2lbsground lamb, beef, turkey or chicken, coarsely ground
2tbspolive oil
½onion, chopped fine or grated into the meat
1tspfinely chopped garlic
½bunch fresh parsley, chopped fine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the tahini
2cupsunprocessed tahini paste straight from the jar, preferably whole-grain
1cupcold water (it's important that it be cold)
1large clove garlic
½tspsalt
Juice of 2 lemons
For the vegetables
1onion, sliced
1bell pepper, any color, sliced
1large tomato, sliced
1lemon, sliced thinly
Instructions
Mix all the kebab ingredients. Cover and put in refrigerator to mellow for half an hour at least.
Prepare the tahini. (Do not use store-bought, ready-to-eat tahini. It will separate in cooking.) Mix all the ingredients, stirring with a whisk. The mixture might be lumpy at first. Don’t worry; keep stirring. If it is too thick, add a little more cold water. The consistency should be thin. It will thicken with cooking.
Correct taste. It should be lemony.
Preheat oven to 350˚ F (180˚ C).
Roll kebabs into 2″ balls. Sauté, in batches, in olive oil until browned on both sides but not cooked through. Remove to a platter.
Add the onion and bell pepper to the hot oil used for frying the kebabs. Fry 2-3 minutes until onion just starts to change color.
Place kebabs on a clean frying pan (or oven tray). Cover with fried onion and bell pepper slices. Scatter sliced tomato and lemon over all.
Pour tahini over the kebabs and jostle the pan a little so it seeps between the kebabs and spreads evenly. Place the frying pan over medium heat or oven tray in oven.
Cook for 5 minutes, until the tahini thickens and changes color from white to light brown. Look for the golden-tinged edges.
Serve with plenty of pita to mop up the delicious sauce.