Spiced chicken skewers with yogurt sauce

These spiced chicken skewers with yogurt sauce that I bring you today are strong candidates to become the star dish of the summer. In fact, they already are in my home, but I'm sure they will also become a fail-safe dish in yours… Want to know why?

Because they're simple and quick to prepare, because they can equally solve a meal for many in the garden or a dinner for two in front of the TV, because they're very flavorful and tender and they also have the perfect combination of the intense flavor of the spices, the refreshing touch of the yogurt sauce and the crunchy note of the vegetables.

Need more reasons to love them? I'll give you one more, and that is they're very light, because we're going to prepare them on the grill. What do you think? I've broken in my new Le Creuset grill, and I promise I couldn't be happier with the result… This really is going to be my summer love!

Want to see the recipe for these delicious skewers now? Let's go for it!

Pallarès carbon steel knife, Nezumi Tokyo Design Studio ceramic plate, Zester Premium Microplane grater and Le Creuset deep rectangular grill grill

Ingredients (For approx. 6-8 skewers)

For the chicken skewers:

• 500gr boneless chicken thighs (or chicken breast)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 onion
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon of ground cayenne
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons of paprika
• Zest and juice of 1 lime

For the yogurt sauce (Tzatziki):

• 1 Greek yogurt
• ½ cucumber
• ½ clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon
• Salt
• A few fresh mint leaves

Preparation

For the yogurt sauce

1. We start by washing the cucumber well (you can peel it if preferred), grate it and let it drain for a few minutes over a colander with a pinch of salt so it loses excess water.
2. Once it has drained, put the cucumber in a bowl (or in some ramekins, which I love for serving the sauce directly in them) and add the yogurt, the olive oil, the garlic and the finely chopped mint and the lemon juice.
3. Mix well until all the ingredients are well combined and let rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes so the sauce firms up.

For the skewers

1. First we will clean the chicken of skin or any pieces of fat it may have. Next, with the help of a very sharp knife, cut the chicken into medium-sized pieces (so they're comfortable to eat in one bite).
2. In a bowl mix the olive oil, salt, cayenne and ground cumin, paprika and the lime zest and juice. Mix until homogeneous.
3. Put the chicken in a bowl and pour the previous mixture over it. Stir well until all the pieces of chicken are well coated with the mixture and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the meat absorbs the flavors of the marinade.
4. Once the marinating time has passed, start assembling the skewers. To do this cut the pepper and onion into cubes similar in size to the chicken and thread pieces of chicken, pepper and onion onto the skewer alternately, as you like, but keeping the quantities of the different ingredients balanced.
5. Next heat the Le Creuset grill, over medium heat and without oil, and let it warm for a few minutes.
6. To know if the grill is hot enough, we sprinkle a little water with our fingers (just a little—we know ourselves... hehe); if the water sizzles and evaporates almost instantly, it's ready to use. If it produces steam but doesn't sizzle, we should let it heat up a bit more.
7. Once we have the grill nice and hot, we grease it; we can use a silicone brush, and place the skewers on it.
8. Let them cook for a few minutes and, when we see that they release easily from the grill, it's a sign they're well cooked on that side and we can flip them.
9. Let them cook on the other side and, when they're ready, remove the skewers to a plate.
10. Serve accompanied by the yogurt sauce.

Pallarès carbon steel knife, Nezumi Tokyo Design Studio ceramic plate and Le Creuset deep rectangular grill grill

Notes

• In the recipe I indicate that the skewers can be prepared with either thigh meat or breasts, but I prefer to do it with the thigh because it stays juicier.
• If children will be eating the skewers, you can omit the ground cayenne.
• If we're going to use wooden skewers, we soak them in water about 10 minutes before assembling them to prevent them from burning when we put them on the grill.
• We don't put the oil on the grill from the start because we want the grill to be very hot and the oil can burn.

I hope you are encouraged to prepare these skewers, and that they become the star dish of all your summer gatherings.