Quick & Easy Chicken Skewers with Homemade Tzatziki

The weather is starting to warm up here in Cork, which always makes me crave light, spicy dinners.

These skewers are so easy to make- easier (and tastier) still if you can marinade the chicken the night before. And chop the veggies. There's nothing like coming home to a fully-prepped meal you can put together without much concentration.

We make this kind of meal a lot, so metal skewers are an economical choice. Using metal skewers also helps the meat cook quickly from the inside out. If you're using disposable wooden ones, don't forget to wet them under cold water before use to avoid burning.

For The Skewers (Makes 6)

6 Chicken Fillets
4 Capsicum Peppers, Various Colours
1 Courgette
1 Onion
Chop All Of The Above Into Large Chunks Which Wont Break On The Skewer

For The Chicken Marinade

Here's the list of spices I used, you can of course add/remove/adjust to fit your personal taste. These are listed in order of most to least used:

Paprika

Cumin

Salt

Black Pepper

Fennel Seed

Cinnamon

Ground Cardamom

Ground Ginger

Ground Nutmeg

Ground Cloves

Crushed Coriander Seed

Crushed Star Anise

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/ 375F.

2. Combine all your spices in a bowl with a few glugs of olive oil. Add your chicken chunks and mix to coat well. 

Ideally, cover and let the chicken sit overnight in the fridge. An hour or so will do too, but overnight is definitely tastier!

3. The rest is pretty self-explainatory! Build your skewers alternating chicken and vegetables.

4. Lay out on a wire tray and pop in the oven for 30 minutes, turning once during cooking.

While the skewers are in the oven, I like to knock together an awesome homemade tzatziki which compliments the spices perfectly. 

For The Tzatziki

200g Greek Yoghurt

1 Cucumber

Juice of Half A Lemon

1 Clove of Garlic, Crushed

Pinch Of Salt

Pinch Of Black Pepper

Handful Of Fresh Dill, Finely Chopped

1. Cut your cucumber in half and carefully remove all the green skin.

2. Using a cheese grater or similar, grate the cucumber onto a sheet of strong kitchen paper. (It's important to use a strong paper so you don't end up with chunks in your tzatziki!) When you're done grating, fold all the cucumber up into the paper towel and squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible.

3. In a bowl, combine the yoghurt, grated cucumber, lemon juice, garlic, dill, salt and pepper. Mix Well and chill slightly before serving. Sprinkle with a few springs of dill if desired.

Low Carb Cocktails: Whiskey Sour

I guess one of mantras I've tried to keep in mind over the past year or so is that eating low carb isn't a punishment, or a way to restrict yourself- it's a lifestyle.

Drinking while eating low carb is all about making smart choices. While the body processes carbohydrates in alcohol in a different way to those containted in food, it can be easy to kick yourself out of ketosis if you're not careful. Your best bets are always dry wines and spirits.

In the words of Jennifer Aniston, here comes the science bit: During the fermentation process, the yeasts process the carbohydrates and produce alcohol. Whatever sugars are leftover will vary depending on the beverage- a sweet wine will contain more carbs than a dry wine. 

An average glass of red wine will contain about 4g of carbs. Distilled spirits (vodka, rum, whiskey, etc.) have nothing left but the alcohol, so are zero carb. The danger zone appears when you start to add mixers.

I'm a big cocktail fan and the classic whiskey sour is hands-down my favourite. A simple retooling of the classic recipe makes for a tasty low-carb cocktail you can sip without too much worry.

Investing in a good quality whiskey not only produces a better result, it helps cut down on the hangover factor. My favourites include Makers Mark, and Knob Creek. 

Though a little on the pricier side, Buffalo Trace gives this cocktail a great flavour. Incidentally, that name always reminds me of this Neneh Cherry song. 

Note: For this recipe, 1 shot is the standard Irish measure of 35.5ml

Ingredients

For The Simple Syrup

Create a  low carb simple syrup by mixing water with stevia or splenda. The usual ratio is 1 cup of sweetner to 2 cups of water, though you can adjust this slightly to taste.

We'll usually mix up a litre bottle batch of syrup and keep it for a fortnight or so- remember to shake slightly before use if you're doing this.

For The Cocktail

2 Shots Whiskey

1 Shot Fresh Lemon Juice (The juice of an average lemon contains 3g of net carbs)

1 Shot Simple Syrup

1 Egg

To Garnish

1 Thin Slice of Orange

3 Drops of Angostura Bitters (If you're in Cork you can pick it up at Bradley's)

Method

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with large ice cubes. The larger the cubes, the less likely they are to break up and dilute the mixture on shaking.

2. Add the whiskey, lemon juce, simple syrup and egg to the cocktail maker, cover and shake vigoriously for about 90 seconds.

3. Place 2 large ice cubes in a glass and pour over the cocktail mixture using a strainer. If mixed well, the liquid should have a lovely foam head.

4. The pièce de résistance is the Angostura Bitters- it really is worth seeking this out. Gently add 3 drops to the foam head. Garnish with a slice of orange peel and serve!

Note: Alcohol isn't recommended while you're getting into ketosis as it can mess with your blood sugar.
Keep in mind too that you're likely to be less hungry while eating low carb- beware drinking on an empty stomach.