Springtime in Calgary...

...is still very far away. On some level I do understand that (although I don't really want to think about it). I was actually expecting to see people wearing shorts today -- it was that lovely outside. (And since I saw a teenager wearing shorts when it was still -10, I'm a little surprised that I didn't!)

Today I was still craving something fresh, so I went online browsing for inspiration. I found a nice looking recipe for quinoa salad with dried lime, but I wanted to add some protein to it -- maybe chicken? And while I was tweaking the recipe, how about ditching that sweet potato? Oh, plus the sage. Aaaand also the feta. I quickly realized that I would not be making that particular dish (although it does look good, doesn't it?), and thought about how I wanted to modify it some more. So with some vague notion of a greens-and-grains room temperature salad, I decided to cook some chicken on the side. I pretty much used the same ingredients as this kebab recipe, with a few tweaks. Here's the result, after the jump.

Chicken Kebab with Mixed Herb Tabboulish
Inspired by/adapted from the recipes linked above

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into kebab-size pieces
1 onion, roughly chunked
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch parsley
saffron, partially dissolved in water (I was kind of in a hurry :-)
juice of 2 limes
olive oil

Combine all of the above non-chicken ingredients in a food processor, along with some s&p, and process until fairly smooth -- this is the marinade. Place the chicken pieces in a bowl, pour the marinade over it, and stir it around a bit. This is already looking mighty fine. Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge to marinate -- I left it in for a little over 4 hours.

1 bunch watercress, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
handful mint leaves, chopped
1 medium zucchini, sliced in matchsticks
5 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 large shallot, minced
3 to 4 cups cooked grains, still warm
juice of 2 lemons
olive oil
lime powder

Combine all of the ingredients up to (and including) the grains in a big bowl -- adding enough grains to make the greens-to-grains ratio look right to you. As for which grains, I used roughly equal parts quinoa, buckwheat, wild rice, and basmati rice -- and that's why I'm going to live until I'm 105. (Take that, great-grandpa!) Now for the dressing -- combine the lemon juice, olive oil, lime powder, and s&p and stir/shake/whisk until it's all mixed up nicely. The lime powder is quite potent, so you may want to go easy -- depends if you like the flavour or not. (I love it, so I was generous with the lime powder.) Add the dressing to the greens-and-grains mixture, and toss to combine. I let this sit and soak up the dressing while I made the kebabs.

Although this was almost barbecue weather, it wasn't really an option for me (living sans-barbecue as I do), so I turned the oven on broil while I prepped the kebabs. I threaded the chicken pieces onto bamboo skewers, and didn't try to scrape off any marinade while doing so. (This part was quite messy.) I left the kebabs in under the broiler, turning occasionally, until they had some nice colour (i.e. I let them burn in a couple places -- hey, this is just like barbecuing!).

I served the kebabs on a big pile of the tabboulish, and placed a few radishes on the side as a crunchy garnish.

This turned out to be extremely fresh tasting and quite delicious. The kebabs were really flavourful -- not a big surprise considering the marinade. Although I didn't start out trying to make a tabbouli-esque salad, and it differs in too many ways to lay claim to the actual name, that's the closest thing that I can compare it to.

The verdict? It's a nice warm-ish weather dish, and I'll definitely be making this again. Hopefully sometime before July :-)