Yogurt Marinated Chicken & Vegetable Skewers with Tzatziki & Lemon Vinaigrette

Simple food tastes far beyond the sum of its parts when done well and seasoned well. Case in point: these simple grilled chicken, artichoke, zucchini, red onion & tomato skewers (it's a handful to say!). The skewers are amazing on their own but when you add the two sauces, a lemon vinaigrette and a yogurt sauce - one creamy and one tangy, they go in perfect harmony and make for an amazingly satisfying meal.

This is also the kind of food you want to serve when there's a crowd to feed. It easily makes 8 servings and if you add some bread, fruit and maybe some ice cream, it's a backyard BBQ party!
It also keeps really well as leftovers, so you could still make it even if it's only two people you cook for. You'll be set for a couple days and can look forward to having time to do other things instead of cooking. As much as I love cooking, I still enjoy having time to pursue my other hobbies. I hope you make these chicken & vegetable skewers as part of your summer cooking this year!

Recipe adapted from Cook Beautiful, Athena Calderone
Makes 8 servings (about 18-20 medium sized skewers)

Ingredients:
For the chicken marinade: 
1/2 cup/113 gm greek yogurt
1/4 cup lemon juice
5 fat garlic cloves
2" piece ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/4 bunch cilantro, stem & all
2 tbsp olive oil
1 heaping tbsp aleppo pepper
2 heaping tsp ground cumin
2 heaping tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2" pieces

For the skewers:
2 cans (14 ounce) artichoke hearts in water, drained (or about 16-20 oz drained weight of artichoke)
2 medium zucchini, halved and cut into 1 1/2" pieces
1 large red onion, cut into 1 1/2" chunks
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt & black pepper to taste

Lemon Herb Vinaigrette:
4 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 heaping tsp sea salt
1 tsp honey
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

Tzatziki:
1 cup/225 gm greek yogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp heaping sea salt
4 oz cucumber, seeds removed and finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves

Procedure:
Blend everything (but the chicken) under chicken marinade till a very smooth puree forms. Pour it over chicken in a medium bowl and mix well. Set aside in the refrigerator to marinate overnight.
Toss everything under the list of skewer ingredients in a large bowl and start skewering the chicken and vegetables. Set them aside on a tray while you preheat your grill for 10 minutes on high. While the grill is heating, make the two sauces. Whisk everything under the lemon vinaigrette in a bowl and set aside. Mix everything listed under Tzatziki together in another bowl and set aside. Grill the skewers on medium high for 6 minutes on each side. You might need to grill in batches. My grill is medium sized and it still took me three batches to get it all done. Serve 2 skewers per person along with the tzatziki sauce on the side and with some lemon herb vinaigrette drizzled on top of the grilled chicken & vegetables. Enjoy!