LAMB KOFTE KEBAB AND FLATBREADS

One of my most favourite face stuffing foods, the gorgeous traditional wood fired or cast iron skillet cooked flatbread that brings its own level of flavours from the slightly charred crunch and soft dough envelopes the flavoursome spiced charred lamb kofte kebab, pickled kebab chillies topped with a raw apple cider vinegar and mayonnaise garlic slaw finished off with a drizzle sriracha sauce this is sooo lip smackinly good, what’s more it’s a gorgeous fresh healthy kebab that is not only great for your tastebuds but good for you too, guilt free, no nasties and so much healthier makes this a family winner dinner all round, quick to assemble and truly fabulous fast food you can prep ahead of time so that it is ready to go at a moments notice.

Ahead of Time Prep 15 mins / Cooking time 8-10 mins

Serve family style

Ingredients

(serves 2)

Kofte Kebab

1 onion finely diced

2 cloves garlic finely diced or grated

1 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 tsp fresh turmeric grated or 1/4 dried

400g grass feed or organic lamb

2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary

1 tsp fresh chopped thyme

1 generous pinch of sea salt

1 generous pinch of fresh ground black pepper

Sriracha for serving 

Salad

1/4  finely sliced white cabbage

1/4 finely sliced red cabbage

1 lrg onion finely sliced

1 carrot julienned optional

Mayo

Store brought or...Make your own

3 egg yolks

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp white wine vinegar

300ml cold pressed olive oil

sea salt

white pepper

I find this a quick simple cook and assemble because I prep everything earlier in the day and store in glass bowls in the fridge ready to go, therefore it only takes me a few minutes to cook and serve this.

First make the dough, this you can do three or four hours in advance, or twenty four hours in advance and leave in the fridge to prove.  Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and bring together with your hands or if using a mixer with a dough hook, gently knead for seven to ten minutes, form in to a large ball and place back in the bowl, dust with a little flour and cover with a cloth, leave to prove for a minimum of one hour when the dough would have doubled in size, this dough is happy to be left proving at room temperature for up to four hours.  If you are not using all the dough, once proved you can then freeze the portions of dough, when you want to use them just defrost and leave to come up to room temperature before rolling and cooking.

If proving in the fridge for twenty four hours, bring the dough up to room temperature before using, approx 1 hour.

To make the kebabs, gently soften the onions and garlic in the coconut oil for five minutes, leave to one side to cool slightly, in a large bowl place the lamb mince and season with the salt, pepper, turmeric, oregano, rosemary and thyme, add the onions and garlic and mix well squiding together as you mix.

Take your skewers and a handful of your mince and squish the mince around the skewer so that it is around  the thickness of half an inch, repeat until you have filled the skewers.  Store in the fridge until needed.  To cook grill for around 4-5 minutes on each side.

To make the mayo, place the egg yolks and white wine vinegar in a large bowl, take your whisk and add a teaspoon of the oil and start to whisk, keep adding a teaspoon amount of oil every few seconds while whisking, once you see the emulsification of the oil and yolk you can add the oil in bigger glugs, stop when you have ribbons and your happy with the thickness of the mayo, add the Dijon mustard and season with salt and pepper.

When ready to cook, pre heat your grill, place the kebabs under the grill these will take approx eight minutes, turning once half way through the cooking time, meanwhile divide the dough into six or eight balls, on a floured surface roll out each ball into a approx 8" circle, heat a non stick frying pan hot, place the bread in the pan and cook for one to two minutes on each side, remove and repeat with the rest of the dough, wrap the cooked flat breads in a warm tea towel to keep warm while you cook the rest.  

Serve family style on the table with a stack of breads, bowls of salad, stack of kebabs and mayonnaise, I also serve with some chopped fresh chillies, garlic and herbs along with a home made jar of hot sweet chilli jelly, enjoy.

Flat Bread

(makes 6)

500g 00 flour

15g dried yeast

10g sea salt

50ml Olive Oil

320g warm water

ROAST CHICKEN WITH GARLIC GRAVY

One Pot Cooking

A paleo classic and a meal the whole family can enjoy.  A succulent brined roasted chicken with mirepoix vegetables and 40 cloves of unpeeled garlic, served with savoy cabbage, brussel sprouts and roasted butternut squash faux potatoes.  The gravy is one of my families favourite and all the work is done for you in the oven, all you need to do is blitz the sauce with a hand blender and dinner is served.

