Recipe: chicken kebab from Sergio Herman’s new book

In his new cookbook Colorful Cooking, Sergio Herman shares his love of cooking, his family and travel. With recipes full of bold flavors and colors, he inspires you to step into the kitchen with simple ingredients and a touch of courage. No rules, just pure cooking pleasure, as this chicken kebab dish also proves.

Sergio: “Lettuce is so delicious, especially from the vegetable garden; it’s my favorite. Filled with chicken kebab and Vietnamese dressing, everything is perfectly balanced. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a platter and use them as wraps for the kebab, topped with the vinaigrette. West Asia meets Southeast Asia in our very own Dutch lettuce!“

Filo pastry

• Preheat the oven to 190 °C. Using a pastry brush, evenly coat a double sheet of filo pastry with olive oil. Sprinkle with a thin layer of chili powder and a little fleur de sel.
• Place the filo pastry on a baking tray lined with baking paper and cover with another sheet of baking paper. Place a second baking tray on top so that the pastry bakes under pressure. Place in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the filo pastry is golden brown and crisp.
• Remove from the oven, leave to cool with the baking tray still on top, then keep on kitchen paper until ready to use.

Vietnamese vinaigrette

In a bowl, combine the lime juice, sushi vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce and cane sugar, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the red onion, cucumber, chili pepper, coriander and mint to the dressing. Mix everything well and leave to marinate for at least 5 minutes so that all the flavors combine.

Chicken kebab

• In a bowl, combine the chicken kebab with the za’atar, garlic and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Leave the mixture to marinate at room temperature for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
• Heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan or grill pan over medium heat. Add the marinated chicken kebab and fry until crisp and cooked through. Sprinkle with the lemon zest and season with salt and pepper.

Plating

Divide the lettuce leaves among the plates and spoon the chicken kebab over them. Drizzle each serving with 2 tablespoons of Vietnamese vinaigrette. Arrange the pieces of filo pastry around the lettuce. Spoon 1 tablespoon of Greek yogurt onto each serving and sprinkle with a pinch of chili powder and 5 small mint leaves. Finish with the zest of ¼ lemon and fleur de sel.