Spring Veggie + Lemon Moroccan Chicken Skewers with Minted Goat Cheese Yogurt.
Truth, lemons are a fairly new food group to me.
Sure, I have been drinking lemonade since I can remember, but other than that I can’t think of a time when I used lemons or knowingly consumed lemons.
I know that sounds so weird since lemons are probably one of the most used ingredients in all kitchens, but up until a year or so ago I never knew just how awesome lemons really were.
Also, I have seen all these awesome looking grilled lemons floating around in magazines and such, but when I go to grill mine, they turn out all funky looking. I mean really? What’s up with that?
Anyway, when I started to branch out, in terms of flavors and the dishes I was making, I realized that things like lemons, limes and herbs can make a HUGE difference. Meaning that they can MAKE a meal.
Mint is totally newish to me too. I definitely prefer it in savory dishes to sweet, but it can add just the right amount of coolness. Especially to a spicy dish.
These skewers definitely have a little kick to them so the minted goat cheese yogurt is the perfect touch. Everything about this meal is super simple, but simple is sometimes just soo good.
Switching gears.
You know what is so frustrating?
Town building departments and all their dang codes.
FYI, building codes totally suck.
Basically, they are telling me what I can and cannot do to the barn and it is so annoying.
So I had to get creative… maybe even a little sneaky, but it’s all gonna work out.
You’ll see soon!
Alright, that’s all for today. My mind is doing that thing where nothing creative or even remotely interesting is being produced. I think I need some drama or something to share.
Although, no drama is always good too.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Spring Veggie + Lemon Moroccan Chicken Skewers with Minted Goat Cheese Yogurt.
By halfbakedharvest
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Keyword: chicken
Everything about this meal is super simple, but simple is sometimes just soo good.
Ingredients
Moroccan Chicken
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken cut into bite size cubes
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger peeled + roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoon dried chile de arbol seeds removed (or 1/2 -1 cayenne pepper)
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 tablespoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 small to medium lemons grated + juiced
- 1 ounce jar marinated artichoke quarters 6
- 1 bunch asparagus cut into fourths
Lemon Herb vinaigrette
Minted Goat Cheese Yogurt
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt I use 0%
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2-3 ounces goat cheese crumbled
Instructions
-
Place the chicken in a gallon size ziplock bag or medium size bowl.
-
To the bowl of a food processor add the garlic, ginger, dried chile de arbol (or cayenne), cilantro, parsley, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Process 1-2 minutes or until everything is finely chopped. Stream in 1/2 cup olive oil. Stir in the lemon zest + juice. Pour the marinade over the chicken and toss well. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hour or overnight.
-
Meanwhile make the vinaigrette. Add the lemon zest and juice to a small sauce pot. Bring mixture to a simmer and simmer, about 1 minute or until the zest absorbs the juice. WATCH CLOSELY, you do not want the zest to get burnt to the pan. Spoon the zest out of the pot and into a small bowl. Add the olive oil, parsley, salt, honey and lime juice. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
-
To make the minted goat cheese yogurt mix together the greek yogurt, chopped mint, crushed red pepper flakes, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir in the crumbled goat cheese. Place in the fridge until ready to use.
-
Preheat the grill or a grill pan to medium-high heat and lightly oil the grates. Thread the chicken, asparagus and artichokes onto metal skewers (or wood skewers that have been soaked in water). I alternated with asparagus+ artichokes and then chicken, repeat. Place the chicken on the grill until the chicken is golden and no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes each side. You may also cook the chicken in a skillet if needed. Serve the chicken with the the lemon herb vinaigrette and the minted goat cheese yogurt.
Recipe Notes
Lemon Herb Moroccan Chicken adapted from Rachel Ray Magazine (April 2014).
As is grilling on a warm spring night… that is IF it happens to be warm, and not snowing where you are.
I think I’m in a little bit of a state of shock about your lemon comments. How?! Why?! I’m lost for words. For me, lemon is basically the 3rd condiment!
Haha! Don’t worry, I am all with you know!! Lemon rules! Thanks Rachel!
