Recipe: Lamb Skewers (ÇÖP ŞİŞ) from Karsu’s Turkish Kitchen
Karsu Dönmez is a true all-rounder: singer, pianist, presenter, composer and… chef. She has her own show on 24Kitchen and recently completed an internship at the Michelin-starred Turkish restaurant Dede in Ireland. The next step? Her own cookbook: Karsu’s Kitchen, which hits stores on 7 March. We may give you a sneak preview.
In Karsu’s Kitchen, you’ll find 75 of her favourite recipes from Turkish cuisine. Take a culinary dream trip along tables laden with mezze and simple, quick meals, from vegetarian dishes to fish and meat. The book is also filled with personal stories about her culinary journey from Istanbul to Hatay (a UNESCO Culinary World Heritage region in Turkey). Karsu discovered these ÇÖP ŞİŞ, or lamb skewers, after one of her very first concerts in Turkey.
‘Show me the magic’
Karsu: ‘After one of my first concerts in Turkey, our still-small team ended up hungry at one of the kebab shops that was still open at that late hour. With a limited menu, you often know you’re in the right place because they specialise in a maximum of five dishes and do them exceptionally well. This little place specialised in skewers. Delicious skewers made with marinated leg of lamb. They came with thin lavaş bread, grilled vegetables and various toppings. I spent a while fiddling around trying to remove the pieces of lamb from the skewers when a young waiter said with a chuckle: “May I show you, ma’am?” “Well, show me the magic,” I said enthusiastically. The young man took a piece of bread and, in the blink of an eye, used it to grab the pieces of lamb. He then skilfully pulled out the skewer. “And now you can fill it however you like!”
How to make ÇÖP ŞİŞ
- Cut the leg of lamb into pieces of approximately 1 x 1 cm. Crush the garlic. Put the spices and herbs, salt and pepper, garlic and olive oil in a bowl and mix everything well. Add the pieces of lamb and coat them with the marinade. Leave them to marinate for as long as possible, preferably overnight, so the flavours can really infuse the meat.
- Thread the pieces of lamb onto wooden skewers. Heat a grill pan or barbecue until very hot and grill the lamb skewers to your liking.
- Cut the vegetables into pieces. Once all the lamb skewers have been grilled, grill the vegetables briefly in the grill pan or on the barbecue. Serve with sumak salatası.
Title: Karsu’s Kitchen
Author: Karsu Dönmez
Price: €34,99
Publisher: Kosmos Uitgevers
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