A really very tasty (and also kind of healthy) lamb kebab!

I just made a totally yummy sort of lamb kebab for dinner and it was SO BLOODY GOOD that I'm blogging it before I forget exactly what I did! Unfortunately, I can't take all the credit because it was inspired by Jamie - I was watching his money saving meals thing the other day and he did a kebab that is probably EVEN BETTER than this one so you may as well search for that instead - but I've made this my way and it's probably a little simpler than his and kind of healthy too!

As I've just cooked this for me with left overs in the fridge for tomorrow, this recipe is for two, but everything in it is so easy to double or triple in quantity and I think it would be a brilliant help-yourself-around-a-table/finger-food dinner to make for friends!

For the kebab
2 flame baked chapattis (or whatever kind of flat bread type thing you can find!) 
about 250g/half a standard supermarket pack of lean lamb mince (we're not cooking in any fat so if you get a good quality mince then it really is pretty healthy!)
a tea spoon of garam masala (or a combination of warming spices, like cumin and coriander)
salt and black pepper

For the tasty bits
1/2 white cabbage, sliced finely
1/2 red onion, sliced finely
a couple of glugs of white wine vinegar
a tea spoon of sugar

about 250g/half a pot of low fat natural yoghurt
a handful of fresh mint, chopped
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tiny garlic clove, chopped finely/crushed (or a bit of garlic powder if you prefer)
salt

For the extras
a red chilli, chopped
a handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1/4 cucumber, sliced
a handful or two of sweet gem lettuce, chopped

Preheat the oven to about 180 degrees and pop in your flat breads. Cook these according to packet instructions and make sure they're not piping hot when you serve up because you're going to want to be able to pick them up!

To make your kebabs you literally need to mix the spices and a good few twists of salt and pepper into the mince with your hands. Then split into four and roll each one into a kind of sausage shape - there's no need for it to be neat! If you've got some skewers then wrap the sausages around them, but I didn't bother and they still worked brilliantly (they'd be dead good barbequed but we've only just hit Feb so I think that might be a bit ambitious!)



Then get a griddle pan over a medium-high heat and pop the kebab straight onto it. Leave for several minutes on one side before turning - you're aiming for it to almost blacken with the fats inside the meat just sizzling away on the pan - and then turn until the whole sausage has been cooked. Remove onto a piece of kitchen roll to soak up any excess fats and then these are good to go - I made all of the other bits and bobs while the kebabs were cooking so the meal literally only took as long to make as these tiny sausages took to cook!

So while the lamb is on the hob, mix together the cabbage, red onion, white wine vinegar and sugar in a bowl and scrunch all together. The quantities here are too much for two people but this should keep pretty well so you could use it in another meal later in the week! In another bowl mix together the yoghurt, mint, lemon, garlic and a couple of twists of salt.

Make sure you've got all of the extras prepped and then dish up! I don't think there is a good way to eat this but I went with one hand and one fork and it went down pretty well...

Enjoy! No, seriously, you are really going to enjoy this!!

Saturday Night Curry... Tasty Lamb Rogan Josh

 My Recipe for a simple Lamb Rogan Josh

A tasty curry I made for dinner on Saturday night with red pepper and spinach, washed down with a cold ginger beer... yum!

I took the recipe for marinating the lamb from a Jamie Oliver Recipe, but then decided to simplify the rest of the ingredients and cooking methods just because we were hungry and wanted to eat!!

I had no chilli so didn't make mine very spicy - but if you like spice then just add 1 or 2 in with the red pepper. The Pataks curry pastes are really good for making quick, flavoursome curries when you don't want to bother with all the spices yourself...

So if you want a simple, tasty recipe, this is the one. If you're after something with a bit more depth and preparation, then head over to Jamie's recipe - it will make a truly delicious curry I'm sure!!
 

 

Ingredients

Makes 3 portions

Marinade
2cm square piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 large tablespoons low fat natural yoghurt
black pepper

Curry
3 lamb steaks, cut into big cubes
2 tablespoons Pataks Rogan Josh curry paste
1 red onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
tin of chopped tomatoes
2 handful spinach leaves
small handful fresh coriander, chopped


rice, naan, poppadoms, mango chutney, iced cold ginger beer... whatever you fancy, to serve!

Method

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a plastic tupperware or bowl. Add the lamb and mix to coat all of the meat. Leave in the fridge overnight or as long as you have time for.


Add the curry paste into a deep frying pan (or wok). Fry for a couple of minutes on a medium heat until the oils begin to leak out of the paste, then add the onion, red pepper and chilli (if using).

As the onion begins to soften, add the lamb and marinade and mix to combine the flavours.





Pour in the chopped tomatoes and a small cup of water (if needed). Add the spinach leaves and mix as they soften. Add most of the fresh coriander.

Put a lid on the curry and leave to simmer away on the hob or slow cook in the oven (ideally on a low-medium heat for a couple of hours). You want the lamb to be cooked through but still tender.

Cook your rice and naan as the curry is in the oven. Serve with extra coriander sprinkled on if desired. Enjoy!

Cooking for a Friend

Hoisin and Garlic Pork Medallions with Feta and Coriander Stuffed Sweet Potato

My friend came for dinner last night and I created a bit of a concoction, borrowing from a couple of different recipes. Everyone had been chatting about pork at work, so that was my starting point - pork medallions from the Tesco Finest range (on offer obviously!) My sauce was actually inspired by the recipe on the back of the pork pack, and adapted to use ingredients I already had. The sweet potato recipe is a variation of one of my absolute favorites from Jamie's 30minute meals - he mashes sweet potato and normal potato with feta, chilli and coriander (and it's delicious!). My friend isn't keen on chilli so I ditched this part and decided to bake the sweet potatoes as a change. It all took me less than half an hour, and received great reviews from my friend!

Ingredients

Pork Medallions
Hoisin and Garlic Sauce (I used ready-made because I already had some, but would be nicer homemade!)
Dark Soy Sauce
Garlic (fine chopped)
Ginger (grated or fine chopped)
Spring Onions (rough chopped)
Sweet Potatoes
Feta Cheese
Coriander
Veggies (carrots and broccoli for me!)

Recipe

Put the sweet potatoes on a baking tray into a preheated oven (about 180degrees).  They need about 20-30mins depending on the size of the potato.

Sear the pork in a hot pan for a couple of minutes each side, then put to one side.

Get a pan of water boiling for your veg.

Mix the hoisin and garlic sauce with a few dashes of soy sauce in a bowl. Fry the garlic and ginger in a drop of olive oil until just turning golden, then add the sauce.





Put the pork into the pan with the sauce and keep the heat on fairly low to cook through for 5-10mins.

Put the veg in your boiling water, or better steam it if you've got the right utensils (which I don't unfortunately!)

Take the potatoes out of the oven and cut in half. Cut slices through the inside of the potato, not cutting through the skin.



 Chop the feta and coriander together to mix all the flavours.

Then use your knife to push the mixture into the gaps you've just cut into the sweet potatoes. Pop back in the oven for a few minutes.

Then voila! Dish up, sprinkle the spring onion on top of the meat...

Eat!