It probably says something bad about me that when I realised what fresh ingredients I had left from the Nigel Slater lamb dish that we had the other night - red cabbage, cucumber and yoghurt - the first thing that suggested itself was a kebab.
There's nothing wrong with the concept of a kebab - tasty marinaded meat and salad served in flatbread is a delicious and healthy meal, and I've had some awesome ones in places like Brighton. The problem is the massive salt and fat content of the "elephant's leg" and the low standards of the ones catering to most town-centre nightspots.
I could have just marinaded chunks of meat and made a shish, but for some reason I decided to have a bash at creating a doner at home. I've enjoyed a doner staggering home from the pub as much as the next young English man so what if I can make a quality one?
First of all, prepare the salad. I've still got a massive amount of red cabbage to use, so I chopped a few pieces off of that and a few slices off an onion and soaked them in white wine vinegar. They'll need at least 20 minutes but won't come to any harm if left for longer. (Sudden flashback to the lurid neon salads that always accompanied 'babs from the Shortlands Kebab and Pizza House which I frequented when I used to drink in the Shortlands Tavern, many years ago).
I love garlic yoghurt on my kebabs, so the next thing is to prepare that. Crush and really finely chop a clove of garlic and add it to yoghurt. Remove the seeds from a piece of cucumber with a teaspoon, grate it and add that too. Add some mint and stir it all up. There's your garlic sauce, with a little cucumber to add flavour and texture. Yes, I know, it's almost exactly the same as the Nigel Slater one - well, I enjoyed it!
Next, the meat. If you've ever eaten a doner sober, you'll know that the meat is actually very bland: just grey and salty. I love a properly marinaded shish kebab, so my doner had to have some spice to it. I settled on a teaspoonful each of coriander and smoked paprika, with a teaspoonful of cumin seeds and the seeds from inside three cardamom pods. The cumin and cardamom seeds benefit from a couple of minutes toasting in a dry frying pan then bashing up a bit in a pestle and mortar. I couldn't resist a few dried chilli flakes, either.
Now, roughly chop the rest of the onion and a couple of cloves of garlic and whizz them up in a blender until they're a smooth purée.
Put minced lamb, the spice mix and the onion and garlic in a large bowl, along with an egg. Mix it all up with your fingers until everything's combined together.
Line a baking tray with baking paper, and press the meat mixture firmly down into the tray.
Grill it for about 5-10 minutes, keeping a close eye on it, until done (I've found that grills vary massively between all the different appliances I've used so I just suggest keeping a good eye on it).
My idea was to cut the meat into strips, but it didn't hold together quite that neatly - it went into pieces rather than neat strips. Either way, stuff it into pitta (or whatever sort of bread you like) along with the salad and sauce.
Taste verdict
I was really chuffed with this! Far better than any doner - lots of flavour, but the flavour of lamb still came through. The crunchy fresh salad against soft minced meat made for a lovely texture, too.
Financial verdict
250g lamb mince costs around £3.50, and the other ingredients were left over from the other night's dinner. I made two really generous kebabs, but it would have certainly gone between three - maybe even four.
The Skinny
Soak sliced red cabbage and a a couple of slices of onion in white wine vinegar for 20 minutes. This is not strictly necessary, but takes the harsh raw edge off the flavour.
Make the yoghurt dressing. Crush and finely chop a clove of garlic. Remove the seeds from a portion of cucumber and grate the cucumber. Add both to yoghurt, along with mint.
Make the doner. Blitz an onion and a couple of cloves of garlic in a blender. Combine the onion, lamb mince, spices and an egg in a large bowl.
Press the meat mixture into a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Grill until done.
Serve in a pitta with sauce and salad.
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