Shish Tawook

Ingredients:

• 2 Pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

• 15-20 cloves garlic

• 5-6 oz container of plain greek yogurt

• 5-6 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 2 tbsp ground pepper

• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

• 1/2 tsp thyme

• 1/2 tsp paprika

• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken into bite sized chunks (1.5 in cubes) and place into a gallon zip lock bag.

2. In a large food processor or blender, add the remainder of ingredients (except for the lemon juice) and blend till smooth and uniform.

3. Add the lemon juice and blend to combine.

4. Pour marinade into ziplock bag with chicken and let marinade 8+ hours in the refrigerator.

5. Heat grill to medium high heat

6. Skewer the chicken onto long metal skewers. Both metal and soaked bamboo are fine – I just preferable metal since it will aid in cooking from the inside as it heats up on the grill.

7. Grill for 12-18 min depending on the size of your chunks. You want a nice golden color and a little char, but you don’t want to cook them too long. The pieces are already small and should cook quickly.

8. Remove from the grill onto a platter and promptly cover tightly with foil. Let sit for 5-10 min to let the meat rest and build up some steam. This will make the chicken more tender when you serve it.

Serving Suggestions:

Traditionally, Shish Tawook is served on top of good Arabic flat bread with Toum – an Arabic garlic sauce, along with veggies. I like to grill a few skewers of peppers and red onions and serve the chicken and grilled veggies with nice ripe tomato slices and garnish with flat leaf parsley. The kids devour it all, none of the flavors are too strong, and the grilled and fresh vegetables really taste bright.