Kofta kebabs

Toast one piece of whole grain bread to golden brown, cut it into thin strips and then across into a small dice.

Push the bread together on the board and top it with diced onions, a whole bunch of chopped Italian parsley and a very generous amount of minced garlic.

Chop the mixture with a knife for about two minutes until it is fairly fine and looks like tabbouleh; a food processor is faster but crushes and tears instead of slicing.

Season two parts beef to one part lamb with kosher salt, black pepper, allspice, paprika, cardamom, nutmeg and cayenne.

Add the toast, onion, parsley and garlic mixture and a couple tablespoons of cold fresh water, and mix and mash it by hand until very well combined; here over-mixing is wanted, for a firm texture.

Cover in plastic and chill until well-chilled, at least an hour and up to overnight for more flavour.

With wet hands roll a portion of the mixture into a smooth ball, pierce it through the middle with a bamboo skewer and squeeze the meat into a uniform log about six inches long and two inches wide so it grills evenly.

Grill over very hot charcoal that has burnt down until it is ashy; never put meat over orange flames.

Cook about 12 to 15 minutes in total, roughly three minutes on each of four sides, rotating for hot spots.

Cook these to about medium well rather than medium rare, so the onions cook through and the bread absorbs the fat, and the outside browns and crusts; about 145 degrees, or until they spring back and feel fairly firm.

Serve over a simple salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and onions dressed with salt and olive oil, with flatbread or pita and a lemony tahini dressing, finished with parsley.