Recipe: Megan Priscott | Images: Ashlee DeCaires
I love this dish. During the week, when time is not on my side, I just mix a huge dollop of Pepper and Me Ma’rrokkin paste into the lamb mince and flag the skewers (meatballs are just as good).
If you are using bamboo skewers, soak in water before using to prevent them from burning.
500g lamb mince
1 preserved lemon, finely chopped
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp fennel seeds
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp smokey paprika
Add all the above ingredients together.
Using your hand wrap approx. 60g around a skewer.
BBQ or cook on a grill and serve with white bean puree and Moroccan couscous.
White Bean Puree
400g can cannellini beans
1 clove garlic
4 tbsp olive oil (I use Al Brown’s lemon and fennel oil, available from Red Kitchen)
juice of 2 lemons
salt
cracked pepper
Place all the ingredients into a food processor and blend till smooth.
Check seasoning and adjust to taste.
Preserved Lemons
Preserved lemons make a wonderful addition to so many dishes, from the traditional tagines, stirred through couscous, or added to salads, dressings and dips. Take the time now to preserve your abundant crop and come summer you will be very thankful for the jars of sunshine.
8 lemons
sterilized preserving jar
Himalayan pink salt
8 whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 stick of cinnamon
Cut the lemons from the top down, stopping 2cm from the bottom. Do the same in the opposite direction so that you have cut the lemon into quarters yet leaving them intact at the bottom.
Place 2 tsp salt inside each lemon. With the back of a spoon, spread the salt over the inside flesh of the lemon.
Put your salty lemons in the jar and continue adding till it is full and packed quite tight.
Push the lemons down using the flat end of a rolling pin until juice is extracted and it covers all the lemons. You want the jar to be full to the top, with lemons and juice.
Seal and leave for 4–6 weeks before opening.
Once opened store in the fridge.
When making preserved lemons, choose thin skinned clean lemons like Meyer. If you have purchased your lemons, dunk them in a pot of boiling water and then pour them out into a colander. This will wash the wax off the outer skin.
