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BBQ but worth mentioning the add-ins:
1 kg ground lamb
fresh ground mixed peppercorns
a few tbls fresh rosemary, chopped very finely
a glug of olive oil
Mix all the above and form into patties. Refrigerate to chill – this will help them hold their shape as lamb tends to fall apart more than beef burgers, in our experience.
BBQ as usual.
We like this with grilled courgettes (zucchini) and a dollop of humus on the side. I found baba ganoush in a can (eggplant dip) but it was disappointing, which I should have anticipated.
If you like it, you could add in some chopped mint (not for me! Yuk) or chopped chilis, and some cumin wouldn’t be bad either. A squeeze of lemon over the courgettes is nice too!
I don’t throw food away easily. Oh, sure, if it has been lurking in the fridge for too long and greets me when I open the door, yes, in the bin it goes. But I hate tossing out food and love turning leftovers into something that you actually WANT to eat!
After our BBQ we had a fair bit of food left over. One of our mates brought a couple of packs of lamb kebabs (the ones that are ground lamb, not chunks) and we dutifully BBQed them but by then everyone was full of burgers and dogs. They sat in the fridge and we wondered what could be done with them. This was so tasty I feel like I could make it from scratch with proper ground lamb and it would be even better.
I took the lamb kebabs (already BBQed so with a nice smoky flavour) and stripped them off their skewers. I sautéed a 1/2 bag of pre-chopped onions that DH had bought for a meal that we didn’t finish in a little bit of olive oil with some garlic and added the meat.
When that was hot, I added about a cup of chicken broth and a couple of spoonfuls of some random Patak’s Curry Paste from the back of the fridge (coriander and cumin on the label). I let that bubble away for a bit then stirred in a couple of cups of frozen peas. Bubbled away again for about 10 minutes till the peas were cooked and the juice reduced. I squeezed in the juice of 1/2 a lemon and if I had HAD any fresh cilantro I would have added that, but I didn’t so I didn’t!
While it cooked down I made a couple of besan fritters, with just garlic and sliced green onions in the batter. Fitters on the plate, a ladle full of the curry over top and dinner was served. It cried out for a dollop of yogurt but that was a no-no. I’ll admit to adding a SMALL dollop of sour cream because it needed using and it tasted good with it.
All from stuff in the fridge and not entirely out of the slow-carb realm. Winner.
We BBQ a lot in the summer – this being England, even in the rain! I have to share my favourite British made BBQ – The Mini-Q from Friar Tuck.
The small size is perfect for a quick meal, and the heat deflector makes it great for tabletop BBQing or as shown, at festivals and for camping. Ours has seen hard use for a couple of years and is still going strong!
Anyway, on to the food 
I got a couple of packs of inexpensive lamb leg chops and marinated them during the day in:
3 tbls olive oil
a good handful of chopped coriander (cilantro)
a few tbls crushed garlic
the juice of two lemons
fresh ground mixed peppercorns
BBQ as usual! Served with some butternut squash, fried with previously made peppers and onions and humus on the side.
Perfect for a warm and sunny Sunday! As I’ve said before, butternut squash is an occasional treat as it’s one of the highest carb-hit veggies, but it was perfect with the lamb so we allowed ourselves the treat. Twice in 3 months seems reasonable to me.
Basically, any EVOO based marinade will improve the quality of your BBQ meat and so long as you sty away from sweet, bottled sauces you should be safe. Lemon or lime juice will tenderize the meat a bit and any spices or herbs will add flavour. Balsamic vinegar is a good substitute for the acid of the citrus, if you prefer, and you can go a totally different way with Sesame oil, soy, garlic and ginger for a more Asian flavour. Another way we do lamb is just a couple of tbls. of jarred pesto and a bit more EVOO to make it a bit more liquid. Marinate it is a big ZipLock bag, so you can squish it around and turn over easily in the fridge. Longer marinade time means tastier and more tender meat.
This is one to play around with – just by varying the marinade and the meat you can get a whole summer’s worth of great slow-carb meals with little clean-up – a def. winner!
And do check out the bigger BBQs at Friar Tuck – we also have the biggest one, which is great for BBQing a lot of food, for a party of a school fete, for example. The huge size means you can easily have the fire quite hot for actual cooking on one 1/2 and then fewer coals on the other for keeping food warm (and safe to eat) without burning it to a cinder. I can see both getting A LOT of use this year if the weather holds.
