Lime-marinated skirt steak kebabs

Prep: 40 minutes Marinate: 8 hours Grill: 8-10 minutes Makes: 4 servings

Skirt steak is a good choice for these kebabs because of its fattiness, which keeps the meat from drying out. If you can’t find it, substitute flank steak, cut in the same way. Threading the strips of steak onto the skewer satay-style means these kebabs will cook very quickly — don’t leave them untended on the grill. Zest the limes before squeezing their juice.

1 1⁄2 pounds skirt steak or flank steak

1⁄2 cup lime juice from about 8 limes

1⁄2 cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled

1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard

1⁄2 teaspoon each: salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes

Grated zest from 2 limes

Additional limes, cut into quarters, for garnish

1. Lay the skirt steak across the cutting board so that a long side is nearest to you. Using a sharp knife, cut the steak into 1⁄2-inch-thick slices across the width, angling the knife blade about 45 degrees so you make a slanting cut. Place the beef slices into a gallon zip-close plastic bag.

2. In a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine lime juice, olive oil, garlic, mustard, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and zest. Whiz until everything is combined, about 1 minute.

3. Pour the marinade into a zip-close bag with the beef; seal the top. Knead the bag briefly to make sure the marinade contacts all the beef. Refrigerate 8 to 24 hours, turning once or twice.

4. At cooking time, remove the beef from the marinade, discarding marinade. Pat excess marinade from beef slices. Thread the slices satay-style onto skewers.

5. Grill over a hot fire, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Serve with harissa-yogurt sauce and saffron rice, if desired.

Nutrition information per serving: 378 calories, 25 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 118 mg cholesterol, 1 g carbohydrates, 0 g sugar, 38 g protein, 176 mg sodium, 0 g fiber