Grilled Sweet Potato Fries and Chicken Kebabs

It’s been crazy hot and humid lately, so I’m naturally in the mood for quick, simple and fresh dishes.

Even taking pictures isn’t all that easy in that kind of heat. Sweat literally drips down my face as I try and capture my day’s feast. Better that than drool, I guess! ;o)

Needless to say that, when cooking, I tend to privilege the outdoor grill over the gas range… It’s just that much less heat in the house. But you can’t cook anything you want on an outdoor grill, now, can you?

I find most of the time, my food cravings tend to go with the current weather trend. It’s fairly rare that I will crave a nice, big bowl of piping hot soup when it 35 degrees out… But sometimes, it seems like my food cravings have a mind of their own; they take control of MY mind and just won’t leave me alone until I finally give in.

That’s kind of what happened here…

You see, I’d been craving sweet potato fries for a while now, but didn’t really want to start the oven in this kind of heat. However, it just wouldn’t go away. I HAD to have sweet potato fries.

Now, how is one supposed to make sweet potato fries without using the oven?

I figured I had no other choice but to attempt making them on the grill. Grilled fries? Sounds funny, doesn’t it?

Well, funny or not, it worked!

The fries turned out super delicious! Not quite as crispy as a regular fry, but then again, I have yet to see a real crispy sweet potato fry (Nora at Natural Noshing might have found the solution to that… I so can’t wait to give it a try!) Still, they weren’t soggy at all, as you can see, they held their shape quite well and stayed nice and straight for me in the plate, while still having a creamy and tender interior.

And the taste? OH! Even better than what my mind had been bugging me for. I think it was satisfied, for it left me alone after. Until I saw the crispy guys, that is!

Oh, right, I almost forgot! To go with the fries, I had a couple of chicken kebabs.

They too, were very satisfactory. Tender, juicy and bursting with flavor. That yogurt marinade that I had made for them really did the trick.

CHICKEN KEBABS
(2 to 4 kebabs)

• 1 or 2 chicken breasts
• ½ cup 0% plain greek yogurt
• ½ tsp fermented garlic flowers
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 tsp zaatar
• The zest of one lemon
• 2 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1 tsp liquid honey

Instructions

1. In a shallow dish, mix all the ingredients for the marinade until well combined.
2. Cut chicken breast into bite size cubes and add to marinade. Toss to coat evenly on all sides. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight)
3. Thread the pieces of chicken onto wooden skewers. To prevent the skewers from burning on the grill, soak them in water for 20 minutes to a half hour prior to using them
4. Preheat grill to medium-high heat
5. When grill is hot enough, lower heat to medium, add kebabs and close the lid. Flip them around every 2-3 minutes, until nice and golden on all sides and meat is cooked through.

GRILLED SWEET POTATO FRIES

• 1 sweet potato
• 1 tsp olive oil
• ½ tsp liquid honey
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp zaatar
• Pinch hot chili flakes

Instructions

1. Cut sweet potato into long strips, approximately ½ inch wide.
2. In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except potato, and mix to combine.
3. Add potato strips and toss to coat evenly.
4. Preheat grill to medium-high heat
5. When grill is hot enough, lower heat to medium, add potato strips one at a time, placing them in a way that they won’t fall through the cracks and close the lid.
6. Flip them around every 2-3 minutes, until they are nicely marked on all sides and the flesh is tender but firm enough for the fries to hold their shape.