Lamb shish kebabs with harissa and pitta bread

by Victoria Glass
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serves6
1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

Pitta

  • 250g of strong white bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 7g of fast-action dried yeast
  • 185ml of water
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil, plus extra for oiling the surface

Harissa

  • 200g of red chillies, fresh
  • 3 tsp ground caraway seeds, heaped
  • 1 tsp ground cumin, heaped
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 100g of piquillo peppers, or roasted and peeled red bell pepper
  • 2 tsp tomato purée
  • 2 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 4 tbsp of olive oil
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp sugar

Kebabs

  • 450g of lamb, cubed
  • 2 onions, cut into chunks
  • 1 yellow pepper, cut into cubes
  • 1 green pepper, cut into cubes
  • red cabbage, shredded
  • lettuce
  • lemon juice
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • jalapeños, or any extra vegetables of your choice

Marinade

  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 1 tbsp of parsley, dried
  • 3 tsp ground cumin
  • 3 tbsp of olive oil
  • salt
  • black pepper

Method

1
To start, make the pitta. Sift the flour into a large bowl and place the sugar and yeast on one side of the bowl and the salt on the other. Add the oil and two-thirds of the water and mix together. Add more water, a little at a time, until you have a smooth, soft dough
2
Oil your work surface and knead the dough on it for 5 – 10 minutes or until your dough is soft and elastic. Pop the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film and leave somewhere warm to rise (I like to put mine in the airing cupboard) for an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size
3
Preheat the oven to its highest temperature and place two baking sheets in to heat up
4
Once the dough has doubled in size, knock it back and knead it again for about a minute. Roll the dough into a sausage shape and cut it into 6 equal sized pieces. Roll one piece of dough into a ball and roll it out into an oval about half a centimetre thick
5
Repeat with the remaining dough balls. Dust the hot baking sheets with flour and transfer the rolled out pittas on to them. Bake for about 7 or 8 minutes, or until the pittas puff up and slightly colour. Wrap the hot pittas in a clean tea towel until you want to eat them. They’re best eaten on the day they’re baked or you can freeze them
6
To make the harissa, de-seed the chillies and peppers and toss all the ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until everything is combined. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary
7
Place all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and add the lamb cubes. Toss together and cover with cling film to marinade for a couple of hours
8
Thread the meat, onion and peppers on to metal skewers and throw on the barbecue or hot griddle pan. Turn the kebabs regularly and baste with the leftover marinade
9
Once cooked through and slightly charred, take the kebabs off the heat. Slide the meat and veg off the skewers, slice open the pittas and stuff them with salad, the lamb, onion and peppers and dollop over a generous spoonful of harissa