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{This is, obviously, a not-so-meatless recipe. Check back next week for a fresh and seasonal Meatless Monday recipe.}

As a devotee to all-things-dairy, I was excited to spot the “Goaterie” blog party mentioned on Twitter. Of course, there’s more to goat (or from) than cheese, so it seemed time to give the meat a try. Fortunately, I knew right where to turn for “happy” goat meat — Painted Hand Farm at the Bloomingdale Farmers Market in DC. When I asked which cut of meat would be best for cutting up, I was steered towards the leg — more meat than the shoulder. I bought two small leg pieces and headed home to research recipes. I originally had a curried dish in mind, but the Middle Eastern kabob recipe jumped out at me. I had read complaints about goat meat’s toughness, so I employed my favorite tenderizing marinade: yogurt. In this case, goats-milk yogurt, of course. The result was quite tasty — grilled to medium rare, the meat was still tender and moist. It has a flavor somewhat in between that of lamb and chicken, and in fact, goat meat has less saturated fat than even chicken. I used my favorite purple bell peppers from the market, but you can use any color you prefer.

Recipe: Middle Eastern Grilled Goat Kebabs
Adapted from Blue Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses
• 1/2 cup goat milk yogurt
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 pounds trimmed goat meat, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 bell pepper, cut into chunks
• 6 bamboo or metal skewers
• pita bread

For yogurt sauce, layer the following in a small bowl:

• 1/2 cup goat milk yogurt
• 1 tomato, diced
• several leaves fresh mint, chopped

Instructions: Heat small skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and stir until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Grind cumin in mortar; add garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and cinnamon and grind to a paste. In a large bowl or 1-gallon plastic bag, mix the spice mixture with pomegranate molasses and yogurt.  Add goat meat and rub to coat pieces evenly with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. While meat marinates, soak bamboo skewers (if using) in water.

Preheat grill to medium-high. Remove goat from marinade. Thread goat pieces and pepper pieces on to skewers. Grill, turning frequently, for 5-7 minutes for medium-rare. Serve with yogurt-tomato sauce and warm pita bread. Makes 3-4 servings.

This post is being shared with the Goaterie event hosted by Creative Culinary and La Fuji Mama. If you’re curious about cooking with goat meat, check out Goat: Meat, Milk, Cheese by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough.