Spiced Chicken Skewers
Image courtesy of The Washington Post.
Lotus Farms brings to market some of the best chicken I’ve ever had – great taste and texture. This simple Middle East-inspired recipe, adapted by Bonnie S. Benwick for The Washington Post from New Kitchen Basics, by Claire Thomson (HardieGrant/Quadrille, 2019), makes good use of great chicken. It also suggests a side of kale or chard or both, plentiful in the market now from many growers.
The Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium red onion
- 1 large clove garlic
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, preferably full fat
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Generous pinch ground cardamom (up to 1/2 teaspoon; see OVERVIEW)
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
- 1/2 to 1 whole lemon
- Warm flatbread, for serving
PREPARATION
- Peel and coarsely chop the red onion and garlic. Place them both in a food processor, then add the yogurt, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, crushed red pepper flakes and salt. Pulse just until the onion is finely chopped, then transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Cut the chicken into 1 1/2-inch chunks (discarding any visible fat), seasoning them lightly with more salt. Add the chicken to the yogurt mixture and stir to coat evenly; let sit for 20 minutes at room temperature. (During this time, you could soak bamboo skewers in a shallow pan of water if you don’t have metal skewers.)
- Meanwhile, cut the lemon (half or whole; to taste) into wedges approximately the same size as the chicken pieces. Position an oven rack 4 to 6 inches from the broiler element; preheat the broiler. Line a small rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Thread the coated chicken pieces and lemon wedges onto the skewers so the components are just touching each other. Place the skewers on the pan; broil for about 8 minutes, turning them once with tongs halfway through. The chicken and lemon should be lightly charred in spots.
- Transfer to plates; pull the chicken and lemon off the skewers. Squeeze the broiled/lightly charred lemon wedges over the chicken while it’s hot, and serve with flatbread.
NUTRITION
The nutritional analysis is based on 3 servings.
- Calories: 200
- Total Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 100 mg
- Sodium: 460 mg
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Dietary Fiber: 1 g
- Sugars: 2 g
- Protein: 33 g
This locally inspired recipe is brought to you by Pam Walker. Pam is an avid home cook, writer, and local farm and food activist who is also a board member of the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute. Thank you, Pam, for helping inspire us to use locally sourced ingredients!
