It is said that, given a dozen hours to do so, a yogurt marinade can tenderize chicken. Well, we don't have that kind of time, but I can tell you what a 20-minute rest in this sunny mixture does for plain old chunks of chicken breast: It coats them, acting like a moisture-lock so the meat stays juicy. That is no small feat for white-meat chicken under the broiler.
The knife work here will take you hardly any time at all, with only red onion and garlic to break down.
You might have time during the prep for this recipe to soak a few bamboo skewers; if not, you'll need 4 medium-size metal skewers. I prefer using the latter, as there is no risk of stray wooden threads during the skewered-kebab dismount.
In addition to flatbread, you can serve this with rice and/or a chopped salad.
Spiced Chicken Skewers
½ medium red onion
1 large clove garlic
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt, preferably full fat
1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Generous pinch ground cardamom (up to ½ teaspoon)
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ to 1 whole lemon
Warm flatbread, for serving
Peel and coarsely chop the red onion and garlic. Place them 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 ½ -inch chunks (discarding any visible fat), season lightly with 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; heat 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.
Makes 2 to 3 servings.
Recipe adapted from New Kitchen Basics by Claire Thomson (HardieGrant/Quadrille, 2019)
Nutrition information: Each of three servings contains approximately 200 calories, 33 g protein, 5 g fat, 5 g carbohydrate (2 g sugar), 100 mg cholesterol, 460 mg sodium and 1 g fiber.
Food on 05/01/2019