Italian Chicken Skewers

This is essentially a marinade utilising some fabulous Italian flavours; and it's absolutely mouth-watering delicious.

This recipe is to make the Italian Chicken Skewers, but just so you know, this marinade also works for roasting a whole chicken or chicken pieces, as well as stirred through just-cooked pasta and as a dip (a la tapenade) or even as a tasty salad dressing.  

The below serves four.

Italian Chicken Skewers

Here's how:

• 3-4 skinleks, boneless chicken thighs

For the marinade:

• 1 tbsp capers
• x3 sundried tomatoes
• 1 clove of garlic
• Handful fresh basil leaves
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 50ml olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 40g Parmesan or Pecorino

Into a blender, place the capers, sun dried tomatoes, peeled garlic clove, basil leaves, dried rosemary, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Add the salt and pepper.

Grate in the Parmesan, or if you are lazy, or cannot be bothered, chop it into small pieces and add to the blender or Nutribullet. Blitz well for a minute. When you remove the lid, prepare yourself as the smell is a little intoxicating!

For the chicken, cut into small bite-sized pieces, that will later be threaded onto skewers. Pop into a container that is big enough for all of the chicken and the marinade and has a lid. 

Pour over most of the marinade, but retain 2 tbsp to pour over or brush the meat with post-cooking. Use a spoon to mix the chicken in all of the marinade and ensure every piece is coated. Pop the lid on and put into the fridge for at least two hours. 

If you are using wooden skewers to cook the Italian Chicken Skewers, then place them into water at the same time that you marinate the meat. Make sure they are completely immersed in a roasting tin, or in a pint glass (you may need to rotate if using a glass). This is to prevent them catching alight on the BBQ or under the grill. I strongly recommend investing in some metal skewers though, you can pick some up for less than a fiver and we use ours all the time (plus they are more environmentally friendly too!)

Remove the chicken from the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to cook to allow to come back to room temperature. Now thread the chicken onto the skewers; you want to pack the chicken pieces on tightly if possible. 

Whether cooking on a BBQ or under a grill, make sure whichever one is very hot before you begin cooking and then cook for 4-5 minutes on one side without touching at all. 

Now turn onto the other side and cook for a further 4-5 minutes which should cook them all the way through. To check the meat is cooked through, remove one of the skewers and cut into the biggest sized piece of meat to ensure there is no blood or pink. If there is, then of course return to the BBQ or under to grill for a further few minutes, and check again. If they are cooked through, then remove from the heat, and allow to rest for a couple of minutes. 

At this point, brush each Italian Chicken Skewer over with the remaining marinade and serve. I serve with a Tricolore Salad and over just cooked pasta with a spoonful of the marinade stirred through just like a pesto.

Italian Chicken Skewers

If you love Italian flavours you may like these recipes:

Chicken Cacciatore
King Prawn Linguine with Chilli and Saffron
Vicky's Special Seafood Stew
Mediterranean Pork Belly Strips
Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Three Cheese Topped Pork Lasagne
Tricolore Salad
Crab. Chilli and Asparagus Pappardelle
Walnut and Basil Pesto
Bruschetta Two Ways
Cod in a Mediterranean Tomato and Garlic Sauce
Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup
Seafood Spaghetti with Saffron
Pork Fillet in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Turkey Meatball Bake
Mediterranean Soup
Reduced Calorie Bolognese
Chicken a La Milanese with Spaghetti

Tricolore Salad

There are many glorious salads that make summer eating so wonderful and the tricolore is an absolute classic. Named so after the triple colour or three coloured elements that make up both the Italian flag and of course the salad - it's simplicity doesn't take away from it's fresh, vibrant deliciousness. 

Again, this is hardly a recipe. merely a few ingredients thrown together to make up a big bowl of loveliness that can either make up a meal or act as a side with a versatile range of dishes. 

The one thing that I will advise on here is ensuring you buy the best possible quality ingredients to prepare this - with a dish so simple, there is nothing to hide behind so you don't want brown, bruised avocados or unripe tomatoes, everything needs to be just so. 

So to prepare a salad as a side for four, you need 3-4 decent sized and perfectly ripe tomatoes. Simply wash then slice and add to your salad bowl. Halve a large, ripe avocado and remove the stone, then using a teaspoon, scoop out curls of avocado flesh and add to the bowl. Pull or slice a ball of the best quality buffalo mozzarella and scatter around the salad. The final flourish is to add a generous handful of full basil leaves around the bowl and then to dress. 

Drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil, be generous as this really does aid the flavour with it's peppery tang. Finally, throw over some coarse sea salt a large pinch will do and some freshly ground black pepper and give a stir or a shake.