Tieghan, this is my kind of meal. This looks so yummy. My Middle Eastern roots thank you.
Thanks Norma!!
Hi, my name is Taylor and I am a Moroccan Chicken Skewer with Minted Goat Cheese Yogurt addict. I am alllll over these flavours…and these gorgeous photos! I hate taking pics of chicken and you are rockin’ it! Pinned
Thank you so much, Taylor!! Chicken is hard, agreed!
This is going on my immediate list of things to make. Chicken skewers are awesome – I’m always looking for new combos. Have you tried Meyer lemons? Omg…so good!
Never tried Meyer lemons, but I will soon!! Thanks Bri!
Woke up this morning to a fresh layer of snow…could use a lemony dish to brighten things up…It’s 25 degrees out so not sure when I’ll be grilling but as soon as it warms up I’m giving this recipe a try….and your right building and zoning codes do suck!!!
Thanks so much! Let’s hope for warmer days soon!
These skewers look so good!! Love the addition of the grilled lemons–one of my favorite restaurants does fried lemon slices, and they are amazing. That is next on my list of things to make.
Good luck with the barn (and all the building codes, I can imagine they are a pain)!
Fried lemon slices?!?! Amazing!
This makes me so excited for grilling outside and eating light!
Grilling season! YA! Thanks Ali!
Tieghan, I am so glad you got on the lemon train because these skewers are perfection! I hardly ever cook lamb at home but this needs to be made and celebrated 🙂 Good luck with your creative building code solutions!
Thanks Amy!
I was just trying to figure out what I’m going to grill first this year, and I think you just answered that question for me. 😉 These chicken skewers look just amazing! You combined pretty much all my favorite things and I am salivating all over my keyboard as of right now. Gorgeous photos. — I love that photo of the grilled lemon! Gotta try that this summer!
Thank you so much!! Simple flavors like these are my favorite!
these look perfect..everything here works so well and flavors – yum yum yum. i have never grilled lemons either but now i will soon.
Thanks Dixya! Hope you had a great Wednesday!
I love that we both channeled spring veggies today! #forkcheers
Yes, yes me too!! Thanks Lauren!
Lemons and mint are the best. Living in San Diego, mint grows like a weed and right now the lemons are bursting off of the trees. Perfect kabob recipe for me! Pinned.
I am so jealous of were you live. Lets trade?? Ha! 🙂
Thanks Liz!
I love your grilling ideas! It is consistently about 100° F in the summers where I live, so I grill almost daily because the thought of heating the house anymore by turning on the oven or stove is miserable! I’ve grilled lemons on skewers before, but never artichoke hearts. Great idea! I’ll definitely be giving this recipe a try once the hot weather rolls around! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks so much, Kristin!! Hope the warm weather comes soon!!
YUM! Artichokes, asparagus, lemon, and Moroccan spices–all the best spring things with a little kick. I can’t wait to try this!
Thanks so much, Becky!!
I love these skewers of deliciousness! Of course it’s snowing outside today (curses, winter) but regardless, we are making it a point to grill this weekend. I might have to (read: definitely have to) add these to the menu!
Yes, curse this way too long winter!! 🙂
Thanks Stephanie!
Wow, that looks like one mighty scrumptious meal!! The skewers look so flavor-packed, and that couscous looks awesome too 🙂
Thanks so much! 🙂 Hope you had a great Wednesday!
Saving this recipe! LOVE it!
Thanks Sophia!
We constantly have lemons in our house. I put them down the drain to make it smell good, put lemon in my water and to cook with. Welcome to the lemon world my friend.
I put them down the disposal everyday when I am done with them. Lime too! It’s the best!
Thanks Meagan!
Since we’re confessing…up until about a year ago I didn’t like lemon with savory dishes! Now I squeeze it over 85% of the fresh veggies I make. Go figure!
Also, loving this and all of the moroccan dishes you’ve been featuring!
Haha! Thanks so much, Katie!!
A perfect meal to get everyone in the spring time feel.
Thanks Naomi!
These skewers look to-die-for – love the flavors!
Thanks so much, Laura! Hope you had a great Wednesday!
