Theodore's Real Greek souvlaki

Serves 4-6 or more for kids

Saturday 31 July 2004 00:00 BST
Comments

Give this to the kids instead of boring old sausages, and I guarantee they will love it. Especially if you do it on the barbecue. And also because you don't need plates. Children, though, aren't the only ones who prefer eating with their fingers. You can also use pork, shoulder or leg, or even the lamb under fillets. Serve your souvlaki rolled in Greek flat breads or if you can't find them, soft tortilla, with some sliced tomato and pickled dill cucumbers. If you fancy knocking up some tzatziki it will go perfectly. Peel, seed and dice some cucumber, and mix it with crushed garlic, Greek yoghurt, chopped mint and olive oil. There's your tzatziki. It's a treat with meat - or as a dip anytime.

Give this to the kids instead of boring old sausages, and I guarantee they will love it. Especially if you do it on the barbecue. And also because you don't need plates. Children, though, aren't the only ones who prefer eating with their fingers. You can also use pork, shoulder or leg, or even the lamb under fillets. Serve your souvlaki rolled in Greek flat breads or if you can't find them, soft tortilla, with some sliced tomato and pickled dill cucumbers. If you fancy knocking up some tzatziki it will go perfectly. Peel, seed and dice some cucumber, and mix it with crushed garlic, Greek yoghurt, chopped mint and olive oil. There's your tzatziki. It's a treat with meat - or as a dip anytime.

1kg boned shoulder of lamb, trimmed of fat and sinew and cut into rough 2cm chunks
2tbsp chopped thyme leaves
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
300ml olive oil
100ml red wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

to serve

Flat breads or soft tortillas

Put the meat into a non-reactive bowl with the thyme, garlic, lemon zest, 100ml of the olive oil and red wine. Mix well and season. Cover with cling film and leave overnight in the fridge.

Half an hour before you want to serve the souvlaki, drain the meat and reserve the juices. Mix the juices with the lemon juice and remaining olive oil in a jar or in a bowl with a whisk. Thread the pieces of meat on to metal skewers and brush with some of the marinade, lemon and oil mixture. Pre-heat a barbecue or grill and cook until slightly pink or medium if you prefer. This should take 4-5 minutes depending on your barbecue. Put the pieces of meat into a bowl and leave to rest for about 10 minutes.

To serve, brush the flat breads with some of the marinade mixture and dip them into some of the cooked meat juices from the bowl. Put them on to the barbecue for 30 seconds or so but don't let them become crisp.

Arrange the meat on the flatbreads with some pickles, tomato and tzatziki.

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