Grilled lamb cubes on flatbread with parsley and bulgur pilaf

Intermedio

Şiş Kebabı (Marinated Grilled Meat Skewers)

Name: Şiş Kebabı (Marinated Grilled Meat Skewers)
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 800 g Boneless lamb leg or shoulder (or chicken thigh), in 3 cm cubes; 1 Onion, grated; 3 tbsp (45 ml) Olive oil; 2 tbsp (30 ml) Lemon juice; 1 tbsp (15 ml) Tomato paste; 1 tsp (5 ml) Turkish red pepper flakes (pul biber); 1 tsp (5 ml) Ground cumin; 1 tsp (5 ml) Dried oregano; 1.5 tsp (7.5 ml) Salt; 0.5 tsp (2.5 ml) Black pepper; 2 Long green peppers, in chunks; 2 Tomatoes, in wedges; 1 Onion, in chunks for skewering; 4 pieces Flatbread (lavaş), to serve

Cubes of lamb marinated in onion juice, olive oil and pepper, threaded onto skewers between peppers and tomatoes and grilled over charcoal until charred at the edges and still juicy in the middle.

Fonte

Ricetta di Turkish home kitchens · 🏺 Tradizionale · Household and neighbourhood cooking carried across Türkiye — no single author owns these dishes

Turkish · traditional dish — An ownerless traditional dish, so no individual cook is credited. The cited article documents shish kebab as cubes of marinated meat grilled on a skewer, a defining dish of Turkish and wider Middle Eastern grilling. Quantities and step wording here are this book's own.

Background on Wikipedia ↗

⏱ 150 min🍽 4 porzioni🔥 480 kcal🇹🇷 Turchia🌶️

HalalSenza latticiniSenza glutine

Passaggi

Trim the meat and cut it into even 3 cm cubes so every piece cooks at the same rate.
Grate the onion and squeeze its juice into a large bowl through your fingers, discarding the dry pulp.
Whisk into the onion juice the olive oil, lemon juice, tomato paste, pepper flakes, cumin, oregano, salt and black pepper.
Turn the meat cubes through the marinade until each one is coated, cover, and chill for at least 2 hours — overnight gives the best flavour.
💡 The longer marinade both flavours and tenderises the meat; don't rush it if you can help it.
If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes so they don't scorch on the grill.
Cut the peppers, tomatoes and second onion into sturdy skewer-sized chunks.
Thread the meat onto skewers with a small gap between cubes, and thread the vegetables onto separate skewers since they cook faster.
💡 A gap between cubes lets the heat reach all sides; packed tight, the inner faces steam instead of grilling.
Heat charcoal until the coals glow grey-white, or set a ridged grill pan or grill over high heat.
Lay the meat skewers on and grill without moving them for about 3 minutes, until the underside is well marked.
Turn every 2–3 minutes, grilling the vegetable skewers alongside, for about 12–15 minutes total until charred outside and just cooked through, the juices running clear.
Rest the skewers for 3 minutes on warm flatbread so the juices settle and soak into the bread.
Slide the meat off the skewers onto the bread, pile the grilled vegetables on top, and serve with raw onion and lemon.

💡 Consigli

Don't crowd the grill — leave space between skewers so they char rather than steam.
Chicken thigh works the same way but cooks faster — check it is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Grill one test cube first, taste, and adjust the salt in the marinade before skewering the rest.