Savoury PBJ Wraps with Spicy Satay Beef and Strawberry Relish

Can I let you in on a secret? You should probably sit down for this. Are you ready? Here goes. I had never tried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches until about an year ago! There I said it. I know! I know! But hear me out. There’s a good explanation for this. Growing up in New Zealand and Sri Lanka, PB&J sandwiches weren’t as big as they are in the US. I’ve had sandwiches with either PB, or J separately, but not together. As someone who finds a great deal of joy (maybe a tad too much even) in trying new flavour combinations, I’m not entirely sure why it took me so long to get on board with PBJ. But having done so about an year ago, I can safely say that I’ve made a lot of lost ground in the time since.

Fusion of different flavours and cuisines is what keeps me on my toes. It’s what oils the springs in my head and part of the reason why I started this blog in the first place. So I try something new in the kitchen regularly. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t. Mr. K is my guinea pig and I’m glad he’s a willing participant in my schemes.

So after a whole year of catching up on PB&J goodness, my desensitized taste buds requested something different. So I gave it some thought, and then a little more, and then made a call. I’m not sure how you will like the sound of this, but let me try to convince you why you need to have these Savoury PBJ Wraps with Spicy Satay Beef and Strawberry Relish, in your life.

Are you with me?

Maybe? Good. I’ll take that.

Think PBJ, but spicy with beef, and a lot of amazing flavours! So satay = PB and strawberry relish = J, and you’ve got spicy and savoury “PBJ” with incredible, satay marinated minced beef grilled as Kofta skewers and brushed with satay sauce, and a sweet and spicy strawberry relish drizzled on top, all encased in a home made whole wheat naan “wrap.”

Still with me? I think you’re going to like this.

I won’t lie to you. I was afraid it wouldn’t work. My Satay recipe is one of my absolute favourites which I have tweaked a few times over the years, and I love this Strawberry Chilli Relish recipe too. But together? Wasn’t so confident. So I crossed my fingers, hoped for the best and made my husband eat it.

It was incredible! Truly. To make it an actual meal (for the likes of Mr K that is), I served these with shredded cabbage and cucumber and wrapped it in a Whole wheat Naan. However nothing will stop you from eating these with a salad or sandwiched between burger buns or wrapped in a tortilla or just on their own.

The beef skewers/koftas are quite delicate as I didn’t use a binding agent to hold it tightly together. The marinade is a wet one which also makes the meat quite tender. But I like it that way. It makes the beef melt-in-your-mouth soft and dripping with flavour!

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5 from 2 votes

Savoury PBJ Wraps with Spicy Satay Beef and Strawberry Relish

Author: Dini K.

Servings: 10 beef skewers or koftas

Print Rate

Ingredients:

Marinade and Satay Sauce for Beef Mince

• ▢ 1 lb beef mince
• ▢ Satay spice mix - recipe below
• ▢ 6 tbsp smooth peanut butter about ⅓ cup
• ▢ 5 - 6 tbsp oil
• ▢ Salt to taste
• ▢ 10 wooden skewers soaked overnight

To Serve

• ▢ Strawberry Chilli Relish
• ▢ Shredded cabbage
• ▢ Sliced cucumber
• ▢ 5 -10 whole wheat Naan or any wrap of your choice

Instructions:

For the Beef Marinade and Satay Sauce

• Mix the satay spice mix with the peanut butter and oil until well combined and smooth.
• Set aside ½ of this for the satay sauce.
• Mix the other ½ with the beef mince and divide the mix into 10 portions (you can leave it to marinade for a few hours if you like at this stage).
• Wrap each portion around a soaked skewer and use your hands to seal it as much as possible.
• Let the skewers rest for a few minutes (until you get the satay sauce ready).
• In a small saucepan, heat the other half of the satay mix. Stir occasionally.
• When the spice mix darkens slightly and starts to bubble, you should be able to smell all the spices. Remove from heat and leave to cool.
• Heat a nonstick pan or a grill pan and grill the skewers on medium high heat for 2-3 minutes per side.
• When the beef skewer is cooked through, transfer to a plate and brush with the satay sauce. Let the beef satay rest for a few minutes.
• The beef skewers can be served as is or with rice or a salad.

PBJ Spicy Beef Skewers

• Place shredded cabbage and cucumber on the naan (or wrap of your choice).
• Place 1-2 beef skewers on top (then remove the skewer), and drizzle some strawberry chilli relish on top.
• Serve warm.

“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”

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5 from 2 votes

Satay Spice Mix

Author: Dini K.

Print Rate

Ingredients:

• ▢ ½ bunch of cilantro
• ▢ 1 tsp coriander powder
• ▢ 4 tbsp minced lemongrass 2 -3 stalks
• ▢ 1 small onion
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves
• ▢ 30 g ginger
• ▢ 1 tsp chilli powder optional - if you like it spicy
• ▢ 3 tbsp chilli flakes or de-seed 5 dry chillis if you don’t want the heat
• ▢ 4 tbsp soy sauce
• ▢ 3 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions:

• Combine all the ingredients in a small food processor or spice grinder and process into a paste. You can use a little oil to loosen up the paste if needed.
• If storing away, place the paste in an airtight container in the fridge (for up to a week).
• This can be used for many things!

“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”

Did you make this?Tag me on Instagram!I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @TheFlavorBender or leave me a comment & rating below.

The cabbage and the cucumber add a lovely crunchy coolness which works amazingly well with the warm spicy flavours of the satay and the sweet and spicy strawberry relish. All of that together with the flavour-drenched beef skewers/koftas in a wrap, translate to an incredibly satisfying bite/meal.

And wouldn’t this be perfect on a cold winter day/night? The temperature outside as I write this is in single digits (with a wind chill several degrees below zero!). Wouldn’t you like some of this spicy and savoury “PBJ” goodness sitting on a plate in front of you on a day/night like this? I’ll be grinning ear to ear if I could have some of this right now. Which reminds me, I need to make this again. Soon.

So what do you think? Have you tried something similar before? Curious enough to try it? Don’t like the sound of it? Do let me know in the comments. 🙂

On a side note, I’m currently working on my Recipe Index page, trying to make it more user friendly for all my readers. “Trying” being the operative word though. HTML is driving me up the wall! Hopefully though, the page will be up and running soon. 🙂

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