Recipe and image by Fiona Hugues
These lamb skewers are lovely wee impaled meaty treats for easy festive entertaining. Make them as big or small as you like. Using sprigs of rosemary wood imparts lovely additional flavour to the meat. Mind, don’t use any twigs you’re not familiar with – I recall once upon a time a gormless chap killed his whole family dead using highly toxic oleander sprigs to BBQ a camp side dinner. An unthinkable thing to imagine at an annual family gathering … or not.
500g approx. lamb leg meat, cubed
1 cup Greek yoghurt
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
lemon juice to taste
salt & pepper
FOR THE MINTY HERB SAUCE
a large handful of fresh herbs – basil, parsley & lots of mint
3 cornichons or 1 small gherkin
1 tbsp capers and juice
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp honey or raw caster sugar
2 anchovy fillets or a 2 cm squeeze of anchovy paste
flaky sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
Rosemary twigs, stripped, with leaves left on one end.
The day before, marinate the lamb. Mix all ingredients together, add the cubed lamb, mixing well to combine and place in a lidded container or sealable plastic bag kept in the fridge.
Make the minty sauce ahead of time so the flavours have time to get to know each other. To a small food processor or using a stick mixer, add the sauce ingredients and combine. Add lots of herbs from your garden – I prefer basil, flat leaf parsley and lots of mint for this one – and process to a fine green sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning.
The next day remove lamb from fridge and impale 5–7 pieces on each kebab skewer. Allow to come to room temperature, drizzle with a little olive oil then grill on high heat until browned, turning on all sides. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes then serve with the minty sauce.
Add flatbreads and cucumber salad with labneh to make a more substantial meal.