A fantastic, new summer recipe, these Grilled Rosemary Lamb Kalamata Kebabs are absolutely bursting with flavor. They’re quick, easy and over-the-top delicious!
I get all sorts of cooking requests from my boys. Sometimes it’s as boring (no offense!), as buttered toast or cheese and crackers — but, other times it’s quite interesting.
My younger son once helped me create a recipe he’d concocted in his mind for Bacon-Waffle Deviled Eggs. And THE Breakfast Taco was my older son’s idea.
So last week my 12-year-old came home from school one day and announced he told his history group that his Chef mom would make a bunch of food to represent Ancient Greece . . . .
Um . . . . okay. 🙂
What are food of Ancient Greece, you ask?
So when I set out to create a dish that would go with the Ancient Greek them, to be honest, it was mostly about what I thought the kids would like, and what I knew to be Greek flavors. So yes, not very authentic.
- The food of Ancient Greece was actually characterized by their frugality, reflecting their agricultural hardship.
- The Ancient Greeks mostly consumed wheat, barley, olives, olive oil and a whole lot of wine.
This only touches on it, but obviously wine was out of the question for my son’s class, as was wheat and barley because he has Celiac Diseas, so no gluten. (Pretty sure this wasn’t an issue for the Ancient Greeks — at least that they knew.)
My son’s group came up with what I was to make and I happily agreed.
Apparently, these Grilled Rosemary Lamb Kalamata Kebabs were the biggest hit in class — and at home!
I immediately remembered my friend Judy’s amazing lamb we had at our Summertime Garden Party, and tried to do something similar, but with the addition of the olives and Feta.
What to serve with Grilled Rosemary Lamb Kalamata Kebabs
- Colorful Citrus Carrot Salad
- Grapefruit Avocado Salad
- Roasted Garlic Basil Brown Rice
- Spicy Eggplant Cakes with Lemon Yogurt Sauce
With summer pretty much here, I’m so excited to have a new, super tasty recipe to hit the grill! Hope you are too.
Enjoy!
These kebabs are absolutely bursting with flavor. They're quick, easy and over-the-top delicious!
- 8 (approximately 6-inch long) thick rosemary sprigs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (plus a bit more for the grill if necessary)
- 1 pound boneless leg of lamb, cut into approximately 32 bite-sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- approximately 32 Kalamata olives, pitted
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Feta cheese, crumbled
-
Rinse and dry the rosemary. Then remove all but the top 1-inch or so of leaves from each sprig. Finely chop about half of the removed leaves -- you need 2 teaspoons of it. Set the 8 cleaned sprigs, and 2 teaspoons of finely chopped rosemary aside.
-
Add the olive oil, garlic and 2 teaspoons of finely chopped rosemary to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the pieces of lamb and mix to coat it well with everything.
-
Now begin adding the lamb and olives to the cleaned rosemary sprigs. Add 4 pieces of lamb, alternating with 4 olives on each one.
-
Preheat a stove-top or outdoor grill and season both sides of the kebabs with salt and pepper.
-
Once the grill is very hot, add the kebabs -- with a bit more olive oil if necessary. You should hear a sizzling sound when they hit the grill -- if you don't, it's not hot enough yet. Grill each side for about 3 minutes or so, just until the lamb is cooked through. (It's best with it's still a bit pink in the center.)
-
Arrange the kebabs on a platter, or individual serving plates, and sprinkle them with the Feta while they're still hot.
-
Serve and enjoy!
These look amazing and I love the addition of olive and feta.
Thank you, Judy. I was channeling you. 😉 xoxo
Wow !! Amazing Kebabs recipe. Thanks Valentina for sharing this recipe. And it’s a less time consuming recipe. I will definitely prepare for my kids. Keep posting ?
Thanks so much! Yes, it’s a fairly quick recipe to prepare and both my kids really enjoyed it! Yay!
I’m salivating for these. Love the fact that this was your son’s idea!
Thanks so much, Patricia! I LOVE when my boys want to cook. 😀
Ah, ancient Greece. I was fascinated with the era when I was a lad. Imagine how excited I could get about history if I’d have had lamb too! GREG
Love it, Greg. 🙂
My father loves lamb, but since mum is not very keen on it (and she’s in charge of cooking, as it happens), he rarely gets to enjoy it.That’s definitely something he would be crazy about. Flavourful, meaty, perfect!
You’ll just have to make your dad happy. 😉
I’ve tried this before using rosemary stems for kebabs, and the whole kitchen smelled like heaven! As the rosemary is very fragrant and gives a lovely flavour too
You are so right, rosemary can make a whole house smell wonderful! 🙂
I love the sound of these! We eat a lot of lamb in this house and there’s always kalamata olives and feta in the fridge. I must make these for our next BBQ!
Thanks so much, Elizabeth! Hope you try and love them!
I love the addition of the olives! That was one of those, “why didn’t I think of that?” moments! Have a great weekend!
I have those moments all day long. 😉 Thanks, David. You have a great weekend, too! 🙂