Easy spiced lamb kofta kebabs with coriander hummus and tzatziki

This last week of term is such a slog isn’t it? We’re looking forward to a summer of travel: sunbathing, restaurants, al fresco eating and fun in the sun. I’ve slightly scuppered Sam’s plans to get away with his friends by booking us back-to-back on various trips right up until September. Still, not the worst thing a mother could do, I’m sure. They’re trying to squeeze in a group trip to Skiathos, where one of their friends has family with a hotel, which, judging by the photos, is absolutely beautiful. To make him feel better, I made him a lovely Greek-inspired dinner:

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 level teaspoon sea salt

1 or 2 cloves garlic

2 slices bread, cut into cubes then soaked in a little milk

500g minced lamb

Salt and pepper

With a pestle and mortar, grind the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, salt and garlic into a paste. Fish out the bread - don’t squeeze it too hard, but too much excess milk will make it a bit sloppy, making it impossible to stick on the skewers - then add it in and squish (technical term) until combined.

Put the lamb in a large bowl, add the spice/bread mixture and the egg, plus the salt and pepper.

With clean hands, squish the mixture together well.

Squish the mixture around some metal skewers in a rough sausage shape. Grill (or barbecue) until golden on the outside (the metal skewer will ensure that the middle is cooked through) - about 10 - 15 minutes should do it, depending on the heat of your grill.

Quick and easy coriander hummus

Hummus is quick and easy although I recently saw Simon Hopkinson painstakingly taking the skin off every single chickpea before making it (go ahead if you’re that way inclined!):

1 tin chickpeas, drained

1 clove garlic (I sometimes cut out the garlic and just use a good quality garlic oil instead)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Pinch of salt

2-3 tbsp olive oil or rapeseed oil

Handful of chopped mint or coriander

Paprika to garnish

So just whizz the chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice and salt up with a stick blender, glugging in enough oil to loosen the mixture. If you like it a bit runnier, feel free to add a couple of tbsp water. Stir in the chopped coriander and serve sprinkled with paprika and maybe a swirl of oil.

Easy tzatziki

About 1/2 cucumber, deseeded and grated

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1 pot thick Greek yogurt

Mint leaves, chopped

I don’t mind the peel on the cucumber, but it’s a bit much iFirst, make sure that you’ve