Ideas and recipes for a summer barbecue: Part Two

When the sun comes out in London, you have to make the most of it. And for me, last weekend it meant using my lovely new barbecue again, it’s irresistible.

My lovely new gas barbecue in the summer sunshine

I put my thinking cap on and decided to tempt you with a lovely South African dish, lamb sosaties. Sosaties are kebabs…but what makes them different is their marinade which is of Cape Malay origin. They get their name from saus (spicy sauce) and sate (skewered meat).

The marinade’s sweet and spicy flavours go beautifully with this tender lamb and keeps the kebabs nice and moist.You can vary the vegetables, add different colour peppers, mushrooms, courgettes or any reasonably soft vegetable that won’t take a lot of cooking.I think the dried apricots are vital, they get slightly blackened and caramelised and add a lovely bittersweet flavour.

Makes 4 large sosaties

For the sosaties

500g diced lamb shoulder

1 red pepper, cut into bite-size chunks

1 large onion, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks

12 dried apricots

The beautifully golden and succulent sosaties sizzle on the braai

For the marinade

2 tbsps apricot jam

1 tbsp soft brown sugar

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

3 cloves

3 bay leaves

1 tbsp malt vinegar

1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

Place all the ingredients in a pan and heat over a low heat until the jam has melted and everything has nicely mixed.

Add the diced lamb and coat well. Marinate for at least six hours, overnight if possible.

marinading meat — The marinade infuses even more flavour into the lamb

If you’re using wooden skewers, make sure you soak them for at least half an hour in cold water to avoid burning when you cook.

Assemble the sosaties by threading the ingredients onto the skewers, alternating meat, vegetables and apricots until you have used everything up.

Baste well with the remaining marinade

Cook on the barbecue for about 7 minutes each side, basting while cooking.

Serve immediately.

The assembled sosaties, basted and ready to pop on the barbecue

I served the sosaties with two tasty salads. One of beetroot, butternut and rocket and the other a refreshing cucmber and yogurt combo. Recipes coming soon, watch this space. And now that’s summer’s here get that barbecue out and get ready for plenty of alfresco dining. I know I am!

Looking for a new barbecue? Birstall have a good range to choose from, visit http://www.birstall.co.uk/ to find one that’s perfect for you.