barbecued lamb cutlets and vegetable skewers

Tidying my book shelves the other day I came across the “Home Cooking Calendar” that Karen and I had compiled for charity a couple of years ago. I was just new to photography then and had bought my first D-SLR Camera. Having no experience whatsoever on the photography end, Karen took care of the photo shoot while I ran around doing the cooking and styling… it was a fun project and a great learning curve.

The longer you marinate the lamb the more succulent the meat will be. Soaking the wooden skewers will help protect them from the heat of the barbecue so they will not burn so quickly!

As the very hot weather leaves us and the evenings become much cooler, this is a time when the barbecue gets plenty of use for some casual outdoor dining. I thought I would post this tasty and easy recipe (month of October) from the “Home Cooking Calendar” and make use of some of my home-made yogurt!

Barbecued Lamb Cutlets and Vegetable Skewers

Ingredients:

• 4 heaped tablespoons of  plain home-made yogurt or store-bought
• 2 teaspoons sumac
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh mint
• juice half a lemon
• 1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• 8 french-trimmed lamb cutlets
• 8 wooden skewers (soaked for 30 minutes in water)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and halved
• 2 fresh sprigs of rosemary, roughly chopped
• 8 button mushrooms
• 1 large aubergine, cut into chunks
• 4 small red onions, peeled and halved
• 4 small courgettes, cut into chunks
• 1 large red pepper, cut into chunks and seeds removed
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to make: Mix together in a large bowl, yogurt, sumac, mint, lemon juice and garlic. Add the lamb cutlets, mix to coat with the yogurt marinade. Cover bowl, place in the fridge to marinate for 6 hours or overnight.

Whisk together in a small bowl the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add the garlic and rosemary, set aside for about 20 minutes for the flavours to mingle.

Meanwhile, thread the mushroom, aubergine, onion, courgette and red pepper, alternately onto the skewers. Brush each vegetable skewer liberally with the flavoured olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper.

Heat the barbecue to medium, cook each lamb cutlet 3 to four minutes on each side or until cooked to your liking. Cook the vegetable for about 8 minutes or until slightly charred and tender.