Lamb and Aubergine Rosemary Skewers

BBQ season just doesn't feel right without a kebab does it? But growing up, my lamb or pork Andrew's kebab always seemed overcooked (sorry Dad!) and ended up being put to one side in favour of juicy sausages and meaty spare ribs. The ones I used to make with friends, with some courgette and mushroom didn't fair much better either. A few years ago I stumbled across this fantastic Nigel Slater article laying down kebab law: keep things simple, one meat and one veg, playing with flavours away from the classic bit of shrivelled mushroom, or mushy tomato. 

Shop wise, Richard started making kebabs by hand, on slightly smaller skewers (much more appetising as part of a BBQ selection) and they are now marinated in delicious sauces to keep the meat juicy and singing with flavour. And yet there's still something about making our own! Here in Paris I had a delicious lamb neck fillet in the freezer: plenty of marbling for flavour, very reasonable and the perfect shape for cutting into kebab cubes! Nigel gives a recipe for Pork and Mango which sounds amazing but here I experiment with his other suggestion of Lamb and Aubergine and make with saffron rice, salad, pitta and tzatsiki. 

Ingredients 

One good sized lamb neck fillet makes three kebabs | Three strong sticks of rosemary or normal wood skewers (available to buy at Andrew's) | One small aubergine cubed | 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed | Chilli powder | 150g Greek yoghurt | Rice | Salad | Good handful of fresh mint leaves | 

1| Preparing your lamb is super easy, you just need a sharp knife (your butcher will do this for you if you would really like!) Cut length ways into three, and then slice each strip into five equal good sized pieces. 

2| Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and move to one side on your board. 

3| On the same board, prepare your aubergine, cutting into cubes of a similar size to your lamb, sprinkle with 2 of the crushed cloves of garlic, some torn mint leaves, olive oil, and chilli powder ( I would have loved to have used some crushed fennel seeds but couldn't get hold of any) and put to one side with the meat. 

4| Making your kebabs on rosemary skewers is not only a great way to get flavour throughout the kebab but also looks fantastic too. If however you can't get hold of good quality rosemary, you can always push some rosemary leaves into the kebab once on a wooden skewer. If using rosemary, strip of the leaves, leaving some still intact at the end of the kebab and keep aside for use another time. Then place about four aubergine pieces, and five lamb pieces alternately on the skewer. 

5| You can now make your tzatsiki which is a lovely light and refreshing accompaniment. Simply add the other two cloves of crushed garlic with a handful of finely chopped mint to the greek yoghurt and stir. You can also add finely chopped cucumber, but that is optional.

6| Add your rice to a pan of salted boiling water and cook for ten minutes. Saffron is an expensive herb so can be definitely done without if not already in the cupboard!

7| Heat a hot non stick pan on a high heat. Place in your kebabs and use a fork to press the meat down into the pan, so that they really brown off, for a couple of minutes each side. The rosemary skewer makes it very easy to turn over and fit in the pan. 

8| When your rice comes to the end of cooking, use a ladle to add some of the cooking water to the pan, and turn the heat down slightly to let it simmer away. This will just help the kebabs retain liquid for the rest of the cooking, for about another 5 minutes, and stay lovely and juicy. 

9| Meanwhile prepare your salad and toast some pitta bread. Once kebabs are cooked serve immediately. You can either use the pitta bread whole to place everything inside, or cut small as a little extra on the side.