We’ve just had National Barbecue Week (which I missed) and the temperature has limped its way up past 10℃ so I reckoned it was time to dust down the barbecue and invite friends round for some alfresco eating. And this is just the recipe to impress and get the chargrilling season started.
Joojeh Kebab sounds quite exotic when explaining to your guests what’s on the menu for your latest barbecue.
But in fact, this is a very simple chicken kebab (Joojeh kebab literally means grilled chicken), but the taste and flavours are superb thanks to the marinade used.
Chunks of chicken breast meat are marinated for a few hours in grated onion, lemon juice, saffron, olive oil, Aleppo pepper or chilli flakes, and salt and pepper. Simple as that, and the longer you can leave it in the fridge the better even overnight.
Some good cherry tomatoes threaded on the skewers give colour and freshness to the kebab.
I used a couple of packs of Tesco Finest Mini San Marzano Tomatoes on the vine and they barbecued beautifully ending with a lovely chargrilled sweetness.
A quick word about Aleppo pepper.
Grown in Syria and Turkey and named after the Syrian city of Aleppo, this dried chilli flake has only a medium heat but has a lovely rounded fruity taste with a subtle heat and tang that really enhances the grilled chicken.
You can substitute dried chilli flakes which will give you more heat (use less unless you like your kebabs spicy), but you will lose the complexity of flavour that Aleppo pepper gives you. But a four to one mix of sweet paprika to cayenne pepper is also a good substitute.
It is worth seeking out Aleppo pepper flakes though, and I know you can easily get them from Amazon and good delis.
A garlicky saffron butter can be brushed over the kebabs while they are cooking, which in my opinion makes them taste even better, but omit the garlic if you don’t like it - or it doesn’t like you!
I’ve grilled many kebabs on the barbecue or under the grill, but this has to be one of the best and tastiest I’ve done.
INGREDIENTS serves 4
4 large chicken breast fillets, cut into chunks (about 4-5 cm)
I onion, grated
1 tsp of Aleppo pepper flakes (or chilli flakes)
1 heaped tsp saffron threads
1 large lemon, zested and juiced
2 tbs olive oil
Large cherry tomatoes
METHOD
Crush the saffron threads a little with the back of a spoon or mortar & pestle and add a teaspoon of boiling water. Let the saffron infuse for a few minutes while it cools.
In a large glass or non-metal bowl, mix the onion, Aleppo or chilli flakes, lemon zest, juice and olive oil. Include about half of the saffron to the mixture along with salt and black pepper.
Add all of the chicken and coat and massage with the saffron marinade.
Don’t fret if your hands turn yellow - it does wash off!
Cover and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours or even overnight. For the saffron butter, melt about 50g of salted butter and pour over a crushed clove of garlic and the remaining saffron threads. Mix together and keep handy.
When your barbecue or grill is ready to cook with, thread the chicken pieces and tomatoes onto skewers (this can be done a few hours earlier and kept in the fridge).
Brush with the melted saffron butter and barbecue until done to your liking. Keep turning and brushing with the saffron butter to keep them moist.They shouldn’t take too long but leave them long enough to achieve that chargrilled effect.
You can serve these wrapped in warm flatbreads smothered with cool youghurt, or with a Middle Eastern saffron rice pilaf.
Pilaf recipe serves 4
25g butter
1 tbs olive oil
2 onions, finely sliced
250g basmati rice, (washed and rinsed)
600ml hot chicken or vegetable stock to which you have added ½ tsp saffron threads
Gently fry the onions until soft in the oil and butter and season well.
Add the rice and stir round to coat with the butter for a minute or two.
Pour over the hot saffron stock and stir. Lower the heat right down, cover and cook for 15 minutes.I cover the rice with a cartouche instead of the pan lid which works much better for this type of thing.
A cartouche is basically a circle of baking parchment cut to fit snugly over the pan, with a small snip made in the middle. This lies directly on the rice and keeps it moist while still allowing a little steam to escape.
After 15 minutes, check the rice and if done, fluff up with a fork.