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Chicken Skewers with Pumpkin Fries




These juicy, garlicky chicken skewers are so tasty with a simple marinade of just garlic and salt. It never ceases to surprise us how simple flavours and good quality ingredients really are all you need.


This recipe can be tweaked if you’re having a chicken gyros craving. Simply wrap the chicken and sweet potato fries in an Oat Flatbread. Yes, Greeks wrap up the fries too! Then add some iceberg lettuce for a crunchy texture.


Health Benefits


Chicken is a great source of vitamin B3 and vitamin B6, which is a natural antihistamine, and it's a good source of selenium for liver health. Plus, it's rich in skin-loving protein and amino acids including cysteine, which is great for warding off colds and flu. It's also a good source of tryptophan, which helps you sleep well. Protein is an important building block for your bones, muscles, cartilage, blood and skin, as it helps to form collagen.

Pumpkin is a rich source of skin-loving beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A and helps to protect your skin from dehydration and sun damage. Pumpkin is a good source of vitamin C, potassium, copper, vitamin B2, manganese, vitamin B5 and dietary fibre. Butternut pumpkins are moderate in salicylates and low in amines and are a part of the Eczema Diet programs, however, other types of pumpkins are high in salicylates not a part of the Eczema Diet programs.


Food Chemical Notes

To make this dish FID friendly if you can't find butternut pumpkin, substitute pumpkin for peeled white potatoes. Check the FID shopping guide and What’s Up with Potatoes Podcast.

Bean shoots are mung bean sprouts that have been spouted for a little longer and are allowed on the Eczema Diet programs (including the FID program). Just be sure to rinse them before you use them.


Serves: 1 very large appetite. For 2 standard adult servings add in an extra chicken thigh and 150g of extra pumpkin. Triple the recipe for more people.


Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 30-45 minutes


Ingredients


Chicken Marinade

  • 3 organic chicken thighs, diced into cubes

  • 3 teaspoons of garlic powder

  • 6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

  • A sprinkle of quality sea salt (such as iodised sea salt, not table salt)

  • 3 skewers (we used 3 half-sized wooden skewers, however you can use longer ones or metal skewers)

  • Plus approximately 2 teaspoons of rice bran oil, high oleic sunflower oil or safflower oil to cook the chicken skewers

Pumpkin Fries

  • ½ butternut pumpkin (approximately 350g / 12oz))

  • 1 tablespoon (20g/.7oz) of rice bran oil, high oleic sunflower oil or safflower oil

Salad

  • ¼ of a small iceberg lettuce, rinsed and drained

  • ¼ of a small red cabbage, rinsed and drained

  • ¾ cup bean shoots, washed and drained

Dressing

  • 1 tablespoon (20g/.7oz) of boiling water

  • 2 tablespoons (40g/1.4oz) of 100% pure maple syrup (not maple flavoured syrup)

  • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder

  • ⅛ teaspoon of quality sea salt (such as iodised sea salt, not table salt)

  • ¼ teaspoon of ascorbic acid or citric acid (we used citric acid to give the dressing an amazing lemony flavour)

Method


Preheat the oven to 180°C (375°F).


Make the marinade for the chicken. Dice 3 chicken thighs into cubes and place them into a bowl. Cover the chicken with 3 teaspoons of garlic powder, 6 cloves of peeled and minced garlic and ⅛ teaspoon of quality sea salt (such as Celtic/Pink/Himalayan).


Cover the chicken and set it aside while you prepare the other ingredients. Allow the chicken to marinate for at least 20 minutes.


Prepare the pumpkin fries. Peel and deseed ½ butternut pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin into French fry sizes (the video shows how to do this using sweet potato). Place them on a lightly oiled tray. Drizzle with a little rice bran oil, high oleic sunflower oil or safflower oil and put them into the preheated 180°C (375°F) oven for 30-45 minutes. Set an alarm to turn them over halfway through cooking. The pumpkin fries will be ready when they are lightly browned.


Prepare the salad. Finely chop and measure 1 cup of iceberg lettuce and 1 cup of red cabbage. This will be approximately ¼ of a small iceberg lettuce and ¼ of a red cabbage. Place the chopped lettuce and cabbage into a bowl. Add ¾ cup of bean shoots and lightly mix the salad ingredients together to combine them. Set the salad aside.


Prepare the dressing. In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon (20g/.7oz) of boiling water, 2 tablespoons (40g/1.4oz) of maple syrup, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, ⅛ teaspoon of quality sea salt (such as Celtic/Pink/Himalayan) and ¼ teaspoon of ascorbic acid or citric acid. Set the dressing aside and add it to the salad at the very end so you don’t create a soggy salad.


At this stage, check on the sweet potato fries and turn them over if they’re ready. Place them back into the oven and continue cooking them.


When the pumpkin fries are about 15 minutes away from being cooked, begin cooking the chicken. Thread the diced organic chicken thighs onto the skewers. Place them quite close to each other so that your chicken kebabs are juicy and not dry.


Place a medium-sized saucepan on moderate heat and allow the saucepan to heat up. Once the saucepan is hot, drizzle it with about 2 teaspoons of rice bran oil, high oleic sunflower oil or safflower oil and then place the kebabs into the pan. Cook them on each side for about 2-3 minutes, allowing each side to colour. Throughout the cooking process, cover the pan with a lid every now and then as this can help seal in the juices. Turn the heat down if the chicken is beginning to colour too quickly. The chicken will take about 8-10 minutes to cook in the middle and be nicely coloured on the outside. Continue turning the chicken as needed.


Once the chicken has cooked, turn off the heat and cover the chicken with the lid and allow it to rest.


Meanwhile, take the pumpkin fries out of the oven and place them onto a large dinner plate.


Drizzle the dressing into the bowl of salad and then plate the chicken kebabs next to the fries. Pour any leftover chicken juices from the pan over the chicken for extra flavour.


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