Lamb skewers with fresh bay leaves

Children like to help assemble these skewers. The best family barbecues involve the whole family helping in some way. Enjoy these skewers with a salad made from fresh ingredients straight from the garden.

Serves: 4

Fresh from the garden:

1 red onion, unpeeled

2 tablespoons oregano leaves

8 fresh bay leaves, halved widthways

2 small lemons, halved widthways

Juice of 1 lemon

From the pantry:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 small lamb fillets, cut into 3 pieces each

Freshly ground black pepper

4 flatbreads

Sea salt

Equipment:

Saucepan

Colander

Cutting knife and board

Deep dish

4 metal skewers

Chargrill pan or barbecue grill-plate

Non-stick frying pan (if using the chargrill pan)

What to do:

• Place onion in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain onion in a colander, then rinse briefly with cold water and, as soon as you can handle it, peel and quarter it. Separate onion quarters into 3–4 ‘petals’.
• Place olive oil, oregano, bay leaves, lamb and onion in a deep dish and sprinkle over some pepper. Mix lamb and onion around so that they are coated with the olive oil/herb mixture. Leave at room temperature for one hour.
• To assemble the skewers, alternate onion, bay leaf halves and lamb pieces among 4 skewers, finishing with a lemon half.
• Heat a chargrill pan or barbecue grill-plate until very hot. Grill skewers, turning once or twice and brushing them with any oil remaining in the marinating dish, until lamb is tender. They will be cooked in about 5–8 minutes, depending on how pink you like your lamb. The onion pieces should look charred on the edges.
• Warm flatbreads on the barbecue grill-plate, if using, or in a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Place a lamb skewer in each flatbread, pull out the skewer, squeeze with some lemon juice, then add a sprinkle of sea salt and roll to eat.

*Recipe from Stephanie Alexander’s Kitchen Garden Companion (Penguin Lantern 2009), Photography by Simon Griffiths

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, established by Stephanie Alexander in 2004, is heading a fresh food revolution. Now in almost 260 Australian schools, the Kitchen Garden Program engages primary school children in pleasurable food education, by providing weekly kitchen and garden classes. For more information visit: kitchengardenfoundation.org.au