Baked Chicken Kabobs with Saffron Rice and Fattoush Salad

Want to make yourself a delicious and authentic Middle Eastern dinner? Then keep reading because THIS is the recipe you're going to want to save. Grilled chicken kabobs, saffron rice, and fattoush salad are three of the most authentic foods you could have in the Levant region of the world, so I put them on a plate together for you all.

It may be a bit time consuming, but the results are going to be worth it. There are only a couple of special ingredients you're going to need, but you can grab them from your local Middle Eastern market or honestly order them online! If you have any dinner parties coming up and don't know what you want to make, this is most definitely your best bet. So, let's get to the recipe!

Yields: 3

Portion: 1 plate

Prep time: 24 hours if you allow the chicken to marinate, but 1 hour if not

Total time: 2 hours

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Ingredients:

Baked Chicken Kabobs:

3 chicken breasts

1 TBSP Greek yogurt or plain yogurt

1 ½ TBSPs mild pepper paste

1 TBSP tomato paste

1 TSP kosher salt

½ TSP freshly ground black pepper

4 minced garlic cloves

2 TBSPS extra virgin olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

3 tomatoes

3 pearl onions

Fattoush Salad:

1 bunch of romaine lettuce

2 tomatoes

¼ white cabbage

2 cucumbers

1 radish

¼ cup of chopped parsley

3 green onions

Fresh mint to garnish

Extra virgin olive oil

2 lemons

Salt

Sumac

Optional: pita bread

Saffron Rice:

1 cup of basmati rice

2 TBSPS extra virgin olive oil

¼ TSP of saffron

Kosher salt

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Instructions:

Baked Chicken Kabobs:

1. First, have the bottom of your oven preheated to 400.

2. Next, make sure you have brined your chicken breasts with ½ lemon, white distilled vinegar, and sea salt.

3. Rinse them well, remove any fat from the chicken and chop them into large cubes. Place into a large bowl and pat dry.

4. Now for the seasoning: add ingredients 2-9. Mix well with your hands.

5. Marinate in the fridge for up to 24 hours if possible, if not just use them immediately.

6. Next, roughly chop up 3 tomatoes and 3 pearl onions into large chunks.

7. Now, grab about 10 wooden skewers. Start adding the chicken chunks, tomato, and onion onto each proportionately. No more than 6-8 on each skewer. Place them on a baking pan. Bake in the oven for up to 35-40 minutes. Taste test to see if the chicken is well done. It should be a very moist and spicy taste. Take them out of the oven gently.

Fattoush Salad:

1. First, wash all of the vegetables.

2. Next, finely chop all of the vegetables. Leave the mint to the side, do not chop yet. (Fun fact, if mint is chopped too early it will bruise, so always leave it until you're about to eat.)

3. Put them into a large bowl.

4. Now, in a separate bowl, squeeze in 2 lemons, add 4 TBSPs of olive oil, and sprinkle in 1 TSP of sumac and ½ TSP of salt, but always salt to your liking. Arabs tend to like salty salads.

5. Now, mix the vinaigrette well and pour onto the salad. Mix well. Add the chopped fresh mint when you're about to eat.

7. This is optional if you are gluten free: if you’d like to add pita chips, grab ½ loaf of pita bread and cut them into small squares. You can fry them in canola oil or bake them in olive oil and salt.

8. Add on top for an extra crunch.

Saffron Rice:

1. First, grab a small cup and add ¼ TSP of saffron inside. Add a splash of water and let the saffron soak for 10 minutes.

2. While it's soaking, boil water in a kettle, grab a small pot, and rinse 1 cup of basmati rice.

3. Add 2 TBSPS of extra virgin olive oil to the pot, once it shimmers, add the 1 cup of basmati rice.

4. After 1 minute, add 2 cups of boiling water, and 1 TBSP of salt. Cover and let the rice cook. Once the rice is done, pour the saffron water onto the rice and mix it in well. The rice should look yellow now.

Once everything is done, add your desired amount of chicken and fattoush onto your plate. For the rice to look like the way it does in the picture, grab a small bowl, add the rice into it, pack it in well, and flip it onto the plate. Enjoy!

I hope you love this recipe as much as I did, so if you do, please leave me a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I always read through my suggestions and comments, so please let me know your thoughts. If you have any questions you can feel free to DM me here or through Instagram. Speaking of Instagram - please tag me in all of your creations! I love seeing how the recipes come out and seeing how talented you all are. Sending my love.

xoxo,

Jasmin D the RD