Lamb Kofte Kebabs

Let's face it, kebabs from the high street shops are fucking rotten. Who knows what's in them? The kebab shop owners don't. 

Making your own kebabs is healthier, cheaper and frankly, they taste better. Making them yourself also makes you less of a life loser and more of a life winner. You should really never wander into a kebab shop unless you've been out on the adult-juice on a Thursday night and you're looking for some grease and mystery meat to soak up the alcohol and avoid a hangover. 

The lamb in this recipe can be switched for any minced meat including (but not limited to) turkey, pork, beef, chicken or mutton. The herbs and seasonings can also be switched to softer flavours like basil & tomato, roasted garlic & black pepper, rosemary & apple, etc. 

I paired these kebabs with marinated white cabbage, cherry tomatoes and cucumber. Couscous is a lovely side dish but I would always include some sort of dressed salad. I've used turkish flavours but as mentioned earlier, you can use any flavours as long as you pair them with a suitable side dish. 

I made my kebabs very hot because we like spicy food. Feel free to switch the hot peppers for mild ones or omit them altogether. But if you are going to use the hot peppers, yoghurt sauce is a great accompaniment and I've left the recipe below. 

RECIPE: LAMB KOFTE KEBABS

Package of minced lamb (be smart and get this from the butcher or deli counter) 

A few chilies 

A handful of fresh mint

Approx. 1 tbsp minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste 

Some skewers

Extra virgin olive oil (or just oil, you'll really never know the difference)

Start by murdering a few chilies. 

Muahahaha. Then add them to a bowl with the fresh mint, garlic and seasonings. I used a mortar and pestle because I'm a total food snob but you can really just mash them together a bit. 

Here's the fun part. Just take your minced lamb and spice mixture and mush it around the skewer. 

Coat all of your kebabs in the olive oil and either grill on the bbq until done or under your grill on medium-high for 20 minutes, turning once. 

To make the salad, just put some of your favourite vegetables in a bowl and dress them. I used white cabbage, tomatoes and cucumbers. I marinated them in olive oil, sea salt, oregano and white wine vinegar for 2 hours or so. 

RECIPE: TATZIKI (CUCUMBER AND YOGHURT SAUCE)

This recipe serves about 3 people. 

1 cup of plain greek yoghurt

1/2 cup grated cucmber

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

pinch of salt

1 tsp dried chilies (Optional and totally not traditional. I just like it.) 

Grate your cucumber and place it into a few paper towels. Squeeze out as much of the excess water as you can or your sauce will be really runny. 

Mix all of the ingredients together. 

Eat.