BBQ Persian chicken with toum and pickled chillies

Ingredients

• 1 brown onion, quartered
• 100 ml olive oil
• 1 tsp ground fenugreek leaves
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 kg chicken thigh fillets, skin on, cut into 4 cm chunks
• 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 150 g pickled Turkish chillies, roughly chopped
• 200 g toum (garlic dip)

Marinating time: overnight

Instructions

1. Place the onion into a small food processor and blend until smooth. Strain through a cheesecloth to extract the onion juice – you want about 100 ml. Discard the onion solids. In a large bowl, combine the extracted onion juice, olive oil, fenugreek leaves and ground turmeric. Mix well to combine, then add the chicken and massage the marinade into the meat. Refrigerate overnight to marinate.
2. When ready to cook, heat a barbecue or chargrill pan over medium-high heat. Thread the chicken onto skewers, with the skin-side facing up. Sprinkle with salt and grill, turning occasionally, until just cooked through.
3. Remove from the heat and brush liberally with toum. Transfer to a large serving plate.
4. Combine the parsley and chilli in a medium bowl. Add a splash of pickling liquid to make a dressing. Serve the BBQ Persian skewers with the pickled herb salad and extra toum.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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