Shish Taouk

Ingredients

• 800g boneless chicken thighs
• 150g plain yoghurt
• 60ml lemon juice
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp paprika
• 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1.5 tsp fine salt
• 0.5 tsp black pepper
• 150g garlic toum
• 4 flatbreads
• Pickled turnips and sliced onion with sumac, to serve

Before you cook

• Trim the chicken thighs of loose fat and cut them into four centimetre chunks.
• Crush the garlic cloves to a paste with a pinch of salt.
• Soak eight wooden skewers in water for thirty minutes, or find your metal ones.
• Whisk the yoghurt, lemon juice, olive oil, tomato paste, garlic paste, oregano, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper together in a large bowl.

Steps

1. Add the chicken to the marinade and turn every piece until thoroughly coated.
2. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the chicken for at least four hours, or overnight for the best result.
3. Take the chicken out of the fridge thirty minutes before cooking so it loses its chill.
4. Thread the chicken onto skewers, pushing the pieces together snugly but not crushing them.
5. Heat a barbecue until the coals are covered in grey ash, or heat a griddle pan over high heat.
6. Lay the skewers on the grill and cook them for four to five minutes without moving them.
7. Turn the skewers and cook the second side for another four minutes, until the edges are charred and the juices run clear.
8. Check the largest piece by cutting into it; there should be no pink at the centre.
9. Rest the skewers on a warm platter for five minutes.
10. Warm the flatbreads briefly on the grill.
11. Serve the skewers with toum, pickled turnips and sumac onions, with the bread for wrapping.