Lamb Kebabs with Heavenly Homemade Tzatziki

 It is no secret that I love to eat…but when it comes to cooking, I find it really hard to find the time and energy. Especially when it comes to cooking well (no burning allowed!!) and healthy. How many times have I simply opted for another frozen pizza, you ask?? Well, I won’t go there. So when I spent some time with my cousin Jacqui in Canmore, I was blown away at her culinary skills. Ryan and I hadn’t eaten that well in ages! And now, (drumroll please…) you all (including myself, yay!) get to benefit from some of her amazing recipes right here on the blog!! I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome her to Inspired by Lynne! So without further ado, let me introduce you to Jacqui!

“I am so excited to be contributing to Kristina’s blog.  It turns out we share a love of food, as well as some family tendencies that have my family leaning hard into eating healthy, whole foods as often as possible.  We head for the hills when we see processed foods and we embrace a holistic attitude about feeding our bodies.  The recipes that Kristina will share in the coming months will have some things in common:  they will be delicious, healthy and largely gluten and sugar free.  When I do share a recipe with gluten or sugar, I will provide substitutions where possible.  All of these recipes are embraced by my loving husband and adorable 6 year old daughter, Madeline.  Madeline is convinced I should go on a cooking competition show and ‘win it all’ as she has learned from a very early age “nothing beats home cooking.”  I look forward to sharing my recipes with you and hope they bring your family together around the dinner table as they do mine. J xx”

LAMB KEBAB RECIPE WITH HOMEMADE TZATZIKI

This recipe is a staple in my home.  We love to do this in the summer and serve it with a light salad.  The salad shown here is a blend of greens, homegrown radish sprouts, blueberries, walnuts, goat chevre, sweet white onion and warm roasted beets topped with a homemade Dijon vinaigrette.   Yum.

LAMB KEBABS

WHAT YOU”LL NEED:

1 lb. ground lamb

1 small handful mint, leaves picked (approx. 1/4-1/3 cup)

1 large handful cilantro leaves and tender stems (approx. 1 cup)

1 tsp. coarse sea salt

2 cloves garlic

Throw the cilantro (stems and all), mint, garlic, and coarse sea salt into a food processer.  Pulse until chopped roughly.  Add to lamb.  Be mindful not to overwork the lamb mixture at this point as you want to keep the kebabs juicy.  Form into kebabs and grill.  Keep an eye on the grill as ground lamb has a tendency to flame up as the fat drips down.  This is the hazard of grilling but also what gives these kebabs that amazing smoky grilled flavor.  If it is too cold outside to grill (as is often the case where we live) you can easily cook it on your range using a grill pan or large skillet.  You do not need to add oil to cook your kebabs as the ground lamb will render off plenty of fat to make for juicy kebabs.

The lamb is cooked at 150F if you use a thermometer. Most sites will tell you to cook ground lamb to 160F.  We buy organic ground lamb from a local, trusted source and find that 150F works just fine for medium lamb kebabs.

TIP:  You can refrigerate the kebab mixture for 2-4 hours prior to cooking.  Form the mixture into a loose ball and wrap with plastic wrap so that it is sealed.  When ready, form into kebabs and grill. 

 Serve with homemade tzatziki.

WHAT YOU”LL NEED:

1 cup natural greek yoghurt

½ English cucumber (seeds removed, diced fine)

2 cloves minced garlic (or to taste)

Juice of ½ fresh lemon

1-2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill (to taste)

Salt to taste

Combine the ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour prior to serving.

TIP: After washing the cucumber, I don’t bother to peel it.  This maximizes the nutrition for my family.   To remove the seeds, simply drag the tip of a spoon along the inside of a halved cucumber.  Removing the seed pulp will ensure that your tzatziki is not watery.

ROASTED BEETS

Peel fresh, organic beets.  Cut them into quarters.  Reform your quartered beet and wrap in foil with 1 tsp butter.  Roast at 400C on the convection setting of your oven for 45 minutes or until tender.  If you do not use convection, you will have to lengthen your cooking time accordingly.

 

Thank you so much Jacqui! Now to see if I can actually do this recipe justice…

Stay tuned to see more incredible, organic, delicious recipes on Inspired by Lynne!