Shish Kebabs for the dedicated follower of fashion

Got Ya! My fashion headline did the trick and has roped you into the first paragraph. We had family over recently and I decided to barbecue. The forecast was for rain. This meant that it probably wouldn’t. In Ireland, the weather likes to do its own thing. Like the weather, I like to do my own thing too. Back in the day when I was a youth and interested in my appearance, I did some pretty funky fashion stuff, believing myself to be the coolest thing on the catwalk.

On one of my earliest solo runs into Dublin city to buy my own clothes, a mother’s trust betrayed, I returned home with a pair of purple and yellow platform shoes. I loved them. And I wore them with a green bomber jacket that was festooned in yellow and red badges. I was put in mind of this ensemble while preparing the highly unfashionable Lamb, Mint and Cumin Shish Kebabs. They are simple to do and even though they are about as fashionable as a pair of 6 button, high-waisted v-knees, they are delicious.

You will need

• Red, yellow and green peppers
• Red onions
• Lean lamb chunks
• Fresh mint
• Cumin powder
• Some olive oil

Here’s what to do
Trim the lamb chunks of any unwanted fat, grizzle and sinew, if there is any. (A little boost here for John Sheridan in John’s Meat Co. who trimmed the lamb and cut it into nice chunks for me.)

Lamb and mint go together like Dolce and Gabbana, perhaps without the bling.

Divide it in two and mix half with the freshly chopped mint leaves and a small amount of olive oil. Mix the other half with the cumin powder and a small bit of olive oil.

Rub the lamb with the cumin. Another very tasty combination.

Leave them to marinade for a couple of hours. Chop the peppers and onions into suitable sized pieces. (If you can’t work out what size to do, stop reading now and go out for a take-away.) Skewer the ingredients.

Shish is the Turkish for Skewer. Skewer Kebab is not so exotic, is it?

Barbecue the skewers. Put them on a big plate and serve them.

Proof positive that I don’t care for fashion as much as I do for taste.

They may not be the haute couture of the culinary world but, they were appreciated by more people than ever liked my purple and yellow platform shoes.