Sosaties – South African lamb kebabs

Tags

apricot marinade, barbecue, braai, grilling, lamb kekab, rainbow nation, sosatie, South Africa

This is a delicious spicy yet sweet recipe for kebabs; it can be made with chicken, beef or pork even, although traditionally sosaties are made with lamb and originate from the Cape Malays. No real South African braai is complete without sosaties and boerewors, a type of sausage, (but that is another post maybe). I had invited my neighbors for dinner last night and wanted to make something different so I decided on a South African BBQ. They are French, Parisians in fact, who have a holiday home in the Dordogne and are simply the nicest people you can imagine. Parisians often have the reputation for being unfriendly, well if that is the case, the Leger family did not get the message because they are incredibly friendly. One could not ask for better neighbors.To be honest, I lived in Paris for 5 years and hardly knew my neighbors, so maybe being in the countryside has something to do with it, who knows, but I am not complaining. They insisted on bringing dessert which was the most delicious homemade chocolate cake served with creme anglaise, a light custard. The cake was like a souffle, all gooey goodness in the inside, absolutely delicious. Diana had even decorated the top with icing sugar and made the letter T for Travers, the name of our house. How thoughtful can you get?

I am going over to their house this afternoon to learn how to cook foie gras, I cannot wait and will most definitely add a post about that soon. But, back to our dinner and the sosaties. The meat needs to be marinated for at least 24 hours to soak up all the spicy sweet goodness so the previous day I went to visit my butcher who deboned a leg of lamb for me and cut it up into squares of about 2 1/2 cm / 1 inch. Back home, I prepared the marinade, let it cool completely, about 3 hours, and poured the marinade over the meat before placing it in the refrigerator overnight. When we were ready to cook, I simply threaded the meat onto skewers, about 4 pieces to a skewer and voila, ready to pop onto the grill. You can serve the remaining marinade with the kebabs if you want extra spice and flavor. Unfortunately, I did not get any photos as we were too busy having a great time but I will make it again soon and add them. Promise.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 1/2 kg / 3 pounds lamb cut up
1 large red pepper
1 onion
12 dried yet plump apricots
marinade:
3 small onions, diced
1-2 small chili peppers
2 Tablespoons sunflower oil
2 Tablespoons/ 30 g curry powder (depends on the strength)
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
2 teaspoons coriander
10 dried apricots, cut into tiny pieces
175 ml/ 3/4 cup apricot jam
50 g / 1/4 cup light brown sugar
150 ml / 2/3 cup white vinegar
300 ml / 1 1/4 cup water

 

Preparation:

Cut the meat, or better yet, ask your butcher to do it for you into 2 1/2 cm/ 1 inch cubes
Set aside while you prepare the marinade
Peel and dice the onions
Cut up the peppers finely. If you cannot find fresh peppers, you may use a large pinch of chili flakes
Heat the oil over medium heat and add the onions and chili until they are just translucent
Add the curry, turmeric, bay leaves, ginger and coriander and allow to cook for a minute
Add the apricots and all the remaining ingredients and leave to simmer about 15 minutes
Remove from heat and allow to cool completely, about 3 hours
When cool, add the marinade to the meat and place in the refrigerator for about 24 hours
Now cut the apricots in half lengthwise and cube the peppers and onions to the same size as the meat cubes and apricots
When ready to grill, thread four meat pieces alternating with red pepper, onion and apricot to make a sosatie
Remember to soak the skewers first if you are using wooden ones so that they do not burn
Heat the BBQ to about 250 Celsius/ 500 Fahrenheit
Cook the kebabs about 10 to 15 minutes
Turn several times to make the edges golden
Boil the rest of the marinade, simmer 5 minutes and serve with the sosaties if you wish a bit more spice and bite

Enjoy!

Wine suggestion: Viognier or Chenin Blanc go well with this spicy dish but if you prefer a red, Shiraz or Grenache are equally good choices

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