SHISH KEBAB
Instructions:
- The next time you fire up the grill, why not try shish kebab instead of the standard “burgers and hot dogs� Shish kebab may be street food in the eastern Mediterranean, but here in America, it tastes like an extra special treat. Skewer meat and vegetables separately, as the meat will take longer to cook.
- For the meat/fish marinade:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Juice of 1 fresh lemon
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Dash black pepper
- For the shish kebab:
- 1 pound either: • lamb (for authenticity) • beef tenderloin (if you can’t find or don’t want to eat lamb) • cod or shrimp (for the coastal version) • or a mixture of the three, for variety!
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 16 cherry tomatoes
- 4 cups fresh greens
- 4 pita loaves
- Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl.�
- Cut the meat or fish into bite-sized cubes. Add to mari nade and stir to coat the meat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Cut the onion and bell-peppers into bite-sized chunks. Fill one or two long skewers with onion, one or two long skewers with bell peppers, and one or two long skewers with cherry tomatoes.
- Put marinated meat/fish cubes on long skewers.
- Spray grill or broiler pan with cooking spray or canola oil. Heat grill or preheat broiler.
- Grill or broil meat or fish until done, turning as needed to cook all sides evenly. Lamb and beef take approximately 30 minutes, cod and/or shrimp about 15 to 20 minutes, or to desired doneness.
- About halfway through meat cooking time, add onion and pepper skewers to the grill or broiler. During final 5–10 minutes, add tomato skewers.
- Keep watching meat and vegetables, and remove at desired doneness. (Some people like their meat and vegetables well done, some less so.)
- During last 5 minutes, wrap pita loaves in foil and put on the grill to warm them.
- When all meat and vegetables are cooked, remove meat to a plate and vegetables to a separate plate. Fill each pita with meat, vegetables, and greens, as desired.
- Serves 4.