Baked Lamb Kebab

I’m a sucker for anything lamb and when I read this intro on the Splendid Table website “If any one recipe changes the way you cook, this may just be it” of course I had to try it. Happily, I happened to have everything on hand. Serves 4:

Baked Lamb Kebab

• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 onion, minced in a food processor and drained of any liquid, or very finely chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and very finely chopped
• 1 cup flat leaf parsley, leaves and stalks finely chopped, plus extra leaves to serve
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon pul biber or Aleppo chile flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Salt and pepper

For serving:

• Pita bread or tortilla wraps
• sliced red onion
• Greek yogurt, optional

Preheat your oven to its highest setting 450-500°. Select an ovenproof dish or baking pan that will hold the lamb in a shallow layer. I used a medium gratin dish.

Put all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and, using your hands, work them together well until it’s a smooth, even paste.

Press the lamb mixture into the ovenproof dish or baking pan to cover the bottom. Bake for 18 minutes, or until golden on top. Serve immediately with tortilla wraps or bread, some sliced red onion, parsley leaves, and Greek yogurt and enjoy!

My Verdict:

Delicious! This has become one of our favorites and I’ve made it many times. Frank said it was like a skinny lamb meatloaf and that’s pretty accurate. We served it with pita bread, onions and yogurt. A squirt of lemon juice would be good too. Hummus and baba ganoush are great sides.

I used a 425° oven because I didn’t want to risk setting off the smoke detector and cooked it for about 20 minutes. If you don’t have a stash of Aleppo pepper on hand, substitute red pepper flakes and paprika, but go easy on the red pepper flakes as they’re hotter than the Aleppo pepper–unless you want a hotter mix.