Lamb kebabs

Prep: 40 minutes Marinate: 8 hours Grill: 8-10 minutes Makes: 4 servings

This garlicky marinade enhances lamb’s richness. Request that the butcher trim away fat and connective tissue if you’ve asked him or her to cut it into cubes for you. As always, discard marinade after marinating raw meat.

1⁄2 cup olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons dry red wine

1⁄2 small onion, cut into chunks

4 large cloves garlic, smashed, minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1½ teaspoons each: dried oregano, basil, rosemary and cumin

1⁄2 teaspoon each: coarse salt and black pepper

1 1⁄2 pounds leg of lamb, cut into 1 1⁄2- to 2-inch cubes

Z’hug, see recipe 1. In a blender or food processor fitted with a steel knife, combine olive oil, lemon juice, wine, onion, garlic, Dijon mustard, dried herbs and salt and pepper. Whiz until the mixture thickens — it will look like mayonnaise when you’re done.

2. Pour the marinade into a gallon zip-close plastic bag. Add the lamb, seal the top and knead to make sure marinade touches all the lamb pieces. Refrigerate 8 to 24 hours, turning once or twice.

3. At cooking time, remove the lamb from the marinade and pat excess marinade away with paper towels. Discard remaining marinade. Thread the lamb pieces onto skewers, with 4 or 5 cubes on each.

4. Grill over a hot fire, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve with z’hug and couscous, if desired.

Nutrition information per serving: 304 calories, 18 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 100 mg cholesterol, 2 g carbohydrates, 0 g sugar, 33 g protein, 535 mg sodium, 0 g fiber

Z’hug

Place 1 bunch parsley, 1 bunch cilantro, 4 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 jalapenos and 2 serrano peppers in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Whiz until the mixture is a paste, then thin with olive oil to a saucy consistency. Taste and adjust heat by adding cracked red pepper flakes to your preference.

Lamb kebabs go good with a lemon, wine, onion, garlic, Dijon and herb marinade.