Lamb Souvlaki With Yogurt Sauce

I adore lamb, cooked pink, slow-cooked until tender, and grilled or barbecued until charred on the edges – in other words in all its guises! I frequently pop a boned piece of lamb or neck fillet in my shopping basket (and also freeze away some bargains whenever I see them). It means I can take advantage of some good sunny grilling/broiling or barbecuing weather at a moments notice to make some fabulously fragrant and tasty souvlaki skewers – like the kind of weather we’re experiencing now!

These Greek inspired skewers with onion, tomatoes and peppers/capsicums and oregano seasoning are what I call ‘the taste of summer’ and I am cooking them this weekend but outdoors since it is far too warm to turn the oven on inside the house.

I tend to eat mine plain with just a little yogurt sauce but normal or man-sized appetites might well appreciate some pitta bread too.

LAMB SOUVLAKI WITH YOGURT SAUCE

Ingredients

METRIC/US

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tsp chopped fresh oregano or ½ tsp dried

salt and freshly ground black pepper

350 g/12 oz lean lamb, cubed into about 12-16 pieces

2 yellow peppers/capsicums, cored and cut into bite-sized pieces

1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges

16 cherry tomatoes

Sauce:

2 cucumbers, peeled and very finely chopped then drained well by pressing in a sieve

1 tbsp lemon juice

225 g/8 oz plain low-fat yogurt (I used Delamere Dairy goats’ yogurt)

1 small clove garlic, crushed

Method

Mix the olive oil with the garlic, oregano and salt and pepper to taste to make a marinade for the lamb.
Thread the lamb, peppers/capsicums, onion and tomatoes onto 4 skewers and place in a shallow dish. Spoon over the marinade, cover and chill until required – ideally leave for 2-3 hours for maximum flavour or overnight. Turn occasionally if you have the opportunity.
Grill/broil or bbq the skewers for 5-8 minutes until the lamb is cooked medium/rare and lightly charred – or cook longer if you prefer your lamb cooked more.
Meanwhile to prepare the sauce, mix the cucumber with the lemon juice, yogurt, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the cooked souvlaki skewers with pitta breads if liked (toasted or grilled/broiled for a short time if liked).

SERVES: 4

WLS PORTION: ½

CALORIES PER PORTION: 355

PROTEIN: 21.5g

CARBOHYDRATE: 19g

FAT: 21.6g

Image courtesy of Delamere Dairy