Tender, spicy lamb neck and lemon saffron pilau with peppers
As a new resident of Dagenham, I've recently had the pleasure to be inducted into the Lara Grill catchment area family. A neighbouring gem, serving up authentic lahmacun - crispy, thin, meat pizza, and generous şehriyeli pilav* (Turkish rice pilaf) with a beautiful restaurant to boot.
Happier times, before the recent descent into Omicron. (The less on that, the better!)
*Read about the 'pilav arancini' we threw together from leftover şehriyeli pilav mixed through with the lahmacun's tomato sauce accompaniment (shaped, crumbed, then fried), in another blog soon!
You'll also find mention of Lara Grill's beyran, fiery lamb broth, in an upcoming blog about our favourite Spicy Soups. Find the recipe to our home-made lamb şiş / shish kebab below, accompanied by our roast garlic yogurt herb sauce, skinned yellow peppers, and lemony saffron Greek pilau (rice with orzo).
Serves 2-3
Ingredients For the lamb
500g lamb neck
1 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp red chili flakes
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne chili powder
2 tsp ground coriander
Zest of 1/2 lemon 4-5 sundried tomatoes
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
1 shallot
For the şiş (shish)
1 red bell pepper, cut into squares
1 white onion or shallot, cut into squares
1 tbsp olive oil
Dried mixed herbs
Garlic granules
For the rice (adapted from here)
1 cup long grain rice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium white or yellow onion, finely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, peeled and finely diced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup orzo
Juice of 2 lemons
Zest of 1 lemon
3 or so saffron threads
380ml chicken stock (2 stock cubes)
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
1 cup frozen peas
For the sauce
1 cup natural yogurt (or a few tbsp mayo)
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 garlic cloves (to be roasted)
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
3 freshly chopped mint leaves
2 tbsp olive oil
Garnish and notes
Lemon wedge and freshly ripped parsley for garnish!
You'll need metal skewers for the meat + 2 oven trays to recreate a tandoor oven.
Method
Preheat the oven.
Wash the rice until the water is clear, and leave to soak until the grains can be broken between your fingertips (20-30 minutes).
Cut the lamb neck into equal sized cubes and place in a bowl.
Chop the shallot, and add to the lamb in the bowl.
Add the dry spices in the bowl, along with the lemon zest and oil.
Crush the sundried tomatoes, either in a pestle and mortar, or as pictured above.
Add the sundried tomatoes to the lamb marinade, mix thoroughly and (if possible) leave in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
Rub the garlic cloves with olive oil, season, wrap in foil, and oven cook for 20 minutes (this roasted garlic will be added to the yogurt sauce later).
Rub the red pepper squares and onions with olive oil, dried herbs, garlic granules, and seasoning (for the kebabs later).
While the lamb is marinating...
Peel and dice the yellow pepper.
Ensure your onion/shallot is chopped, garlic minced, and lemon prepped.
Fry the onion/shallot with garlic and thyme until fragrant (in a heavy bottom pot with a lid).
Add the rice and orzo and fry lightly for two more minutes.
Add the saffron infused chicken stock and lemon juice.
Bring the rice and liquid to a rolling boil (lightly bubbling), then reduce the heat to low.
Cover and let cook for 20 minutes.
Once the liquid is fully absorbed, leave the rice undisturbed for 10 minutes
Stir through whilst adding the yellow pepper, frozen peas, lemon zest, and fresh chopped parsley.
Keep the rice warm and covered.
Remove the garlic cloves from the oven and set aside.
Assemble the lamb kebabs:
Thread a cube of lamb, followed by a marinated square of red bell pepper and onion, then another lamb cube, and repeat (see picture 4 above).
Once finished, place the skewers on a foil-lined oven tray in the middle of the oven, on medium heat.
Make sure there are two more oven trays (one on the shelf above and one beneath the kebabs) - this helps circulate heat to create the char on the meat.
Once the meat is cooked, let rest for about 7 minutes.
Add the roasted garlic cloves to the yogurt (or mayonnaise), with lemon juice and fresh herbs.
Plate up and enjoy!
An ancient site in Cappadocia, Anatolia (present-day Turkey) and Çatalhöyük, an ancient city site in Southern Anatolia.
During last year's lockdown we enjoyed a great many bbq pork and chicken 'shashlik' - a favourite kebab method at our home, made with a store-bought marinade mix from our local Lithuanian grocery.
For further reading, it may interest you to look into the variations of kebabs across West Asia and the Middle East.
Even just by looking at the similarities in names - şiş and şişlik - you can begin to see the overlap across different cuisines - and geographical, social histories!
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