Lamb and apricot sosaties (South African kebabs)

Portion size: Makes 8 kebabs
Hands-on time 40 min, plus cooling and marinating
Difficulty: easy

Dairy-free

Gluten-free

Recipe by: Genevieve Taylor

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Fire-cooking expert Genevieve Taylor shares her recipe for sosaties, South African kebabs made with tangy marinaded lamb.

Recipes taken from Seared: The Ultimate Guide to Barbecuing Meat by Genevieve Taylor (Quadrille £20). Follow Genevieve on Instagram @genevieveeats

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Ingredients

900g lamb neck fillet, cut into 1cm discs
1 small red onion, cut into 6-8 wedges and separated into slivers
200g dried apricots

For the marinade

2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
4 cardamom pods
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, finely chopped
3 bay leaves, chopped
1 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
5 tbsp apricot jam
5 tbsp red wine vinegar

You’ll also need

8 metal skewers

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Method

First make the marinade: set a small saucepan over a medium heat, then add the cumin and coriander seeds and cardamom pods. Toast for a couple of minutes, stirring, until they smell fragrant, then tip into a pestle and mortar and roughly grind.
Pour the oil into the pan, add the chopped onion, bay leaves and salt and cook very gently for 15-20 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, crushed spices, turmeric and cinnamon and cook for another minute. Spoon in the jam and add the vinegar, along with a good grind of black pepper. Cook for a few minutes until the jam has melted and you have a sticky sauce. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool completely.
Once the marinade is cold, add the lamb and stir thoroughly to coat each piece. Cover and keep in the fridge for 24 hours if you have time – longer wouldn’t hurt at all (see Genevieve’s know-how).
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When you’re ready to cook, fire up your barbecue ready for direct grilling but, as always, leave a good area of the grill surface with no coals under so you can slide the skewers off the direct heat if they’re cooking too fast.
Thread the lamb pieces onto skewers, alternating with the slivers of onion and apricots. Lay the skewers on the grill bars over the hot coals and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side – so around 8-12 minutes in total – until the lamb is cooked and the apricots are lightly charred. Serve hot from the grill.

Nutrition

344kcals Calories
18.7g (7.6g saturated) Fat
23.5g Protein
18.6g (18.1g sugars) Carbs
3.6g Fibre
0.8g Salt

Cook smarter

Genevieve’s expert know-how “With all that bending down to graze, lamb neck muscles are super hard-working and full of connective tissue. In theory this should mean lamb neck is best suited to low and slow cooking, but actually it’s one of my favourite cuts for slicing across the grain and cooking hot and fast, as in these tasty South African sosaties. I’ve left the meat to marinate for up to 72 hours with only positive effects. The fact that the marinade is cooked and uses apricot jam might seem weird, but you’re creating something similar to a spicy chutney that the lamb soaks in. Trust me, it’s wonderful.”