Lamb Khebabs

Earlier in the year I needed lamb for South African Bobotie and my local premium meet shop ground a whole leg for me. That meant some portioned packages for the freezer. What a burden!!!

I have enjoyed a ground lamb khebab in the middle-eastern style a few times in my life. Not having worked with lamb at home but three times now I had never made them. I suspected they wouldn't be hard, but would they taste good? Yup!

Here is the recipe I used:

1 lb lean ground lamb
1/2 cup ground slivered almonds
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
5 medium cloves garlic, freshly minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon black peppercorns, freshly ground
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Mix all ingredients until distributed. Portion into 6 balls and roll each into log form. Thread onto a bamboo or metal skewer. I chose to broil (on high) mine with the broiler pan in the middle of the oven. I turned them once and it took a total of about 15 minutes of cooking time.

A nice conclusion is to say that this is what you should get when you combine quality meat with some fresh local ingredients like onions, garlic and cilantro.

I paired my khebabs with some of the 2009 Ancient Fire Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The spicy, earthy flavors paired well with the onions, garlic and spices and the overall complexity of both the khebabs and the wine played nicely together.

Cheers!

Jason