Springtime Lamb Kebabs
The spring thaw is upon us as temperatures creep up, days grow longer with golden sunshine, trees and grass change from brown to green, and the grill gets a much-needed wipe down and polish. The best thing about Spring is finally breaking out the grill and enjoying some delicious outdoor cooking. Our Springtime Lamb Kebabs are the perfect way to celebrate the season, with fresh lamb marinated in Mediterranean spices and served with a refreshing yogurt sauce. The leanness of the lamb combined with charred vegetables makes for a delicious and healthy meal.
Begin preparing the marinade by combining olive oil, minced onion, oregano, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Then, add the cubed lamb to marinate for several hours. The yogurt sauce is a creamy, light, and citrusy mixture of grated cucumber, Greek yogurt, minced onion, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Assemble the skewers with lamb, bell peppers, onion, tomatoes, and grill over high heat, basting with reserved marinade. Ready in just a couple of minutes, serve with warm pita bread and yogurt sauce for a delightful noontime meal.
The lean lamb combined with charred vegetables makes for a delicious and nutritious meal, while the yogurt sauce adds a cool and creamy contrast.
Springtime Lamb Kebabs Ingredients
- 3lbs boneless leg of lamb, trimmed of fat and cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 or 2 green peppers, depending on how much you like green peppers
- 4 plum tomatoes
- 1 large red onion
Marinade
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup minced onion
- 5 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
Yogurt Sauce
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cucumber
- 2 tbsp minced onion
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
Springtime Lamb Kebabs Directions
- If you use wood skewers, soak them for about 20 minutes before assembly.
- Mix the ingredients for the marinade.
- Skewer the meat and veggies, alternating the different ingredients. I prefer to start and end with meat on the skewers. Veggies tend to shrink away from the skewers during cooking, while the lamb tightens up on the skewers, keeping the other ingredients in place.
- Put the skewered ingredients in a large glass baking dish or a heavy-duty zipper plastic bag (freezer bags). If you use bags, make sure you don't poke holes with the skewers. Set aside about 1/3 of a cup of the marinade to use for basting. Cover and refrigerate this 1/3 cup marinade until ready to grill. Pour the rest of the marinade over the skewers. Cover (or zip) and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours. Turn the kabobs in the marinade or spoon the marinade over the skewers a few times to ensure the kabobs get lots of flavors.
- About 1/2 hour before grilling, remove the lamb kabobs from the refrigerator to let them come up to room temperature before grilling.
- Grill over direct high heat, about 2 minutes per side. Baste frequently with the reserved marinade. Be careful not to overcook. Lamb is best served medium-rare.
- Serve with warm pita bread and yogurt sauce.
Yogurt Sauce
- Grate the cucumber on a cheese grater. Use a clean dishtowel or a solid paper towel to wrap up the cucumber and twist and squeeze to remove the moisture. Add the ingredients and mix.
Taken from GrillingCompanion.com https://www.grillingcompanion.com/recipe/lamb-kebabs/
