MARINATED LAMB SKEWERS WITH PEPPERS AND RED ONIONS

Spiedini di Agnello con Peperoni e Cipolle Rosse

This recipe screams summer barbecues, but we make it all year round. We love lamb, and, simply cooked this way, it’s so quick and tasty. You can add any vegetable of your choice, such as courgettes or mushrooms, and of course you can substitute lamb with chicken if you prefer. If you are not calorie-counting, a cheeky slice of halloumi cheese makes a nice addition, too.

Serves 4

Ingredients

150g natural yoghurt • 2 tbsp good-quality mint sauce • 2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary leaves • 350g lean lamb, cut into 3cm cubes • 1 red or orange pepper, deseeded and cut into 2cm pieces

• 1 red onion, cut into 8 • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Pour the yogurt into a medium bowl and add the mint sauce and rosemary. Season with a large pinch each of salt and pepper. Add the lamb and mix well, ensuring that each piece is coated with the marinade. Leave to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Thread the lamb on to 4 large metal skewers, alternating each piece with slices of the pepper and onion. (If you use smaller wooden skewers, please make sure that they have been soaked in water beforehand; they are also smaller, so you might find that you need to make 8 skewers.)

Preheat a griddle pan over a high heat, or a barbecue to its hottest setting. Cook the lamb on the hot griddle pan for 8 minutes, turning the meat over every 2 minutes to ensure that every side is coloured. (If you’re cooking the skewers on a barbecue, you may need slightly less cooking time.) If your griddle pan has a tall side rim, place a flat tray on top of the skewers to make sure all of the elements are touching the griddle pan and being cooked.

Serve hot, accompanied with a green salad of your choice.

Sardinia holds a special place in your heart, and you often mention your connection to the island. How has your time there influenced your cooking style and overall lifestyle?

Honestly, I don’t feel like it has influenced my cooking style that much, my cooking style is very much Neapolitan style, I cook a lot of fish, and meat. One thing Sardinia’s are great at is the way they cook pork. Anything to do with pork, anything to do with salami, ham, it is insane the way they cook pork, so I am learning a lot from that, but mainly my influence is overall Italian, because I travel Italy all the time, so I am always up and down Italy. In every region there is always something to learn.

You have multiple restaurants in different locations. Can you tell us about the unique dining experiences they offer, and do you have any plans for expanding your restaurant portfolio?

We have just opened one in Leeds located at the beautiful Marriot Hotel, it’s a fantastic location! We are opening one in Glasgow, Manchester, three in Malta, and one in Milan! So next year is going to be very busy as far as restaurants go. I think the secret to my restaurants is that they’re very simple. We give our guests an overall experience, I think many restaurants think food and drink is the most important thing, but to me the most important thing, is everything.

From the toilets, to the bar, to the food experience, to the waiters and waitresses, to the décor of the restaurant, everything makes a difference. Nowadays if you want to be successful it’s all about providing for the guests. And you also need to be super welcoming. We are very welcoming, especially with children, we love them, in typical Italian restaurants we really embrace that.

Variety is the spice of life! How do you keep innovating and coming up with fresh ideas for your recipes and menus, both at your restaurants and for your cookbooks?

Well, as I said before, I am very lucky and blessed that I get to travel Italy all the time, so today I’m in Milan, next week I will be in Rome, then Naples, then I will be in Sicily, then Sardinia, so the inspiration out there just through 6 months of holiday, between filming and travelling is great. So, in any new restaurant, I am there. I will always be the first one to bring a new recipe or new way to something in Italy. If I learn something, I will take it to my restaurants and to my cookbooks!

Your cookbooks have been highly successful. Can you share any details about your upcoming book releases or any new cooking concepts you’re exploring in your writing?

Here’s another secret for you. After 19 cookbooks, and after 19 years of writing cookbooks, this year is the only year I have decided to take a break. This year I will not have a new cookbook out. The reason is because I like to write my own cookbooks, so unless I am inspired 100%, I don’t want to do it. My fans don’t deserve a cookbook that I haven’t put 100% into.

Food trends come and go. Are there any particular food trends that you’re excited about currently, and do you incorporate them into your cooking?

In the last 12 months there is one ingredient that has gone absolutely mental, and its pistachio! Wherever you go, there is pistachio crumbled on top of ice cream, pistachio pancakes, pistachio spread, there is pistachios everywhere! So, this is the trend of the year, obviously we use it a lot at the restaurant as it comes from the south of Italy. What’s next for Gino D’Acampo? Can you give us a sneak peek into your future plans and any exciting projects we can look forward to?

Well family fortunes, filming with Fred. But one thing that is actually very exciting is that I have just finished my new collection of electrical cookware for Asda, which is ABSOLUTELY insanely beautiful. For the past year I have been working with Asda on this so we will have things like toasters, kettles, air fryers. But what I did was I went with a soft touch look, so everything has this beautiful soft touch, so it’s not plastic or steel. It’s an amazing collection. I have done it in 3 different colours including black, grey and a beautiful green. They will be available in October just in time for Christmas.