Harissa Chicken Kabab & Mango Cucumber Salad

My exploration of Middle Eastern meals has begun and I couldn't be more excited! Like, literally I have to calm down before bed with tea and a nice, mild book to get my mind off all that I'll be cooking and eating. I only allow myself to go crazy reading my cookbooks or browsing food blogs/websites in the morning while eating breakfast.

It's a really nice routine that gets me both inspired and starts my day off right by giving me some time to myself doing what I love. Before I met  my husband, my breakfasts tended to be on-the-go affairs with creamed coffee in a thermos and maybe a yogurt cup. But watching him take almost an hour to eat a leisurely big breakfast every morning, weekday or weekend, made me see how much better his routine was. It's worth it to change your sleeping schedule to wake up 30 minutes early to have a good breakfast and take some time to yourself doing what you love. You'll find yourself WAY more productive throughout the day, especially before noon.

So I've been going through three cookbooks to explore middle eastern food. One is Zahav, by Michael Solomonov & Steven Cook, which won the James Beard Award for Best Cookbook in 2016. The second is Taste of Persia, by Naomi Duguid, which received high praise from a lot of respected food publications. The third one is a gem I found at my local library called Pomegranates & Roses that gives traditional Irani recipes. The only trouble with this last cookbook is, it's kind of hard to find to purchase. I also put a million more on my wishlist on Amazon to read. My wishlist is kind of insanely long.
But anyway, my first middle eastern inspired meal incorporated four different recipes from Zahav: harissa, mango-cucumber salad, sumac onions & harissa chicken kababs. All four recipes are excellent and our meal was delicious and felt surprisingly light. I highly recommend cooking from this book if you have access to it.

Recipe adapted from Zahav by Michael Solomonov & Steven Cook

Serves 4-5

Harissa Ingredients:

1/2 cup Aleppo pepper

1 clove garlic

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp sea salt

4 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tbsp water

Instructions:

In a food processor, grind the Aleppo pepper, garlic, cumin, coriander and salt to a coarse puree. Add the oil and process it again, but don't make it too smooth. Add water a tbsp at a time if the puree is too dense. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for a week.

Harissa Chicken Kabab Ingredients:

1 1/2 yellow onion

2 tbsp sunflower oil

1/2 cup harissa

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces

Lemon Wedges

Instructions:

Blend onion, oil, harissa, lemon juice and salt to a smooth puree. Toss the chicken pieces in it and let marinate overnight in the fridge. Remove the chicken from the fridge an hour before grilling/broiling.  Preheat the grill or broiler and thread the chicken on metal skewers in the meantime. Either grill for 10-15 minutes till done rotating in between or broil on a pan for 10-15 minutes rotating the skewers in between. I roasted mine for 10 minutes first in a 500 F oven and then broiled for 5 minutes. Next time, I'll stick to broiling altogether, saves time. Serve with lemon wedges.

Sumac Onions: 

1 red onion, quartered and thinly sliced

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp ground sumac

1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions:

Toss everything together and serve.

Mango & Cucumber Salad:

3 cups diced mangoes (about 1 1/2 large mango)

3 cups diced english cucumbers ( about 1 1/2 cucumbers)

1/4 cup chopped sumac onions, plus extra for garnish

1/3 cup thinly sliced mint

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp sea salt

2-3 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:

Toss the mango, cucumber, onion, mint, olive oil and salt together. Depending on the sweetness of the mango, add 2-3 tbsp lemon juice and toss. It should be a nice balance of tart-sweet. Serve topped with the reserved sumac onions.