Yes Yes, I know I haven’t given you guys a recipe in a little while but meh I didn’t feel like it. Don’t worry, Raphael is not withering away from starvation – I have been cooking, just not writing about it.

Anyways, this recipe is one of Raph’s favorite. I know some of you self-proclaimed Persian food connoisseurs may not agree with my recipe but this is how I make it and it’s yummy and it’s low fat. Now that I have defended my chicken, lets move on…

So as I’m sitting hear at a coffee shop in beautiful Vancouver (Yaletown to be more specific), I would like to let you know that I hate writing the recipes. Not so much what is in the recipe (I actually love that) but how much of each ingredient. I pretty much never measure much of anything. All of my measurements are guesses so if something seems wrong when you are making them, it probably is wrong. I just put however much of one thing I think will taste good. I taste my food and adjust the seasoning to what Raph and I like. So you will never see me with a measuring cup, which works great for Raph because it’s one less thing he has to wash.

So for the chicken part, I gave you my lecture about never eating uncooked chicken, so that’s done. You can use any cut of meat you want, just make sure it’s skinless and boneless. Chicken thighs work pretty good as long you put the work into cleaning it. For the mushrooms you can use any kind, as long as it can be skewered. The salad. So why is it called Israeli/Shirazi? Because growing up, in my house we called it Shirazi – Shiraz being a beautiful city in Iran. No clue if it actually comes from there but that’s what we called it. Raphael’s house called it Israeli salad. We went to Israel this spring and I never saw this salad anywhere… just saying… (I put a picture under the recipe of what we mostly ate in Israel).

Well I hope you enjoy this one!

Serves two
Cooking time: About 30 minutes

Joojeh Kabob Recipe

1 skinless/boneless chicken breast – cut into strips (or cubes)
1 cup yogurt (I used 2%)
3 cloves garlic – grated
½ medium onion – grated
1 teaspoon saffron
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Mix all ingredients together and before adding chicken, put ¼ cup of marinade aside.
Add chicken in a container and pour marinade over.
I left mine in the fridge for 3 hours, but the longer you leave it to marinade, the more flavorful it will be. You can leave it marinating for up to 24 hours.
Once you are ready to BBQ, thread your strips of chicken on skewers.
Note and Tips: I recommend using stainless steel skewers but bamboo would work too. Just make sure you soak them in water for at least an hour before using or you will burn them on the BBQ.
Grill on the BBQ on medium heat for about 6-10 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of your chicken.
Make sure your chicken is cooked. NEVER EVER eat chicken that is still pink inside or juices coming from it are pink.

Grilled Mushroom Recipe

8 white or brown mushrooms
1 tablespoon dried herbs (I used Italian seasoning)

Spray your mushrooms with a cooking spray and add seasoning. Pretty much any dried herbs will work. (I don’t like nor do I like use dried herbs but for this purpose this recipe it works the best)
Skewer mushrooms and grill on BBQ for 4-5 minutes on high or until you get char marks.

Israeli/Shirazi Salad

½ large cucumber – cut into cubes
1 cup diced tomatoes – I used cherry tomatoes
¼ cup onions – finally chopped
1 juice of lemon
1 tablespoon mint – dried works too…
2 tablespoons good olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it together and you have yourself a yummy, good for you salad!

Remember that 1/4 cup marinade that you saved? Drizzle the marinade on the side or on top of your chicken once you are ready to eat. Oh and I forgot that I had grilled yellow bell pepper with my mushrooms. It’s the same deal with the mushroom.