Prep time 10 minutes / Oven roasting time 1 hr

Ingredients 

(serves 4)

1 lrg organic whole chicken

The Brine

3 ltrs water

2 ltrs Cold water or ice

1 1/2 cups Himalayan sea salt

10 black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

The Mirepoix and Gravy

40 cloves garlic skin on

1 carrot finely chopped

1 onion finely chopped

1 rib of celery finely chopped

50 ml olive oil

50g butter

1 ltr chicken stock

Himalayan sea salt 

Fresh ground black pepper

2 sprigs fresh thyme (1/2 tsp dried)

1 butternut squash peeled de seeded and largely diced

Brine

This is totally optional.  Heat the water to a gentle simmer, add the salt and stir until dissolved, take of the heat and leave to cool, add the cold water or same volume in ice and place in a deep container in the fridge, when completely cold add your chicken and leave to brine for a minimum of 12 hours up to 24 hours.  Remove from the brine and rinse before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 200C / 392F.  In a deep lidded casserole dish which the whole chicken fits in to add the olive oil and butter, heat medium, season the whole chicken with salt and pepper then sear the chicken all over until brown, remove the chicken and place to one side, add to the casserole dish the carrot, celery, onion and garlic and soften for around five minutes, place the chicken back in the dish along with any resting juices, add the stock and thyme.

Pop the lid on and cook the chicken for around 45 minutes to 1 hour until cooked through.  I cook to 64C / 147F but if you have young children I recommend cooking to 75C / 167F or until the juices run clear from the thickest part of the thighs.  Meanwhile boil the butternut squash for 8 minutes, remove from the pan reserving the water for later, season with salt and pepper, toss in olive oil and place on a roasting tray, roast for 40 minutes turning half way through.

Once cooked remove the chicken and leave to rest tented with foil to keep warm.  At this point steam or simmer your savoy cabbage and brussel sprouts for a couple of minutes in the butternut squash water.

Take all the garlic cloves and squeeze the soft garlic purée out of each clove in to the casserole dish, add any resting juices from the roast chicken and blitz with a hand blender for ease of use or a food processor, just be aware hot liquids in food processors like to burst out of the top under pressure!  Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper to your taste.

That’s your gravy done, roast chicken ready to carve, butternut roast potatoes and vegetables ready to serve, enjoy.

ONE PAN EGGS AND BACON SKILLET

This is a quick easy one skillet cooked breakfast, great for kids, students and those hurry up mornings.  Simply heat your skillet medium hot, add a knob of butter and olive oil, the base ingredients can be whatever you have to hand or growing in the garden, I like my garden pantry as I can only eat what’s ready when it’s ready so the garden is in charge!  Sauté some onion, garlic, courgettes, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes for around 5 minutes, add some chopped bacon or ham or even left over roast chicken works, next drop in two eggs from a height, you actually want to break the yolks, using a spoon just do a zig zag across the pan only once to sort of combine, do not stir as you want a fried egg texture not scrambled mix, leave to cook for a couple of minutes and that’s it finish with some herbs like parsley or chives, oh and a drizzle of hot sauce.

Ingredients 

(serves 2)

1 glug olive oil

1 tbsp butter

6 cherry tomatoes 

1 courgette diced

1 small onion diced

1 clove garlic chopped

4 mushrooms sliced

6 slices bacon 

2 eggs broken not beaten

Himalaya sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

1 tbsp chopped parsley or chives
Hot sauce (optional)

Heat the oil and butter medium hot, add the onions, garlic, courgette, cherry tomatoes and sauté for 5 minutes.

Add the bacon and mushrooms and cook for a further couple of minutes, then add the eggs, drop in from a height as you want to break the yolks, but not so much that you have scrambled eggs.

Take a spoon and just the once zig zag across the pan, not stirring but giving a hint of combining.  Cook for a couple of minutes, serve with some chopped herbs and a drizzle of hot sauce.