Chicken Kebab Salad

One afternoon in March I was watching Food Network while rocking the baby to sleep, and Tyler Florence was making these yummy-looking chicken kebabs.  I’ve had this recipe on my menu plan a couple of times, but couldn’t buy the fresh bay leaves until we were in Lincoln a few weeks ago. Then I needed a good grilling day when the wind wasn’t blowing 300 mph. Finally it happened last week. These were a snap to put together. Here’s the recipe as I took it from the Food Network web site, then I have some notes on what I actually did after that:

Chicken Kebab Salad
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence, 2007
  Prep Time: 15 min
  Inactive Prep Time: 30 min
  Cook Time: 35 min
  Level: Easy
  Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the kebabs:
  a.. 8 links sweet Italian pork sausage
  b.. 1 crusty baguette
  c.. 2 to 3 medium, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  d.. 12 fresh bay leaves
  e.. 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  f.. 2 lemons
  g.. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salad and dressing:
  a.. 2 anchovies
  b.. 2 cloves garlic
  c.. 1/2 lemon, juiced
  d.. 2 egg yolks*
  e.. 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus shavings for garnish
  f.. 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  g.. 2 tablespoons water
  h.. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  i.. 2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
  j.. Flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
  k.. 2 lemons, cut into wedges, for garnish
Directions
Special equipment: 4 large foot-long skewers, metal or thick bamboo work
best, soaked in water for half an hour if using bamboo or wood.
Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
For the kebabs:
Slice chicken thinly, cut the baguette into 1/2-inch rounds, and cut the
sausage links up into chunks, alternating cuts at 45 degree angles for nice
triangular shapes.
Now prepare the kebabs. Take the skewers 1 at a time and begin threading the components alternately. Start with a piece of bread, then chicken, bay leaf, sausage, and bread; repeat this 3 times to fill the skewers, ending with bread.
Lay the prepared kebabs out on your board and drizzle liberally with
extra-virgin olive oil. Squeeze the lemon juice all over and season well
with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the prepared kebabs onto
preheated grill and cook for about 7 to 10 minutes per side, or until cooked
through.
While kebabs are roasting you can prepare the salad. In a blender combine
the anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, egg yolks and grated Parmesan. Pulse a
couple of times to combine, then add the water and blend again. With the
motor running, gradually pour the oil through the feed tube and continue to
blend until emulsified. Season, to taste, with salt and some freshly ground
black pepper.
In a large mixing bowl add the chopped romaine. When the kebabs are done, remove from the oven and slide the kebab components off the skewers directly into the bowl. Add some dressing and gently toss to combine.
To plate, garnish with parsley leaves, shaved Parmesan and fresh lemon
wedges.

**My notes: For the salad portion of this recipe, I cut up a couple of heads of Romaine, then just used Cardini’s Caesar Salad dressing.

For the kebabs, I added half mushrooms to the skewers after each sausage piece. I think my grill was a little too hot since some of the bread was burned. I did cook them for 7 minutes on each side, though, to make sure the chicken was fully cooked.

This was a light but flavorful supper. I think it could be made without the fresh bay leaves and still taste great. The bread chunks made for large croutons.

This is one I’ll make again when the weather is hot and no one wants a heavy meal.