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Meatball and Bread Salad (serves 2)

Actually, ‘salad’ is a euphemism. This recipe is a variation on what is often known in Turkish cuisine as yogurtlu kebab or Iskander kebab.

Six to eight small meatballs (purchased or home made)
Unleavened bread (say, six pittas, a slab of foccacia or similar)
Three strips of roasted red pepper strips preserved in oil (a good brand is El Navarrico)
One Romaine lettuce
225 approx tin of chopped tomatoes
200 approx pot of Greek style yoghurt
Salt, fresh ground black pepper
Smoked Tabasco (optional)
Small handful of chopped herbs e.g. marjoram, oregano, sage (optional)

You can make the meatballs by mixing minced beef with seasonings and rolling into small balls.  They can be enhanced by including some chopped fresh herbs such as oregano/marjoram.  Alternatively, many pre-made small meatballs are available from butchers or supermarkets.  In the UK in the summer, Waitrose sells koftas on skewers which are particularly good.

If not already skewered, place the meatballs on metal skewers or bamboo skewers which have been soaked in water for at least 2 hours.  Cook on a grill or barbeque until fat starts to ooze out and sizzle..

While the meatballs are cooking, or in advance, place the pepper strips and tomatoes in a blender and blitz to a fine paste.  Warm this through in a saucepan but do not boil.  Season to taste.  If desired, you can make this sauce delicately spicy by adding a generous splash of smoked Tabasco (the green one).

Shred about half of the lettuce by slicing thin strips from one end.  Scatter over two plates. Cut the bread into small fragments or fingers and lightly toast, grill or heat the bread in the oven (but not so much that it becomes too crispy) and scatter over the lettuce.  Smear the bread generously with the yoghurt, then smear the yoghurt with all of the sauce.  Place the heated kebabs on top, remove the skewers and serve.  It is better to let the meatballs rest for a couple of minutes before doing this, so that their texture is not too firm.

www.waldren.co.uk/food.