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. 

Barbecued 'Mojito' Shoulder of Lamb

The sun was out and shining today and we had a shoulder of lamb in the fridge so I thought I would try out a new recipe for the barbecue. Shoulder of lamb is a great choice at the moment because all lamb is now new seasons so really delicious and tender, and it is great value for money compared to the leg. Although there is more fat running through than leg of lamb, the meat is so tender it just melts away while cooking, helping to flavour the meat. The marinade I chose is a slight twist on the classic garlic and olive oil that we are so used to putting on lamb nowadays- the rum, lime juice, and mint just make it that extra bit special on a summers day.

Ingredients:
1 whole shoulder of lamb serves 5-6 people (ask your butcher to debone so that you can lay the meat flat on the BBQ so that it cooks quicker)

 6 crushed garlic cloves
a good handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
4 tablespoons of rum
1 tablespoon of olive oil
the juice of one lime and zest grated

Unless you have a food processor, in which you can just blitz the above ingredients, start by pounding the garlic and mint together using a pestle and mortar.
Add the lime juice and zest and again mix together. Slowly add the other liquid ingredients and really stir well to let the flavours of the mint and garlic release into the rum.

Pour the mixture on to the lamb a bit at a time massaging into the meat as you go. When finished place the lamb into a bowl and cover with foil. Leave in the fridge for a good 3-5 hours to let the flavours permeate the meat.

We used a traditional charcoal BBQ to cook the lamb. Place the charcoal either side of a foil tray to collect any dripping fat. Once the coals are really hot, let the lamb cook flat on the BBQ for about an hour with the lid on to keep the BBQ hot.

Carve the meat and serve with buttery new potatoes and salad.

Lamb Schawarma

I enjoyed last week's beautiful weather on a course in Shepherd's Bush, a multicultural area of London with lots of middle eastern and Mediterranean cafés. With holidays and hot weather in mind, I decided to cook this delicious middle eastern dish that a friend suggested to me, using Andrew's extremely local Bridge Farm Lamb. The name Schawarma simply refers to meat that has been marinaded in spices, grilled, then sliced to be served as a kebab in a pitta. It tastes delicious and is perfect cooked on a traditional Weber barbecue that gives the meat a unique, slightly smokey flavour. Most recipes use leg of lamb but I chose shoulder, as it is less money per kilo than the leg, and because of the marbling has slightly more flavour. The whole shoulder you see below was later boned out (which the butchers will be happy to do for you!) so that it laid flat on the BBQ and was easier to carve.

Ingredients: 

1 Whole Boned Lamb Shoulder (Serves 4-6) 

2 Garlic Cloves Crushed 

100 ml Olive Oil  

Handful of Fresh Coriander Finely Chopped 

Tsp Ground Paprika 

Tsp Ground Cumin

Tsp Ground Allspice

Tsp Dried Oregano 

Juice and Zest of One Lemon 

Salt and Pepper 

NB: I kept my spice mix quite simple, but you could add some ground ginger, ground cinnamon, cayenne pepper or turmeric as you wish, to enrich the flavour. The key to this dish is also in the amount of time you leave the meat to marinate. Overnight is optimum although the morning before you eat is ok too. 

To make the marinade simply add the coriander and garlic to the lemon juice and olive oil in a bowl and mix until the garlic starts to turn the mixture slightly cloudy. Then add your spices and seasoning and mix. On the skin side of the lamb make some incisions all over with a sharp knife. Pour over your boned out lamb shoulder and massage the marinade into the meat making sure it is thoroughly covered. Leave in a covered bowl in the fridge until you are ready to cook. 

Once your barbecue is hot, place the lamb on the grill leaving the lid on to keep the heat in (but with the vents open). Boned out, the lamb should take 45 minutes, and should be turned over mid way through. You could of course cook this in the oven but it tastes so much better on the barbecue!!! Serve with lettuce, tzatsiki and warmed pittas to remain traditional or any other accompaniments that you would prefer. For example, my dad has to have a gluten-free diet so I also made up a lovely rice dish with red pepper, red onion, sweetcorn and herbs for him to have instead of the pitta breads. If there are only four of you, the lamb is also amazing cold the next day, I am eating some now as I write this! 

Barbecue Economy

When the sun starts to shine, as we have been blessed with this week, us Brits tend to go a bit mad with our money, with all sensible saving going out the window. This can often be the case when barbecuing: as we do it so little it can be hard to figure amounts and costs per person, but with a little BBQ know how, it doesn't have to be expensive. This weekend we had our neighbours and family round to enjoy the sunshine and to enjoy some good barbecue meats! Keeping things simple we kept away from the marinated steaks that are delicious for small numbers of people and instead turned to whole joints of meat, that we marinated for the barbecue.

For example, last week my brother and I showed you how easy it is to cook a spatchcocked chicken: as it is laid out flat it cooks much more evenly. It is also much more economical than individual portions. The same can be said for a shoulder or leg of lamb which the boys in the shop will happily debone and open out so that it cooks through evenly and quickly. Whats more, if the sun does decide to hide away, which is more than likely, these joints can always be easily roasted.

As marinades and flavours go we sell some delicious barbecue and oriental flavoured sauces from Cottage Delight which keep the meat succulent and are ridiculously easy to apply to the meat and leave. For the lamb however I often mix olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic cloves and whichever herbs happen to be in the garden and massage into the meat.

My final money saving tip for the barbecue is Andrew's chicken wings in barbecue sauce, which my brother, cousins and I have practically grown up on and without them, would not consider a barbecue to be a decent barbecue! They are currently £3.20 per kilo and you really do get a lot for a kilo so they are great if you want to supplement a more expensive meat or if you are feeding a big party of children. I am 21 and still adore them, I could eat a plate of them by myself so they are definitely a winner!