Spiedini di insalata caprese e pollo ( Chicken, Mozzarella and Tomato Italian kebabs with MY delicious dressing! )

 I made some spiedini, yesterday a kind of Italian kebab! A twist on my Insalata Caprese recipe and an addition to my "Mozzarella Day!"

Last Summer, we went to a Sagra della Bufala, in a little town in Campania, Italy.  For ten Euros you could buy a three course (buffalo based)  meal: a starter (tomato and buffalo mozzarella kebabs) a small portion of fusilli pasta with buffalo meat sauce and cheese (very nice!) and barbecued buffalo meat with... patatine fritte (chips) You even got a glass of wine... how about that!

The kebabs, though, were very bland and without dressing, and I really can't eat a piece of tomato without dressing, so... I thought of a new, more interesting version. Here it is! I included grilled meat for texture (should have been buffalo, but I won't have access for a few weeks!) and a dressing I "created"... and it worked!

Spiedini di Insalata Caprese e Pollo

Con Salsa Verde Piccante

Capri Salad and Chicken Italian Kebabs

(with a very good hot dressing!)

Four servings

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

4 tomatoes, washed and deseeded

3 mozzarelle, diced

a few basil leaves

for the marinade/dressing

A few big glugs of olive oil

chopped basil

chopped parsley

1 garlic clove, chopped

the juice of half lemon

salt

pepper

Louisiana jalapeno pepper

hot sauce

(optional)

or sliced red chilli pepper

Cut your chicken breasts into cubes, toss in some olive oil and cook. I grilled mine in a "Lean, mean, fat grilling machine" and added rosemary from my garden, for extra flavour. You can bake the chicken pieces in the oven or grill, or fry them, if you prefer. My chicken only took 10 minutes. Leave to cool.

Next, using some bamboo skewers, start assembling your kebabs, by alternating quartered tomatoes, basil leaves, mozzarella and the cold chicken.

I put the marinade in a flat dish. I used a lot of chopped basil and parsley and made sure to use really good olive oil. The lemon juice and the hot green chilli sauce created a really interesting flavour. I placed my kebabs over the marinade and kept turning, to make sure everything was coated. You can use sliced fresh red chillies, instead of the hot green chilli sauce, if you prefer.

I let all the flavours infuse and develop, before serving my nice cold dish.

The Spiedini (kebabs) tasted really delicious and fresh... you could taste every single ingredient and the different textures made it interesting. Just the right kind of food for a Summer's day! I served dish with a Mediterranean potato salad and some crusty bread. And Italian dry white wine (I like Frascati, chilled)

 

MY BEAUTIFUL HEALTHY SUMMER SPIEDINI!