Aleppo Pepper Chicken Skewers
Named after the Syrian city of Aleppo, Aleppo Pepper mostly comes from Turkey today rather than Syria. The Halaby Pepper is semi-dried, de-seeded and coarsely ground. We find it’s a bit sweet and spicy, smoky and earthy. Aleppo Pepper is very versatile. It is a flavour enhancer, used like salt in a recipe or a finisher, sprinkled on before serving.
We had to order ours from Amazon. It came mixed with a bit of salt and oil.
Aleppo Pepper Chicken Skewers
These chicken skewers come together very quickly and only call for an hour marinating time. Serve with shopped vegetables, flatbreads and/or Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Potatoes.We make lots of marinade and reserve some, so that there is lots to drizzle over the skewers.
Ingredients
- 2 lb. (908 gr) 4 large chicken breasts or 8 chicken thighs
- 1.5 TBSP (9 gr) Aleppo Pepper
- 1 TBSP warm water
- 1 cup (220 gr) whole Greek Yogurt
- 3 TBSP olive oil
- 2 TBSP Red Wine Vinegar
- 2 TBSP (30 gr) Tomato Paste
- 1 tsp. Kosher salt
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 garlic clove (flattened)
- ½ lemon with rind cut into chunks
- 1/4 (30 gr) red onion chopped for skewers (optional)
- Fresh oregano to garnish
Instructions
- Place Aleppo Pepper and warm water in a small dish and let rest for 5 minutes, until pepper thickens and becomes more like a paste.
- Cut chicken into chunks of about equal size and set aside.
- Add all remaining marinade ingredients to a medium sized dish and stir to incorporate.
- Reserve ½ cup marinade and refrigerate until ready to serve skewers.
- Place remaining marinade and chicken in a Zip Lock bag.
- Marinate maximum 1 hour. Chicken and marinade can rest at room temperature. Prepare Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Potatoes and start cooking, if using.
- 30 minutes before grilling, place wooden skewers in water.
- Chop any fresh vegetables to serve with the skewers: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and garnish with Kalamata olives and some plain yogurt, along with remaining marinade.
- Thread skewers, discarding marinade. Grill chicken skewers and serve immediately with warm flatbreads and/or potatoes and sides.
Notes
The perfect wine for this dish is a white Chenin Blanc, New or Old – World.
We haven’t had much luck with reds yet. Stay away from a big red like Syrah. The Aleppo Pepper and yogurt lean to a nice blend of sweet and a little spicy.
We’ve paired:
- Quail’s Gate Chenin Blanc Clone 220