Spiced Kabobs and Nan's Apricot Jam

Recreated from An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

[Laia] My mouth waters, and I long for Nan’s food. We never had much, but whatever we did have was made with love, which I now know transforms simple fare into a feast. Here, we eat the Commandant’s scraps, and no matter how hungry I am, they taste like sawdust.
 . . .
​[Elias] Someone shoves a plate of spiced kabobs into my hand. Someone else, a drink.

There's little room for love in the food at Blackcliff. The students in Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes are commonly served 'swill' and 'slop' that plops unappetizingly on the plate. Even celebratory kabobs are 'shoved' not shared. It's a cruel place bereft of kindness, especially when compared with Nan's kitchen which is fragrant with sweetness and spice and familial affection. Because I think I can avoid the eye of the Commandant, I've had Nan's apricot jam infiltrate the kabob recipe to help transform this fare into a feast.

Ingredients (makes 12 kabobs)

• 500g lamb mince
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 white onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 10g fresh mint, chopped finely
• 10g coriander, chopped finely
• 4 tsp Lebanese spice blend*
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 large egg (appr. 60g)
• breadcrumbs (same weight as the egg) 
• salt and pepper

*This is a pre-blended mix of black pepper, cumin, paprika, coriander, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom. 

Apricot jam sauce (to go with 12 kabobs)

• 150g apricot jam
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp cinammon 
• 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes (or more if you can handle heat)

Special equipment: Grill pan with a wire rack, 12 skewers

Instructions

1. Preheat your grill to 170°C (325°F) fan assisted or equivalent. Have a grill pan with wire rack at the ready.
2. Put all the kabob ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix and mash them all together using a fork. Don't be gentle. 
3. Divide the mixture into twelve and press onto the skewers using your hands. As each kabob is prepared, place it onto the wire rack of your grill pan. 
4. Grill the kabobs for 12 minutes, turning once halfway through. Meanwhile make the apricot jam sauce. 
5. Add all the apricot jam sauce ingredients to a pan and heat on medium-high. 
6. Remove the jam sauce from the heat as soon as it starts to bubble. Stir before serving. 

To bring some love to this meal, serve on flatbreads with salad of your choice. I went for watercress and tzatziki. 

Bonus tzatziki recipe – Ingredients (to accompany 12 kabobs)

• 1 cucumber – peeled, deseeded and finely diced
• 200g Greek yoghurt 
• 2 tbsp dried mint
• 1 garlic clove, finely diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt (according to your taste)

Instructions

1. Mix everything together.

For another take on lamb with apricot, try my Spellslinger roast.