Words by Gemma Taylor

Last month I talked about the benefits of using seasonal ingredients. At the moment British produce is at its most bountiful with a fabulous selection of summer fruit, salad and vegetables readily available. Also British summer lamb is really good quality, often thought of as better than spring lamb as it has actually been born in the spring and raised outdoors.

This time of year is all about relaxed, preferably outdoor eating with family and friends, so for these dishes most of the work can be done the day before. Don’t let the long list of ingredients for the yoghurt marinade put you off as its really quick and easy to throw it all together and the last few times I have made these kebabs everybody has raved about them. Cook them on the barbeque if the sun is shining or a really hot griddle pan if you’re indoors. The fresh and crunchy summer slaw makes the perfect accompaniment to the kebabs along with other bowl salads at a barbeque, or stuffed into flatbread for an informal tasty dish.

Spiced yoghurt marinated lamb kebabs

For the kebabs:
8-10 skewers
500g diced lamb, trimmed and cut into 3cm dice
500g mixed summer vegetables cut into similar size dice such as courgettes, red onions, mixed peppers & aubergines

For the marinade:
6 tablespoons of natural yoghurt
3 tablespoons of olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, lightly crushed
Coriander, small bunch finely chopped including stalks
Mint, small bunch, leaves only finely chopped
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of paprika
Small pinch of cinnamon
Zest & juice of a lemon
Salt & pepper

To get the best flavour into the lamb marinate this for at least a day before you plan to use it, if you’re not that organised a few hours will do!

Firstly combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and mix well, season generously. Add the diced lamb and combine making sure all the lamb in coated, it’s a little messy but easiest to do this with your hands. Cover and leave in the fridge until needed.

Take the skewers and thread alternate lamb and vegetables pieces onto the skewers and place on a large dish or tray in preparation. Again if doing this in advance they could be refrigerated until you are ready to use them, but let them come up to room temperature out of the fridge for at least an hour before cooking.

Place on a hot barbeque or well oiled griddle and turn occasionally until cooked. It’s best to test a large chunk of lamb in the middle of a skewer by cutting into it with a knife to see how pink they are, and remove from cooking dependent on how well done you prefer the lamb.

Place the kebabs on a large platter and scatter with freshly chopped herbs to garnish.

Crunchy summer slaw

½ small white cabbage, 300g approx, finely sliced
½ small red cabbage, 300g approx, finely sliced
3 large carrots, coarsely grated
1 small red onion, finely sliced
Small bunch of radish, topped & tailed, finely sliced
4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
Small squeeze of lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, mix well and season to taste. This will keep for several days in the fridge and can easily be prepared the day before, to keep it fresh and crunchy prepare the vegetables the day before and simply add the mayonnaise, lemon and seasoning when ready to serve.

Check out more tips and recipes from Gemma on her blog