Persian Grilled Chicken Wings

It seemed so easy; post one blog each week on Wednesday. But last week I had a very bad cold and felt horrible. And with posting a new blog every week the problem is not just to have a topic. I like to have a recipe with it, a recipe that I tried and tested before off course. Plus self made pictures to accompany the recipe and make the story more visible.
But sometimes our plates are already empty before I realise a photo of it would have been nice!
And last week I did not feel like cooking at all; a real sign of being sick for a crazy Dutch foodie...

The weekend before I felt miserable we had a great BBQ with a few of our neighbours. It's a tradition that was started 4 years ago by my Iranian neighbours when they moved to our street. A typical gesture of Iranian hospitality we came to know!

It has been more than once that they brought us some delicious Iranian/Persian food. And our favourite is their grilled chicken with crispy skin and really fluffy rice (which I found out after I Googled it is known as Zereshk Polow) One time it happened that I was at their door around dinner time and my husband en myself were immediately invited at the dinner table. Our neighbours told us it's Iranian hospitality to always have an extra plate at the table for unexpected visitors! It's this kindness and hospitality that makes us want to travel Iran in the near future. I think it must be a wonderful Foodie Destination, with extremely friendly people, to explore.

It took me some time do discover the 'secret' of our neighbours delicious grilled chicken wings (or drumettes to be more precise). One of the reasons I guess was their way of speaking Dutch and me not speaking their Persian language known as 'Farsi' ;-)

First of all there is the special BBQ with skewers they use. (see pictures below) I guess in Iran it's common to buy that kind of BBQ but in the Netherlands he had it custom made.

Persian chicken drumettes on skewers

The second 'secret' of the crispy chicken skin is to grill it as far as possible from the charcoals.
Slow cooking on the BBQ. This way they will be done but not burnt.

Grilling chicken on skewers at my neighbours Persian BBQ

For a while I thought he used a marinade for the chicken pieces, until I found out that it was not really a marinade like I know it. But when I asked my neighbour last weekend again to explain me how he marinades the chicken this were his words; 'just some salt & pepper and a bit of saffron for the color'. And then, at the last minute just before I was about to leave, he said: 'but what's really important is the onion'.
The onion???
I had never seen any onion with the crispy chicken drumettes from their Persian BBQ before. It turned out that he 'marinated' the chicken drumettes overnight with some salt, pepper, saffron and finely chopped onions.

It found out that it's a commonly used method for Persian chicken kebabs (Jujeh Kebab) and off course there are many variations possible. Eugenia from the blog Culinaria Eugenius  advises to pulverize the onion instead of chopping it. While Sanam from My Persian Kitchen and  Laurie from Laurie Constantino both add some yoghurt to the (grated) onion and use chicken breast instead of chicken wings or chicken drumettes.

Chicken wings and drumettes marinating with onions overnight in the fridge

It was the first time I heard of this and off course I had to test it immediately as soon as I felt better this weekend.  Even though we don't own a Persian BBQ with skewers it worked out perfectly on our normal BBQ! 
I'm not sure what kind of chemical process  takes place with the onions and the chicken, but the chicken skin was as crispy as when our Iranian neighbour grills it!

Persian chicken grilling on our  'normal'  BBQ

The only thing I have not figured out yet is the amount of salt and pepper I have to use, because the taste was a bit to bland at our first attempt.
Update 10/09/2013: I made it again and wrote the exact amounts of salt and pepper I used in the recipe.

Here is my version of my neighbours Persian grilled chicken:
For the Dutch recipe you can click here.

Persian grilled chicken

For about 4 persons as part of a  BBQ or as a main dish with other side dishes

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo chicken wings or drumettes (our neighbour uses drumettes, we also like the wings so we mix)
• approximately 160 grams of finely chopped onion
• a pinch of saffron
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper & 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Grind the saffron with a mortar and pestle and mix with the chicken pieces and chopped onion in a plastic bag. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Refrigerate overnight! Or at least for a few hours before grilling them.

3. Heat the charcoals for the BBQ. Place the chicken pieces ( without the onions!) on the uppermost grill of the BBQ or on skewers and roast slowly until golden and crispy.

Enjoy! 

Finally graduated!!! Plus home made Cole Slaw recipe

It took me about 10 years to finish my Bachelor of Laws degree; but I finally graduated last Friday!

Me and my mother after my final examination

I'm so relieved not having the obligation to spent most of my free time studying anymore!
For months now I can't stop thinking about all the things I've been wanting to do but didn't have the time; cleaning up our house; spent more time with my husband; go running three times a week instead of two and off course more time for cooking and blogging.  But now it's finally that far it doesn't feel like a big relief; it actually feels a bit uncomfortable.

I'm sure it's just a matter of time before I find a new balance,  but all this free time even got me thinking;
'is this the moment in life where women decide they are ready for motherhood???'
Believe me;  for this happily childfree crazy Dutch foodie that's a really extreme thought!
But I decided that still was not something that suited me and went back to celebrating my graduation by throwing a BBQ party for my close relatives.

We started with little Peche Melba cupcakes; again by a recipe from the cupcakes book from Rudolph van Veen. Then a few cucumber/smoked salmon & melon/prosciutto appetizers.
I kept what went on the BBQ simple by buying different kind of sausages and marinated a bunch of chicken wings. There was also lots of  bread with homemade herb butter (based on a recipe from the Dutch foodblog Uit Pauline's Keuken, with an extra sprig of tarragon and a pinch of dried Provencal herbs), tzatziki and a roasted red pepper with feta dip from Epicurious.
But most of the preparation time was spent to three home made salads which were a huge success!
Even my 11 month year old niece ate a bit of everything :-).

Peche Melba cupcakes, herb butter & pasta salad

For the potato salad I used this recipe from Jamie Oliver. A pasta salad was made at random by mixing some short pasta with pesto, dried tomatoes, fresh cherry tomatoes, chopped black olives, little pieces of mozzarella, a bit of rocket salad and toasted pine nuts with a dressing of olive oil & balsamic vinegar and finished with some coarsely grated Parmesan cheese.

But I was most proud of the big bowl of  Cole Slaw salad. It was based on a American cole slaw recipe from my little brothers former father in law which is an enthusiast BBQ fan with a lovely website in Dutch full of BBQ recipes. It's funny that although we call it American cole slaw the dish has Dutch roots ('koolsla' in Dutch means 'cabbage salad'). It fits perfectly with everything that comes from the barbecue and I love it with grilled chicken because it reminds me of Belize where it is a popular combination together with black beans.

Here's my recipe of how I made it last Sunday, for the Dutch version click here:

Graduation Cole Slaw

Ingredients for 1 bowl (enough for at least 4-6 people as a side dish) 

• 500 grams of oxheart cabbage, finely sliced ( oxheart cabbage is used instead of white cabbage, which makes perfectly sense in summer time) 
• 125 grams carrots, grated
• 1/2 onion, medium, finely chopped
• 2 red chillies, seeds removed, finely chopped
• 50 grams raisins, soaked in water 

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup (= 100 grams) mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Make the dressing and set aside.

2. If necessary, chop the cabbage and grate the carrot.

3. Mix the onion and chili with the finely sliced ​​cabbage and grated carrot.

4. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix well.

You can easily make the salad a few hours in advance; keep it in the refrigerator and mix in the raisins just before you serve it.

I totally forgot to make pictures of all the food this day...

Fortunately my brother in law has a great camera and quickly made some pictures just after the buffet was opened; thanks Per!