. But taking this cut of beef to another level I have cut it into cubes and marinated it overnight in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, rosemary, garlic, and lemon juices, with a touch of salt and pepper. The acidity from the vinegar and lemon juice breaks down the meat's strands a bit more, making it melt in your mouth enjoyable. Best served medium or medium-rare.
The feta adds just another level of flavor melting in between the cubes of beef and the red peppers cooking beautifully on the grill.
The juices carmelizing the peppers and beef has my mouth watering and my stomach growling. I know people are thinking, is it not winter there in Edmonton, and you are out barbecuing. Well, we have been blessed with a mild winter due to El Nino. It is a spectacular day out here filling the air with the scent of this souvlaki sizzling on the grill. You know when spring is near because the smell of grilling is in the air, and by the aroma these babies are putting out, the neighbors will be wondering who's cooking and are we invited, lol. Even if it was cold and wintry, that wouldn't stop me from going into the backyard and firing up the bbq.
The potatoes are done and that combination of lemon, olive oil, and oregano, and the softness of these potatoes, slow cooked in the oven steaming in all those flavors, amazing. I initially was going to do a traditional Greek salad of tomatoes, cucumber, purple onion, and green pepper, but then I saw I had some purple cabbage in the fridge, I had another idea. Think of this sauteed onion and purple cabbage and dill, then tossed with some fresh English cucumber, lemon juice and goat feta cheese. Put all of these flavors together and you have a unique and tasty dish. The Piedmontese beef souvlaki with hints of garlic, lemon, oregano, basil, rosemary and olive oil holding its distinct flavor even after marinating overnight. Caramelized grilled bits tantalizing your taste buds. Add in the roasted lemon oregano potatoes, smooth, soft flavorful, and the salad, that soft purple cabbage and caramelized onion, with the freshness of the cucumber, the dill creeping up behind alongside the feta, with a nice dollop of tzatziki and pieces of pita, thanks to the wonderful people at Theo's at The Old Strathcona Farmer's Market we have a dish that won't disappoint you.
Are you itching to get your barbecue going, I say get grilling and go Greek with this Beef Souvlaki with Greek Potatoes and Purple Cabbage and Feta Salad.
Enjoy!
Beef Souvlaki with Greek Potatoes and Purple Cabbage and Feta Salad
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Ingredients
Beef:
- 900 grams of Piemontese beef
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ cup crumbled goat feta cheese
- 1 red bell pepper
Potatoes:
- 2 large yellow potatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- dash of salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
Purple cabbage:
- ¼ of a small head of purple cabbage
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup of diced long English cucumber.
- Dash of salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup goat feta cheese
Instructions
Beef:
- Take beef and cut into approx 1 inch cubes
- Toss beef in a bowl drizzle in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, feta cheese, and with hands mix well to coat each piece of beef with marinade.
- Place in diced red pepper.
- Sprinkle in oregano, basil, rosemary, parsley, onion powder, salt, and pepper, and again massage into meat with your hands.
- Cover beef and place into fridge and let sit for 24 hours or as long as you wish at minimum 1 hour.
Potatoes:
- Wash and peel potatoes and cut into nice size wedges.
- Toss in a bowl with olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper.
- Place in a oven safe dish, cover with foil paper and put in a pre-heated oven at 385°F for 20 minutes. Uncover for the last 5 minutes as to get a bit of color on them.
Purple cabbage:
- Shred purple caabbage.
- In a wok drizzle in olive oil and heat to medium high heat.
- Toss in chopped onion, and saute till soft.
- Sprinkle in purple cabbage separating the strands.
- Dust in dill salt and pepper.
- Saute till cabbage is soft but still has a bit of crunch.
- Take off heat and crumble in feta, and drizzle lemon juice, toss in cucumber, and mix well.
Beef:
- Take beef out of fridge and preheat barbecue to 450°F.
- Skewer beef on pre-soaked bamboo skewers alternating with one piece of beef and one piece of red pepper.
- Place skewers on grill and turn frequently as grill marks form.
- Grill for approximately 10 minutes for a medium less for rare, and more for well done.
Plating:
- Place in a small mound of the cabbage in the plate.
- Place skewers of beef nicely off to one side.
- Take potato wedges and stack on opposite side.
- Dollop a nice bit of tzatziki on top of the cabbage.
- A nice wedge of lemon beside the beef, and you are set,
- Enjoy!
Notes
The prep time does not include the marinating time, that will vary upon the desired amount you want to marinate for, I marinated it over night.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 servings
When I am not cooking, I enjoy playing musical instruments, singing, writing. I have learned over the years to live in gratitude and enjoy the moment.
Taylor says
OMG yum!! I made a big plate of chicken souvlaki the other day with lemon roasted potatoes...you're only adding more fuel to the fire here! I love that you use parsley, basil and rosemary in this recipe in addition to the oregano. Sounds incredible!
Hi Taylor, I am glad you liked these souvlaki. The combnination of herbs along with that feta cheese that melts as the meat caramelizes is amazing. The fact that I marinated them over night was even better. The flavors tantalizing your taste buds and then that Piedmontese beef, grass fed, so tender. I bet your chicken souvlaki are amazing also, and who would not like lemon potatoes, yum and then some. Thank you so much for your comments, greatly appreciated. Have a great day!
Loreto