Shish Taouk: Middle Eastern Chicken Kebabs

These kebabs were the focal point of an AMAZING meal. We ate the grilled kebab meat wrapped in warm naan, doused with tzatziki, sprinkled with red onion, with Turkish bulgur pilaf and green salad on the side. I felt like I was in our favorite Middle Eastern restaurant- only better! 🙂 I used naan because the pita bread served in our favorite restaurant is more similar to naan than store-bought pita. I also modified my gold-standard tzatziki recipe by thinly slicing the cucumber into rounds using a mandolin; my mother-in-law recently served tzatziki this way and not only was it delicious, the presentation was wonderful.

I had planned to try this dish ever since seeing a post about it on Savory and Sweet Food, but I had trouble finding sumac. I couldn’t believe my great fortune when sumac appeared in the “new item” section at Trader Joe’s! No wonder I am such a fan of their store. 🙂 This recipe was inspired by savoryandsweetfood.com, mamaslebanesekitchen.com, and saveur.com. I used a gas grill, chicken thighs rather than chicken breasts, substituted fresh dill for half of the fresh mint, and modified the spice blend. DELICIOUS!!

Yield: Serves 6 to 8

• 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or boneless, skinless chicken breasts), about 10 thighs
• 15 cloves garlic, peeled
• 16 fresh mint leaves
• 3 to 4 large sprigs of fresh dill
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 T cumin
• 1 T ground coriander
• 1 T sumac
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 6 T extra-virgin olive oil
• coarse salt, to taste
• 6 T non-fat plain Greek yogurt
• pita bread or naan, for serving
• tzatziki, for serving
• sliced or diced red onion, for serving, optional
• lettuce, tomatoes, for serving, optional

1. Cut the chicken into small cubes.
2. In a food processor, make a paste of the garlic, herbs, lemon juice, spices, tomato paste, pepper, and olive oil.
3. Add the Greek yogurt to the paste. Mix well. Taste for salt.
4. In a glass bowl or baking dish, marinate the chicken pieces in this mixture and refrigerate for about 2-3 hours.
5. Then skewer the chicken on approximately eight 10-inch metal skewers.
6. Grill over medium heat, turning, until chicken is cooked through and slightly charred, 10–12 minutes.
7. To serve: Remove from skewer onto warm bread. Dress with tzatziki, sprinkle with red onions, shredded lettuce, and/or tomatoes as desired.

One Year Ago:

• Aji de Gallina (Chicken in Aji Sauce)

Lebanese One-Pot Mujadara with Spring Greens

I love lentils and I love vegetarian comfort food from other countries. One of my favorite comfort foods are dals from India. Like dal, this Lebanese dish is bean (lentil) based and is really flavorful. Unlike dal, this is dish is very quick to make. It was my first mujadara, a great variation with the addition of fresh greens, the recipe from the New York Times, contributed by Melissa Clark.

I used to be adverse to keeping white rice in my pantry, but when making a one-pot dish it is much more foolproof to use white rather than brown rice. The increased cooking time required for the brown rice could result in mushy lentils.

This dinner also became a wonderful CSA box in one meal. We ate this dish with roasted beets, carrots and fennel on the side, as well as with hummus (made with CSA parsley) and flatbread. I used beet greens and chard for the spring greens in the main dish (I also increased the amount). Healthy, quick, flavorful, and good. It was excellent with a dollop of greek yogurt on top.

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

• 1 cup brown or green lentils
• 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, roots trimmed
• 2 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt, more as needed
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup long-grain rice (I used white Basmati rice)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cups trimmed and coarsely chopped spring greens (chard leaves, spinach, kale, mustard or a combination)(I used 6-8 cups chard and beet greens)
• whole milk Greek yogurt, for serving, optional

1. Place lentils in a large bowl and add warm tap water to cover by 1 inch. Let soak.
2. Meanwhile, halve leeks lengthwise; run under warm water to release any grit. Thinly slice leeks crosswise.
3. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crispy, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer half the leeks to a bowl to use for garnish and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt.
4. Stir garlic into the pot with the remaining leeks and cook for 15 seconds until fragrant.
5. Stir in rice and sauté 2 minutes. Stir in cumin, allspice and cayenne; sauté 30 seconds.
6. Drain lentils and stir into pot. Add 4 1/4 cups water, 2 teaspoons salt, bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Bring to a simmer- almost to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes.
7. Rinse greens in a colander and spread damp leaves over lentil mixture. Cover and cook 5 minutes more, until rice and lentils are tender and greens are wilted.
8. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.
9. Serve sprinkled with reserved crispy leeks and Greek yogurt, if desired.