Shish Taouk

Method

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1. Whisk all the marinade ingredients together and fold the chicken through. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

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2. For the toum, pound the garlic and salt to a completely smooth paste in a mortar, or blitz in a narrow jug.

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3. Add the oil a few drops at a time, working constantly, alternating with a little lemon juice and iced water. Once it takes, add the oil in a slow thin stream. It should end up thick, white and fluffy.

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4. Thread the chicken onto skewers, leaving a small gap between pieces so the heat gets round them.

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5. Get a charcoal grill or griddle very hot. Cook 4 minutes on the first side without moving them.

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6. Turn and cook 4 to 5 minutes more, until charred in patches and 74C at the centre.

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7. Rest 3 minutes on a warm plate, loosely covered.

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8. Warm the flatbreads over the same grill for 20 seconds a side.

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9. Serve the skewers with toum, pickled turnips and a sharp tomato and parsley salad.

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Chef’s Tips

• Thighs, not breast. Breast dries out before it chars.
• A small gap between cubes on the skewer, or the sides steam.
• For toum, add the oil painfully slowly at the start. It breaks if you rush.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.
• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

Pairing Suggestions

• Toum and pickled turnips
• Flatbread and fattoush
• An arak with ice and water

Storage & Reheating

Marinated chicken keeps 2 days raw. Toum keeps 3 weeks refrigerated in a sealed jar.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.