Lamb Kebab Souvlaki With Tzatziki

evelyn/athens's Note:

Ground lamb is not readily available in Greece - no butcher wants to grind it for you! We generally have pork or chicken souvlaki. Because of the use of ground meat, this is what we call a kebab here. Delicious!

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 35 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 2 lbs ground lamb, preferably leg, with all the fat
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 dash cayenne

For the tzatziki

• 1 cup Greek yogurt (no other yoghurt will do) or 1 cup sour cream
• 1 garlic clove, minced very fine
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 5 fresh mint leaves, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, minced
• 1/4 cup cucumber, grated, squeezed dry (unpeeled, washed)

Garnish

• fresh tomato, slices
• thinly sliced onion
• minced parsley
• grilled pita bread

Directions:

1. In a bowl, knead the ground lamb with the onion, butter, spices, salt, pepper and cayenne.
2. Form into sausages of about 4-5 inches in length.
3. Cover a nd leave in the fridge for about an hour.
4. Prepare the sauce.
5. In a bowl, whisk together the yoghurt, olive oil, vinegar, mint, cucumber and dill.
6. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 375°F.
8. (this is also great on the bbq) Grill the kebabs until brown and crusty on all sides, and cooked through, about 12-14 minutes.
9. Get some grilled pita breads.
10. Place 1 or 2 kebabs inside each pita and add some slices of tomato, onion, some tzatziki, and a generous sprinkling of parlsey.
11. Roll up as tightly as you can without mushing up your sandwich, and wrap a piece of aluminum foil around bottom to catch any drips.
12. Enjoy one of the best sandwiches you've ever had.

Reviews

[~Chef Lori~]

We had a Greek inspired dinner and these were a great addition as our main course! We loved them along with some Greek Couscous, and of course a Greek Salad. Lovely dinner indeed!

[Kaarin]

This was wonderful! I made mine up a few hours ahead of time and grilled on skewers. I had to use dried dill weed (about a tsp.) and frozen mint leaves, but the sauce was super! The best tzatziki I've had. Thanks!

[chia]

this is really good, reminded me of lamb burgers, as we call them. i used mini pitas to hold it all together, love the sauce!