Sponsored: TV chef Manal Alalem creates tasty kebabs using U.S. cheese…

Middle Eastern TV chef Manal Alalem has joined forces with the USA Cheese Guild to create a range of cheese recipes for the month of Ramadan.

Each week, Manal hosts a live cooking demonstration on Instagram and Youtube to reveal the wonders of cheese from the U.S. This week, at 3pm on Thursday, she will be giving lamb kebabs a makeover, with the inclusion of U.S. Pepper Jack cheese.

If you’d like to make this recipe for yourself at home, look for U.S. cheeses in major retailers in the UAE, including Lulu Hypermarket, Carrefour and Choithrams. Be on the lookout for the ‘Cheese from the USA’ seal.

U.S. Pepper Jack Kebab

Prep time: 40 minutes / Cook time: 20 minutes / Serves 6

Ingredients

Kebab

  • ½ cup raw pistachios, shelled
  • ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped mint
  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 2 green onions, finely chopped
  • 1 red onion, roughly chopped
  • 400g lamb meat, ground
  • 150 g (or ¾ cup) U.S. Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
  • ¼ cup fine bulgur
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Yoghurt

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp sumac
  • ¼ tsp cumin powder
  • 300g (or 1 ¼ cup) yoghurt

Mint oil

  • ½ cup mint, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup olive oil

Directions

  1. To make the kebab, soak the bulgur in warm water in a small covered bowl for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  2. Add pistachio, parsley, mint, garlic, green onion, red onion, salt and pepper to a food processor and pulse until all the ingredients are well mixed and combined. Transfer to a large bowl.
  3. Add lamb meat, bulgur and U.S. Pepper Jack cheese to the bowl. Using your hands, mix until well incorporated.
  4. Divide the mixture into equal portion by using an ice cream scoop and shape them into “kebab”.
  5. Refrigerate for about 1 hour.
  6. Remove the kebabs from the chiller 10 minutes prior to cooking.
  7. Preheat a non-stick frying pan on high heat for 1 minute. Add the kebabs and cook on high heat until well seared from all sides.
  8. Allow kebabs to rest on a separate covered dish for 5 min.
  9. Prepare the yoghurt by adding to a food processor olive oil, sumac, cumin powder and yoghurt. Pulse until silky smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  10. To make the mint oil, using a hand blender, blend the mint and olive oil in a bowl until oil turns green. Set aside in a glass jar or squeeze bottle.
  11. Serve by layering the kebabs in pita bread, topped with the chilled yogurt mixture and drops of mint oil.

For more delicious recipes using cheeses from the USA, follow USA Cheese Guild ME on Instagram. Try Manal’s recipes for lentil soup gratin, U.S. Cheddar and apple kallaj pastries, and eggplant fatteh with U.S. Cream Cheese.

U.S. cheeses are available in the UAE at Lulu Hypermarket, Carrefour and Choithrams; in Kuwait at The Sultan Centre and Lulu Hypermarket; in KSA at Tamimi Markets, Danube and Manuel, and in Bahrain and Oman in Lulu Hypermarkets.

Images: Supplied/Instagram