David Rubel's

What's For Dinner?

7/20/05

Lemon Chicken Kebabs

(serves two parents and two children)

These kebabs go great with a rice pilaf and some quickly braised greens.

The Chicken

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 lb)

2 lemons

8 cloves garlic, peeled and trimmed

3 Tbs olive oil

1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

1 Tbs kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

The Kebabs

2 Vidalia onions, cut into eighths

2 red or yellow bell peppers, cut into chunks

The Sauce

2 c plain whole-milk yogurt

1 cucumber, seeded and diced

a large handful of cilantro, coarsely chopped

kosher salt, to taste

1. Trim any excess fat from the chicken breasts, and cut them into golf ball–sized chunks.

2. Cut the lemons lengthwise into quarters, and place them with the garlic in a covered microwaveable dish. Microwave them on high until softened, about 4 minutes. Allow to cool.

3. Strain the juice into the jar of a blender. Transfer the garlic to the blender jar. Using a paring knife, scrape the pulp and most of the white pith from each of the softened lemon quarters, leaving the yellow peel. Discard the pulp and pith, adding the remaining peel to the blender jar with the olive oil, ginger, salt, pepper, brown sugar, coriander, cumin, and cinnamon.

4. Puree the marinade ingredients to make a soft paste. Set aside two tablespoons for the sauce. Scrape the rest into a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Add the chicken and massage until all of the chicken pieces are evenly coated. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

5. After they have marinated sufficiently, remove the chicken pieces from the bag, and replace them with the onion and pepper chunks. Massage them briefly so that they can pick up a little of the marinade flavor themselves. Then thread everything onto metal skewers.

6. Grill, turning every 2-3 minutes, until the chicken is cooked all the way through.

7. Meanwhile, to make the sauce, add the yogurt, cucumber, cilantro, and salt to the reserved marinade.

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Tips

*If you can get boneless chicken thighs, use them instead of the boneless breasts. Dark meat grills better, and the thighs are easier to skewer.

* When cutting onions for the grill, it’s useful to cut them through the root end. Keeping just a little of that end with each chunk helps hold the piece together on the grill.

* If you use a cucumber from your garden or a local farm stand, there’s no need to peel it. Cucumbers from supermarkets, however, are generally waxed, and these do need to be peeled.

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If you have tried one of these recipes and have an improvement or tip or variation to suggest, please e-mail David at dinner@wamc.org. Also feel free to send along your own family cuisine recipes. You can even request dishes that you'd like David to present in the future.

David Rubel is president of Agincourt Press, a book production company in Chatham, New York. He spends his days writing American history, then heads home after work to cook for his wife and two young children. His most recent book is The Story of America (DK, 2002).