Lamb and Halloumi Kebabs

Lamb and Halloumi Kebabs

 

This is the ultimate fast food as the kebabs take just 3 minutes to cook on each side. The lemony marinade shown to us by friends Sandie and Peter Draper stops the meat from drying out. These can be done under a hot grill if you don’t have glowing coals outside. Serve the kebabs with lettuce wraps and a bowl of the Lemon Yogurt Sauce.

Serves 8

For the marinade: 

150ml extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves

Half to 1 medium hot red chilli, (according to taste)

1 20cm sprig rosemary

½ teaspoon chilli flakes

6 sprigs of thyme (leaves picked)

2 bay leaves

juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

 

For the kebabs

600g lean lamb (leg meat is good), diced into 3cm cubes

2 red peppers, cut into 3cm squares

250g small chestnut mushrooms, brushed clean

1 red onion, cut into quarters and layers separated

2 x 250g halloumi, cut into bite-sized cubes

3 baby gem lettuces, leaves separated to serve

A small handful parsley, leaves coarsely chopped and stems finely chopped, to serve

1 quantity Lemon Yogurt Sauce (see below) to serve

 

To make the marinade, put all the ingredients into a small food-processor with a good few twists of pepper and blend until emulsified. Alternatively, you can chop the dry ingredients together finely by hand and mix with the oil.

Pour a third of the marinade into a shallow dish with the lamb, peppers, mushrooms and onion, and toss to combine. Cover and leave to infuse for at least 30 minutes and up to a day in the fridge. Put the remainder of the marinade into a jug and refrigerate.

To make the lemon yogurt sauce, mix the ingredients together in a bowl and season to taste. This will keep in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days.

When you are ready to cook the kebabs, preheat the grill to high and heat a rack ready for the kebabs. Thread the lamb, peppers, mushrooms, onions and halloumi alternately onto metal kebab skewers. Discard any leftover marinade in the dish.

Lay the skewers onto a hot grill rack (if this is in an oven, put an oven tray underneath to catch the juices) and cook close to the heat souche for 3-4 minutes before turning and cooking again for 3 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and the meat is just cooked. These are also delicious barbecued.

Put the lettuce leaves and a bowl of the lemon yogurt sauce on a large serving dish. Add the hot skewers dressed with a little of the remaining marinade and sprinkled with parsley. Serve the remaining marinade in a jug.

Lemon yogurt sauce

Serves 8

8 tablespoons Greek yogurt

8 tablespoons mayonnaise

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl and season to taste. This will keep in the fridge, covered, for 3 days.

 

Per serving 8g Carbs, 33g protein, 65g fat, 2.1g fibre, 755kcal

This recipe is from ‘The Diabetes Weight-loss Cookbook’ published by Kyle Books with photography by Susan Bell.