Rosemary Lemon Scented Chicken Kebabs

When I think of summer, I think light, fresh, flavorful and easy. No one wants to spend too much time in a kitchen. The fresh and aromatic flavor of the rosemary mixed with a zesty lemony flavor just creates a wonderful explosion on my taste buds.

Photography by Robert Demetrius

These are the ingredients you will need for the kebabs:

4 chicken breasts, weighing about 2 pounds

16 cherry tomatoes

½ a red onion, cut in half then cut in quarters

1 green sweet pepper, cut into 16 pieces

8 12-inch bamboo skewers, which should be soaked for an hour before use

1 lemon cut in wedges

olive oil for drizzling

For the marinade:

1/3 cup of olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

4 cloves garlic minced

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon chopped rosemary

Chicken Breast Cut in Pieces

Start by cutting the chicken breast in 1½-inch pieces. I made sure I got 24 pieces so that each skewer would have 4 pieces of juicy chicken. 

Olive Oil, Lemon Zest, Lemon Juice, Garlic, Rosemary, Salt and Pepper

Place the chicken pieces in a bowl and season with 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, zest of 1 lemon, 4 cloves of garlic, minced, 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary, 1/3 cup of olive oil and 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Make sure that all pieces are well covered with the marinade.

Chicken Pieces Well Covered with Marinade

Marinate the chicken pieces for 3½ hours, so that the flavors of the rosemary, lemon and garlic are well infused into the meat. Toss the marinating chicken pieces again half way through.

An hour before assembling the kebabs, soak the bamboo skewers in water. This can be debated, whether to soak or not, but I tend to soak my bamboo skewers, I find the meat doesn’t take on the woody taste of the skewer.

About 15 minutes before use, take the marinating chicken out of the fridge just to take the chill off.

Cutting Red Onion in Quarters

Rinse the cherry tomatoes and pat them dry. Cut half of the onion, lengthwise in half again, then cut in quarters so you have 8 quarters.

Sweet Peppers

Cut the green sweet pepper in 1 inch pieces.

Assembly Line of Sweet Peppers and Tomatoes

Assemble your tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions and chicken in a line so that it’s easy to skew.

Preheat oven to 500°Fahrenheit.

Brushing Remaining Marinade on the Kebabs

Drizzle olive oil on an aluminum foil lined sheet. You can assemble the kebab they way you would like, I chose to start with the onions, then a piece of chicken, a piece of green sweet pepper, then another piece of chicken, a cherry tomato, then a piece of chicken, repeating the process, till each skewer is finished. Place the kebabs on the sheet and brush the remaining marinade on the entire skewer so that the vegetables get the entire juicy flavor as well.

Bake for 7 minutes on either side and then a final 1 minute on high broil so it gets a beautiful color.

Drizzling Kebabs with Olive Oil

Cut a lemon in quarter wedges. Plate 2 skewers on each plate with a wedge of lemon. Just before you dig in, squeeze some lemon juice on the kebabs and drizzle with olive oil and enjoy immediately. This serves for 4. Voilà. The chicken will be nice and juicy. If you have any leftovers, it can be served cold over a tossed salad.