Chicken Skewers With Dukkah Crust and Balsamic Reduction

Submitted by Sandi From CA

"Dukkah makes everything better. This Middle Eastern spice mix, often including sesame seeds, sumac, and hazelnuts, is most commonly combined with oil and used as a dipping sauce. This recipe coats the chicken in mustard and dukkah and is accompanied by a sweet-sour sauce of honey and balsamic vinegar. If you have the time, you can make your own dukkah using Recipe #78932 or something similar. Otherwise, you can find it at gourmet grocery stores, at Middle Eastern stores, or online at Spice Bazaar. The vinegar-honey sauce and dukkah (if making) can be done up to five days ahead of time. Coat the chicken in the dukkah mix up to 2 hours ahead of time and then refrigerate them. When ready to eat, bake off the skewers and warm up the sauce over low heat until it is syrupy. Slacker solution: If you can’t find dukkah and don’t feel like making it yourself, substitute toasted fine breadcrumbs. Recipe courtesy of Aïda Mollenkamp."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 8
• Yields: 24 skewers
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• For the chicken

• 24 chicken tenders, also called chicken tenderloins
• 1 cup dukkah (try Dukkah, it's fantastic!)
• 1⁄4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (about 1 ounce)

• For the vinegar-honey sauce

• 2⁄3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1⁄3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil

• For the chicken skewers

• 24 metal skewers (if using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes before using) or 24 bamboo skewers (if using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes before using)

directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F
2. Combine balsamic vinegar and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until reduced by half, about 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. In a shallow bowl, combine the mustard and olive oil, and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss the chicken in the mustard mixture until well coated.
4. Combine the dukkah and Parmigiano-Reggiano in a wide, shallow dish and mix thoroughly. Roll each tender in the dukkah mix until well coated.
5. Thread a chicken tender on each skewer. Place the chicken skewers on wire cooling racks. Nest each wire rack in a baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake until the meat is firm and the dukkah crust is golden, about 25 to 30 minutes.
6. Serve the skewers with the vinegar-honey sauce.

Reviews

[tara portee]

I have been intending to make this for the longest time. I was impressed with how unique this was, without being too "weird." The dukkah adhered well to the oil, mustard mixture and the cooking method resulted in the coating keeping it's crunch and being nicely browned.