Kebabs (known as kababs or kabobs in Persian/Farsi) have always been a special-meal staple for Persian cookery queen Sabrina Ghayour – but they took on fresh significance when she first cooked them for her new stepsons
One from the heart
Christmas is a special time in our house, particularly since I got married last year and now have two stepsons. The focus isn’t on elaborate gifts or stressing to impress people, but on spending time together as a family – eating, laughing and watching Christmas films and TV. It really is my favourite time of the year with my new family, but we didn’t get off to a flying start…
When I first met my stepsons, I quickly realised they weren’t especially taken with my cooking. For them, my food was strange, and whatever I made in an attempt to impress them – from homemade pizzas to pies and pastas – they would barely touch. For a cook, it was soul-destroying, and I remember being so upset and frustrated that I decided to give up cooking to please them.
Then one night I made a tepsi kebap (a spicy Turkish tray-baked kebab), from my cookbook called Simply, serving it up with rice and a little salad. Unexpectedly, they wolfed it down and showered me with praise. This was a turning point: it restored my confidence and encouraged me to keep cooking the food I love.
While kebabs/kababs may not feel terribly celebratory to us Brits, they’re very much part of family gatherings and celebrations in many Eastern cultures. The recipes and ingredients vary, but the traditions and values associated with the dish are the same: this is food that people congregate around to enjoy and share together.
The word kabab simply means ‘to roast’, so anything goes – from meat and poultry to vegetables – but for my family it has to be lamb, and we love minced kababs. I like serving them on Persian flatbreads (tortilla wraps are the next best thing) – and we all end up fighting over who gets the bread underneath, which has soaked up all the juices. It’s heavenly! Pile in onions and herbs to make fantastic kabab rolls.
If that doesn’t qualify as the best kind of celebratory dish, I don’t know what does. At the end of the day, celebrating is what we do every time we sit down and enjoy a meal with our loved ones – even if there’s no occasion other than gathering around a table to eat something wonderful – and I’m so happy to be able to share in this with my new family.
Sabrina Ghayour’s spiced lamb and barberry kababs
