INGREDIENTS: Makes about 6 servings
	1 1/2 lbs/750 g boneless fillet or sirloin
	3 - 4 medium onions
	18-24 cherry tomatoes
	salt
for the marinade
	2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
	1/2 teaspoon crushed dried red chile pepper
	2 teaspoons ground coriander
	2 teaspoons ground ginger
	3 tablespoons soy sauce
	1/4 cup/60ml/2fl oz sweet rice wine
	2 tablespoons peanut oil
	12 wooden kebab skewers

1. Soak the skewers in a tray of water to dampen them and avoid splinters. Trim fat and any sinew from the beef and cut it in 1-inch/2.5-cm cubes. Peel the onions, leaving a little of the root, and cut each in 8 wedges. To parboil them: Immerse the wedges in a pan of cold, salted water, bring them to a boil and simmer them 5 minutes. Drain and rinse them with cold water.

2.To assemble the kebabs: Drain the skewers and divide the beef, onions and tomatoes in 8 even portions. Impale them on the skewers, separating cubes of beef with onions and tomatoes. Lay them in a shallow, non-metallic tray.

3. For the marinade: Mix the garlic, chile pepper, coriander and ginger in a small bowl and whisk in the soy sauce, rice wine, and oil. Pour marinade over the kebabs and turn them so they are evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate them at least 2 and up to 6 hours, turning them occasionally.

4. Light the barbecue or broiler. Drain the kebabs and reserve the marinade in a small bowl for basting. Grill the kebabs about 2 1/2 inches/6 cm from the heat until they start to brown, 1-2 minutes. Turn them, baste with marinade and continue grilling until evenly browned and cooked rare or medium, depending on your taste. Turn them often and allow 5 to 7 minutes total cooking time for rare beef, or 8 to 10 minutes for medium done. Set the skewers on a bed of rice on a platter or plates for serving.

Quick Fix
Forget the wait – simply use the marinade as an excellent basting sauce.

What Wine
To Cook: Although a purist might insist on a rice-based wine here, the tiny amount needed for the marinade means that no one will notice if you substitute an equal measure of medium sherry or even sweet vermouth.
To Drink: When the kebabs come off the grill, a red wine of sufficient character is needed to match spicey, char-broiled flavors. Spain provides many zesty reds, many from the mourvèdre, the country’s second most widely planted grape. Closer to home, California vintners have also started making mourvèdre, or you can fall back with confidence on that all-time favorite of the barbecue set: Californian zinfandel.

This Recipe of the Month selection comes from Anne Willan's newest release: Anne Willan Cooking With Wine (2001) published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. in association with COPIA: American Center for Wine, Food, and the Arts.