Hunk Food: Kebabs

Did you get trampled on in the queue to the Loop bar on Wednesday? Did you end up at Roxy after all? More importantly, did you get a kebab on the way home and feel guilty about it? Nobody can take away the fact that kebabs are an essential part of the student diet. But if you’d like to see what a kebab actually looks like sober (and if you’d like to be sure of what actually goes into it), we’ve provided the recipe for you to make your own.

Unfortunately, a student’s budget means that it would probably be very inconvenient to recreate a rotating vertical spit in your kitchen (although please feel free to try), so we’ve gone for the easier option of kofta kebabs. These are usually made out of a minced meat, rolled into sausage shapes and grilled. What makes this particular recipe hunky is the choice of meat- the unconventional turkey mince. Put aside your doubts about eating turkey in January; turkey mince is leaner than most other meats, so contains a lot less fat and a lot more goodness. Plus, at £2 a pack, you can’t really go wrong. So here’s how to make some tasty turkey kebabs that don’t involve greasy fingers or awkward conversations with kebab shop owners.

You will need:

–          1 pack turkey mince (makes about  four sizeable kebabs)

–          1 large onion

–          1 clove garlic

–          2 tsp allspice (this was in my not fried fried chicken recipe– it’s optional, but at £1.67 a jar it might be solid investment)

–          Large handful of coriander (80p)

–          Half a pepper

–          Handful of lettuce

–          A few tablespoons yoghurt (optional)

–          1 tomato

–          Pitta bread/ tortilla wrap

How to make:

1. Turn the oven/ grill on high.  Either work fine, although grill will give you a more authentic taste.
2.  In a large bowl, empty out the turkey mince, chop up the onion and garlic finely and add them to the mince with the allspice. Chop up the coriander as well (you can use the stalks as well as the leaves), and add to the mince, but save a few leaves if you want to garnish your kebab.
3. With your hands, squish the mince and everything else together. If you find the mix is really dry, add a whisked egg. If it’s too wet, you can add some breadcrumbs, but you almost definitely won’t need to do either.
4. Take a handfuls of mince and roll into relatively large sausage shapes, making sure they’re all about the same size so that they take the same amount of time to cook. Put them on a foiled tray and pop into the oven
5. Leave to cook for about twenty minutes, turning them over occasionally.
6. Heat up a pitta bread/ tortilla wrap. Cut up some lettuce, a tomato, some pepper, and anything else you fancy in your kebab. When the kebabs are done, add however many you want to your veggies, drizzle over some yoghurt and sprinkle on your coriander. Job done.