Harissa Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Garbanzo Bean Tabbouleh

LESLIE: One pleasure in writing the Spice Shop Mysteries is discovering new-to-me spices and blends. Harissa is a North African blend that Amanda Bevill, owner of World Spice Merchants in Seattle and co-author of World Spice at Home, compares to American chili powder, but with more complexity and depth of flavor. Her blend combines caraway, coriander, and cumin seeds, which are toasted and mixed with guajillo chile flakes, garlic, smoked paprika, Hungarian (or sweet) paprika, pequin chiles, and ground cinnamon. Much easier to buy a small jar!

We find harissa to brim with flavor, not heat. The smoky touch from the paprika gives it a dark, earthy flavor, accented by the chiles and cinnamon. To my mouth, it’s more reminiscent of mole than of chili powder, with an almost chocolate-y depth. In this recipe, the honey adds a lovely sweetness that complements the other flavors without overwhelming them.

Harissa is also available as a paste; if you use a paste in this recipe, substitute it for the powder but start with a smaller amount of olive oil and thin to a workable texture.

This is also not your usual mint and tomato accented tabbouleh. The bulgur and garbanzo beans or chickpeas are a great combination. We used red bulgur because we had it, but any variety will do. It takes about twenty minutes to cook, so start it and let it cook while you make the sauce and grill the chicken.

Harissa is also great to spice up nuts. Combine 2 tablespoons of harissa powder and a tablespoon of kosher salt. Stir into a pound of raw almonds and cashews. Spread on a baking sheet and roast at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, stirring once to cook the nuts evenly. Place the baking sheet on a rack; the nuts will continue to brown slightly as they cool.

Harissa Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Garbanzo Bean Tabbouleh 

1 cup (dry) bulgur wheat, cooked
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) harissa powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1-1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1-15 ounce can garbanzo beans or chickpeas, drained and rinsed.
½ to 3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Heat your grill.

Cook the bulgur wheat following package directions.

While the bulgur is cooking, mix the harissa powder with the olive oil and honey in a small bowl to make a paste.

Cut the chicken into long strips and thread on skewers. Brush with half the harissa paste. Grill 6-10 minutes, turning once, until cooked through.

Mix the bulgur with the garbanzo beans. Stir in the parsley, lemon juice, and salt.

Place the tabbouleh in a shallow serving bowl. Remove the chicken from the skewers and place the strips on the tabbouleh. Drizzle with reserved harissa.

Serves four.

From the cover of KILLING THYME (October 2016, in paperback, e-book, and audio---large print coming soon!): 

At Seattle Spice in the Pike Place Market, owner Pepper Reece is savoring her business success, but soon finds her plans disrupted by a killer…

Pepper Reece’s to-do list is longer than the shopping list for a five-course dinner, as she conjures up spice blends bursting with seasonal flavor, soothes nervous brides fretting over the gift registry, and crosses her fingers for a rave review from a sharp-tongued food critic. Add to the mix a welcome visit from her mother, Lena, and she’s got the perfect recipe for a busy summer garnished with a dash of fun. 

While browsing in the artists’ stalls, Pepper and Lena drool over stunning pottery made by a Market newcomer. But when Lena recognizes the potter, Bonnie Clay, as an old friend who disappeared years ago, the afternoon turns sour. To Pepper’s surprise, Bonnie seems intimately connected to her family’s past. after Bonnie is murdered only days later, Pepper is determined to uncover the truth. 

But as Pepper roots out long-buried secrets, will she be digging her own grave?

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries—and the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction. The 2015-16 president of Sisters in Crime, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat Ruff, a cover model and avid bird-watcher.

Swing by my website  and join the mailing list for my seasonal newsletter. And join me on Facebook, where I often share news of new books and giveaways from my cozy writer friends.

Classic Tabbouleh -- summer's bounty

by Leslie Budewitz

I used to be a good gardener. Then I signed two three-book mystery contracts, the garden flooded two years in a row, and my strawberry bed began to resemble a central Montana hayfield after fifty-mile winds and hail the size of golf balls.

Sigh. 

But this year, I built a new bed and bought two itty bitty cucumber plants. Stuck three tomato starts in pots on the back porch. Bought parsley and thyme, and started basil in egg cartons.

And of course, neglect aside, there is mint. Three varieties. If you’ve ever grown mint, you’re wondering whatever possessed me. In my defense, only one is a planned plant—a lovely, bright green mint called Mojito. (And why, yes, it does make a fine cocktail.) The two unnamed varieties were gifts. (Gardeners are generous with starts. Some have a wicked glint in their eye. In climates like mine, in NW Montana, where herbs won’t survive the winter outside in pots, mint is best planted in large plastic buckets with the bottoms cut out and sunk into the herb bed.)

So, tomatoes, mint, and cukes gave me a craving for tabbouleh. This is basically Ina Garten’s recipe, with a few minor variations. She does a fabulous job with the classics, and this is an easy, yummy example. It’s terrific served on its own or on a bed of sturdy greens, and is a great side dish for kabobs, chicken, or salmon.

Classic Tabbouleh 

1 cup bulghur wheat (we used red bulghur because we had it; red or white will do)
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), scant
1/4 cup olive oil
3 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup green onions, white and green parts (1 bunch), chopped
1 cup fresh mint leaves (1 bunch, in the grocery store), chopped
1 cup Italian (flat leaf) parsley (1 bunch, in the grocery store), chopped
1 English cucumber or two green slicing cucumbers, unpeeled, diced
2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 Place the bulghur in a large bowl, pour in the boiling water, and add the lemon juice, olive oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Stir. Let sit at room temperature about 1 hour.

Add the onions, mint, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper; mix well. Season, to taste, and serve or cover and refrigerate. The flavor will improve if the tabbouleh sits for a few hours.

Serves eight. This recipe keeps nicely in the fridge for 2-3 days, although the salt will draw some liquid off the cucumbers. If it seems like too much to stir in, spoon out as much liquid as you can and stir the rest into the salad.

From the cover of BUTTER OFF DEAD, third in the Food Lovers' Village Mysteries: As the national bestselling Food Lovers’ Village mysteries continue, the merchants of Jewel Bay, Montana try to heat up chilly winter business with a new film festival. But their plans are sent reeling when a dangerous killer dims the lights on a local mover and shaker …

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries—and the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction. She lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat Ruff, a cover model and avid bird-watcher.

Connect with her on her website, on Facebook, or on Twitter.