A Bit Greek and A Bit Turkish Chicken Kebabs
I don’t think my Greek friends would be too amused if I told them that I got the idea for these kebabs when I was in Istanbul last year, especially since the sauce (which makes this dish) is based on Greek yoghurt, and the chicken is liberally flavoured with dried oregano (again, very typical of Greek cuisine). But I think the use of the tomato as the acid element in the marinade is quite Turkish.
You can use metal skewers; or bamboo skewers, in which case remember to soak in water first; or you could experiment with skewers made from robust sprigs of rosemary.
These chicken kebabs go particularly well with:
or
NB: allow time to MARINATE first
Recipe for aA bit Greek and a bit Turkish chicken kebabs
Serves 4 (eight kebabs)
Ingredients
- 600g/1 lb 5 oz chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 240ml/1 cup Greek yoghurt
- 6 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed with 1 tsp smoked salt
- 20 grinds Indonesian long pepper
- 5 tsp dried oregano
- 1 medium tomato (from a place with sun, ripe) – alternatively use 1 tbsp sundried tomato paste
- generous sprays of olive oil
- 1 lemon cut into eight wedges
Method
1. Put the yoghurt, garlic, pepper and oregano into a medium sized mixing bowl and mix to make the sauce.
2. In another bowl put about six tablespoons of the sauce. Deseed, decore and chop the tomato and add – or simply add the sundried tomato paste. Then mix in the chicken pieces, coating each individual piece well.
3. Put the marinating chicken and the remaining sauce in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight
4. Before you are about to eat, put the plates in to a cool oven to warm and get the grill going
5. Thread the chicken onto skewers and oil lightly
6. Grill for five minutes, turn, and grill for another five minutes until golden and sizzling
7. Serve with a couple of wedges of lemon for each person, and offer guests the remaining sauce for them to help themselves.
