The Best Marinated Chicken Kebabs

I am beginning to notice a trend here, that is, Jamie Oliver's recipes are always "the best"! I've made his "The Best Hot Chocolate" and today its his "The Best Marinated Chicken Kebabs". The chicken kebab was wonderfully marinated, with the right balance of taste. Will I do this again? Definitely! Although we agree that we rather not skewer the meats as we ate it for dinner, but it was the perfect finger food for a casual picnic or party.

There you go, The Best Marinated Chicken Kebab. I paired mine with a simple Tzatziki.

Chicken Kebabs
adapted from Jamie Oliver
Makes 6-8 kebabs
Ingredients
500g/1lb 2oz free-range boneless chicken breasts
4 courgettes, sliced very thinly lengthways (zucchinis)
6–8 skewers or sticks of fresh rosemary, lower leaves removed, tips kept on (I used bamboo skewers)

Marinade
1 handful of fresh coriander
1 handful of fresh mint
3 cloves of garlic
6 spring onions
1 red chilli
zest and juice of 1 lemon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

Directions

1. Cut the chicken into 2.5cm/1 inch cubes and place in a bowl. Blanch the courgette strips in salted boiling water for 30 seconds then drain and allow to cool. 
2. Blitz all the marinade ingredients (except the olive oil) in a food processor, then loosen to a paste with a little olive oil. Add the marinade to the chicken pieces and mix well. Allow to sit for up to an hour. 
3. Then weave the courgette strips in between the chicken pieces on the rosemary sticks or skewers. Grill for around 5 minutes, turning regularly, until cooked. Feel free to cut a piece open to check if they're done.

It was damn near impossible to thinly cut the zucchinis so I cut it in cubes, but a thin strip of zucchini will absorb more marinade and definitely taste better. One more thing, if only I blitzed all the ingredients finely instead of rough chopping it, the result will be way, way much better. As for the tzatziki, it is recommended to drain excess water away to get a dense, creamy yougurt, something that is too consuming for me to prepare given the shot window of time. So the sauce is on the watery side. 

Tzatziki

adapted from Jamie Oliver

Ingredients

1/2 large cucumber

200ml natural yoghurt

1 small clove of garlic, peeled

1 heaped teaspoon dried mint (omitted)

1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar (omitted)

salt, to taste

Directions

1. Make your tzatziki by coarsely grating the cucumber into a sieve set up over a bowl. Add a few good pinches of salt, then use your hands to squeeze out as much water as you can. Pour the water away, then tip the cucumber into the empty bowl and add the yoghurt. 
2. Pound the garlic in a pestle and mortar with a good pinch of salt until you have a paste, and spoon that into the bowl with the cucumber. 
3. Add the dried mint and red wine vinegar and mix really well. Have a taste to make sure you’ve got the balance right, then put aside.

The link to the recipes also included recipes for fish and lamb kebabs, which looked equally delicious (wicked! as Jamie said). Would totally love to try them all out someday.

I've been cooking Jamie Oliver's recipe thanks to Cook Like A Star hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids. Do check out all the other delicious Jamie Oliver's recipe as well.