GREEK STYLE LAMB KOFTAS WITH A MINTY CUCUMBER DIP

A healthy varied diet has always been important to me, however now it is even more so as I am pregnant with my second baby. I think my diet can sometimes be quite carb heavy as we all love pasta in our house, so I am trying to add more meat and fish so I have plenty of protein and omega 3s as well. 

Tonight I decided on this lamb kofta dish - I remember cooking it one summer about 5 years ago as we put the koftas on the barbecue but we hadn't chilled them beforehand and they completely fell apart! I wasn't going to make the same mistake this time round. These only take about 25 minutes to prepare and cook but I also left them to chill in the fridge for 3 hours.

Ingredients for 4 people:

2 x 250g lamb mince
2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped (I used dried as that is what I had in the house)
1 tsp ground coriander
Grated zest and juice of half a lemon
1 small cucumber, diced
150g natural yoghurt
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp of fresh mint, finely chopped

To serve:
Goat's cheese or Feta cheese
Cherry tomatoes
Pitta bread or tortilla wrap

It is firstly important to remember to soak the wooden skewers in water for 10 minutes to prevent them burning. I only did 5 minutes and it wasn't long enough!

Mix together the mince, oregano, coriander, lemon zest and seasoning in a bowl.

Divide the mixture into 12 sausage shaped balls and squeeze around 12 skewers - (I was only cooking the recipe for Arabella and I so used half the ingredients and just did 6). Chill in the fridge for at least an hour, I did around 3 hours.

Just before you are ready to cook, preheat the grill (or barbecue) and grill the lamb koftas for 10-12 minutes, turning occasionally until well browned and cooked through.

Whilst these are cooking, make the dip by mixing the cucumber, yoghurt, garlic, mint, lemon juice and seasoning.

We served the lamb koftas with the minty cucumber dip, some goat's cheese for Arabella and feta for me, cherry tomatoes and a pitta bread - delicious!

These were really good and a nice, different way to eat lamb. Arabella and I did agree that we would use tortilla wraps rather than pitta breads next time as they are easier to eat. I adored the minty cucumber dip, it makes a great alternative to hummus and I will be making it again at the weekend to have with some crisps!