Ćevapčići - bbq skewers

This weekend I tasted summer. The weather was great and we had our first barbecue of the year. M. had invited his fellow graduates to celebrate. In Sweden it is custom with barbecues that every one brings their own food and you share a little. The host provides the basics, such as a salad, some bread and maybe some sauces.
Since I had to work on the day of the barbecue I couldn't make and prepare as much as I wanted, but I made a few things anyway. The evening before I prepared some ćevapčići. When I came home on the day of the barbecue H. proposed to help me and together we prepared a huge salad, roast potatoes (recipe on my blog here) and tsatsiki, while talking about all kinds of things. It's such a nice thing to cook together! She brought some fantastic cookies by the way, for which she promised me the recipe. I'll make them and post about them later!



Ćevapčići (makes around 10 skewers)

sunflower oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Vegeta or salt
500 g minced lamb
500 g minced beef
1 egg white
1 tablespoon paprika (NL: paprikapoeder)

* heat the oil in a small frying pan and add the onion and garlic and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of Vegeta or salt
* fry on medium low heat for 5 minutes, until the onion and garlic are soft and getting some colour (adjust the heat so they don't get brown)
* put the egg white in a large bowl and whisk it a little with a fork
* add the minced lamb and beef, the paprika and the onion and garlic mixture
* mix all this together with your hand (I always use one hand to do this, so the other hand can hold the bowl and stays clean for sudden phone calls or a sudden itch)
* slightly wet a tray or plate (I needed two plates), as this prevents the meat from sticking
* for the same reason prepare a small bowl of water to dip your hands in before rolling each little roll
* make rolls of around 2 cm thick and 5 cm long and put them on your prepared tray or plate (yes, now you need two hands, so let that phone ring and ignore those itches)
* cover with plastic foil and place in the fridge for an hour, or overnight, so they don't fall apart
* soak wooden barbecue pens in water for at least 30 minutes, so they don't burn
* make kebabs by sticking the 4 rolls onto a stick, not through the length, but through the sides of the rolls (see picture)
* roast on the barbecue until they are done, 5-10 minutes (they should not be red or pink in the middle)

I really liked these and so did everyone else (or so they said) - I can really recommend them!

Prijatno (eat well)!