Greek Night...

Big Fat Greek Kofta Kebab's and Veggie Skewer's 

Greek kofta's are a delicious cross between a meatball and a kebab. They are made with minced lamb and mixed spices which can be cooked on skewers and served with salad, dips and warm flatbread. The dish we decided to try also came with a delicious sweet and sour barbecue glaze. On the side we added Mediterranean vegetable skewers made with a garlic herb oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. What better way to say mark the end of British summer time. 

Lamb Kofta's 

Ingredients 

800g finely ground lamb mince 20% fat

25ml olive oil

1 onion, peeled and sliced

2 crushed garlic

100g white bread crumbs 

2 eggs

1 small brunch parsley chopped 

salt and pepper 

BBQ GLAZE

25ml white wine vinegar 

25g brown sugar

1 inch grated ginger

50g apricot jam

To cook

1. Mix all ingredients together by hand for the kebabs

2. Mould the mixture around a metal skewer into a round sausage shape

3. Place on bbq and cook for 5-6 minutes

4. At the same time, mix and heat all of the ingredients for the glaze 

5. Once starts to bubble, brush it over the kebabs.

6. To serve, remove skewers from the kebabs and pop onto a platter, brush again with the glaze

 

On the side......

Mediterranean Vegetable Skewers 

Ingredients 

4 medium red onion 

4 medium zucchini (sliced)

2 red bell pepper

2 orange bell pepper

2 yellow bell pepper

2 green bell pepper

olive oil (for brushing)

balsamic vinegar (for serving)

GARLIC HERB SAUCE 

1/3 cup olive oil

5 cloves of garlic (minced)

3tbsp fresh parsley (minced)

3 tbsp fresh cilantro (minced)

1tsp fresh rosemary (minced)

salt and pepper

Method...

1. soak approx 8-12 wooden skewers in water for at least 15-30 minutes

2. Prepare the veg for the skewers- for the red onion, peel and slice in half and then chop each half into thirds (6 total pieces from 1 onion). Seed and chop each bell pepper into approx 1 inch by 1 inch pieces. Finally chop the zucchini into rounds

3. Prepare garlic herb sauce- in a medium bowl whisk together the olive oil, minced garlic, parsley, cilantro, rosemary, salt and pepper. Set aside

4. Skewer the vegetables by alternating between red onion, zucchini and the different coloured bell pepper. 

5. Brush skewers with a light layer of olive oil 

6. Add skewers to BBQ and heat for approximately 5-8 minutes per side  or until vegetables are just softening and browning around the edges. 

7. Remove from heat, brush with garlic herb sauce and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. 

The verdict...

Overall the lamb kofta's were tasty however don't be scared to be generous with the salt and pepper, ours were slightly lacking in seasoning.  We would highly recommend adding the sweet and sour barbecue glaze as this gave the dish a tangy sweetness it might otherwise have lacked. The Mediterranean veggie skewers were delicious and deceptively tasty for something so simple. We would be tempted to add a couple of these to any future barbecue dish with the added benefit of being able to mix and match the choice of veggies to suit the recipe.