THOSE LOOK INSANE! I have to make those
Thank you so much, Jackie! 🙂
This looks amazing! I love the artichokes! I want these in front of me now! Pinning!
Thanks Sommer! Have a great Easter!
Here’s some awesome info on lemons that can save lives. I live in the gorgeous Island of Puerto Rico where lemons are in abundance, we have a variety that are as large as oranges but with small craters and undulations in the skin!!
I will definitely try this marvelous recipe. Thank you Tieghan.
Amazing frozen lemons…..
All it is…..is a frozen lemon
Many professionals in restaurants and eateries are using or consuming the entire lemon and nothing is wasted.
How can you use the whole lemon without waste?
Simple.. Place the washed lemon in the freezer section of your refrigerator. Once the lemon is frozen, get your grater, and shred the whole lemon (no need to peel it) and sprinkle it on top of your foods.
Sprinkle it to your vegetable salad, ice cream, soup, cereals (hot or cold), noodles, spaghetti sauce, rice, sushi, fish dishes, Smoothies….. The list is endless.
All of the foods will unexpectedly have a wonderful taste, something that you may have never tasted before.
Most likely, you only think of lemon juice and vitamin C. Not anymore.
Now that you’ve learned this lemon secret, you can use lemon even in instant cup noodles.
What’s the major advantage of using the whole lemon other than preventing waste and adding new taste to your dishes?
Well, you see lemon peels contain as much as 5 to 10 times more vitamins than the lemon juice itself.
And yes, that’s what you’ve been wasting.
But from now on, by following this simple procedure of freezing the whole lemon, then grating it on top
Of your dishes, you can consume all of those nutrients and get even healthier.
It’s also good that lemon peels are health rejuvenators in eradicating toxic elements in the body.
So place your washed lemon in your freezer, and then grate it on your meal every day. It is a key to make your foods tastier and you get to live healthier and longer! That’s the lemon secret! Better late than never, right? The surprising benefits of lemon!
Lemon (Citrus) is a miraculous product to kill cancer cells. It is 10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy.
Why do we not know about that? Because there are laboratories interested in making a synthetic version that will bring them huge profits.
You can now help a friend in need by letting him/her know that lemon juice is beneficial in preventing the disease. Its taste is pleasant and it does not produce the horrific effects of chemotherapy.
How many people will die while this closely guarded secret is kept, so as not to jeopardize the beneficial multimillionaires large corporations
As you know, the lemon tree is known for its varieties of lemons and limes.
You can eat the fruit in different ways: you can eat the pulp, juice press, prepare drinks, sorbets, pastries, etc… It is credited with many virtues, but the most interesting is the effect it produces on cysts and tumors.
This plant is a proven remedy against cancers of all types. Some say it is very useful in all variants of cancer. It is considered also as an anti-microbial spectrum against bacterial infections and fungi, effective against internal parasites and worms, it regulates blood pressure which is too high and an antidepressant, combats stress and nervous disorders.
The source of this information is fascinating: it comes from one of the largest drug manufacturers in the world, says that after more than 20 laboratory tests since 1970, the extracts revealed that It destroys the malignant cells in 12 cancers, including colon, breast, prostate, lung and pancreas…
The compounds of this tree showed 10,000 times better than the product Adriamycin, a drug normally used chemotherapeutic in the world, slowing the growth of cancer cells.
And what is even more astonishing: this type of therapy with lemon extract only destroys malignant cancer cells and it does not affect healthy cells.
So, give those lemons a good wash, freeze them and grate them. Your whole body will love you for it!!!!!
WOW!! Thank you so much for all this amazing info!!
Building codes keep you safe, make sure your neighbors don’t do things that are dangerous to your health or sanity, and protect the environment. Building codes are what makes living in large groups tolerable. They are great! Aside from that, this recipe looks fantastic.
Also you should add how much lemon zest you need. Had to go to the Rachel Ray recipe.
This dish is bursting with all the right flavors! I made this for dinner last night and complimented it with steamed kale quinoa. I tossed the quinoa with the lemon herb vinaigrette and some crumbled goat cheese. Compliments all around! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much!
Looks scrumptious. Is the side dish made with couscous or bulgar wheat?
Thank you! The side is couscous!
the intensity of the spices and the cool of the yogurt oh man in heaven 🙂
Thanks Dan!
I would love to know how much lemon juice and zest you are using in Step 3. They are not listed in the ingredient list, so I’m kind of just winging it. :/
Oops! So sorry, it is 1 lemon, juiced + zested. Hope you love these!!
I marinated these two days ago and grilled them up with yogurt and nan last night. Amazzzzing! Thanks for sharing
So happy you loved this. THANKS!
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Thanks so much for this recipe! I made it for Easter lunch and it was a hit. So delicious! The spices on the chicken were perfect and the yogurt sauce was a great complement. Just one question – under the chicken part of the recipe you mentioned ” 2 small to medium lemons, grated and juiced” but it wasn’t mentioned in the recipe so I didn’t add it to the marinade. Was I supposed to? It was EXCELLENT without it. Thank you again!
Hey Anne!! So excited you love this!! Sorry about the lemon not being in the recipe, you are supposed to add, but no biggie! I will head an fix the recipe. Thanks again!
Oops! Thanks! I’ll have to try it again with the lemon juice. It was so delicious without it, I can’t imagine how good it’s going to be with it!
Hi there! I made dinner for my family the other day, and when I finally served these up (without asparagus or artichoke because those are not in season here and perhaps not quite to the tastes of our family), I got some amazing comments! I have to pass these on to you because it’s the most incredible recipe! I got “heaven on a plate” and wishes for many, many repeats of the recipe… So thank you! I’m only 15 and it was so cool to have a great recipe to work from! This is the second recipe I’ve tried from this blog and both have been amazing, thank you so much 😀
Hey Emily!!! I am beyond excited you loved this!! TAHNK YOU!! Also, 15!?! That makes me so excited! GO YOU!
I like looking through a post that will make people think.
Also, thank you for allowing for me to comment!
Was just starting to get ready to cook the chicken but couldn’t figure out what to do with the “two lemons juice & zest.” Read through the comments and found out they were supposed to get added to the marinade . . . oops. you really should make that change! I’ll add the lemon now; have a couple of hours until dinner so it should be OK. It’s confusing because the lemons are listed AFTER the asparagus and the asparagus does not go in the marinade . . .
Hi Eve,
I am really sorry to confuse you. I just fixed the recipe. Thanks for letting me know of the problem. Hope you enjoy the chicken!!
Wanted to report back on the end result – delicious! We all really enjoyed it. thanks for such a great recipe. Wanted to point out that there also might be a mistake in the amount of salt listed for the vinaigrette – recipe says 1 tablespoon, which seemed like an awful lot. I used about 1/2 teaspoon & that seemed like plenty. Thanks again!
Love this recipe! It was a hit at a BBQ I hosted yesterday. Just ate the leftovers, cold, on a green salad for dinner tonight. Quick question. In your ingredient list you include cinnamon however it’s not included in the recipe instructions. I didn’t add it because I wasn’t sure. Can you clarify? Thanks!
Hi Debra, so sorry! That is a typo. No cinnamon in this. SO excited you loved this, THANKS!! 🙂
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Hi Teighan. I have made this recipe many times and have gotten rave reviews. We just love it! The only thing I can’t seem to figure out is the vinaigrette. Mine doesn’t have much flavor, just tastes like olive oil. Is one tablespoon of salt the right amount? I only put in a fraction of that since it seems like too much. Could that be my problem? Thanks so much!
So happy you love this recipe! It’s actually 1 teaspoon salt and yes, that might be the issue. The salt helps to bring out the other flavors. Hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions. Hope you love this recipe! 🙂
This was amazing. I cooked it last night and it was so easy and soooo delicious!!
Thank you so much Victoria! xTieghan
Cinnamon or no cinnamon?
Hey Anne Marie,
You want to use 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Any suggestions for substitutions if I don’t have chile de arbol seeds or a cayenne pepper?
Hey Brittany,
Another spice that you enjoy will work here just to give the dish a little heat. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan