Guess what? There’s a new brood of ducklings in the neighborhood! It’s been a few months since I’ve had a set of hatchlings to spy on, so I am very excited. Unfortunately, I counted seven baby ducks initially and only six later that day. 🙁 You can be sure that I’ll be visiting them regularly until they fly away.
In other news, I prepared this plate of deliciousness over the weekend. It features grilled shrimp kebabs with Turkish bulgur pilaf and a side of Southern Bite’s old school squash and onions. Each item is easy to assemble and packs a flavor punch. Serve them together or separately. The choice is yours.
Grilled shrimp kebabs with Turkish bulgur pilaf is fitting for casual or formal dining. You can even pack up the meal to eat at room temperature on the go.
Recipes adapted from Feel Good Foodie and MediterrAsian.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon dried chili flakes
- 1 cup bulgur
- 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 14.5 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more, to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more, to taste
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 wooden skewers
- In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add tomato paste, cumin, cinnamon and chili flakes and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Add bulgur and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Then add chickpeas, tomatoes with juice, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the bulgur is tender, 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.
- Stir in mint and parsley. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the shrimp in a resealable plastic bag.
- In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, garlic powder, sweet paprika, salt and pepper.
- Add the sauce to the bag with the shrimp, seal and transfer to the refrigerator. Let marinate for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours, flipping the bag twice.
- When you're ready to cook the kebabs, remove the shrimp from the sauce and thread onto 4 skewers.
- Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Place skewers in the pan and cook, flipping once, until grill marks are visible and shrimp is opaque in the center, 4-6 minutes.
- Remove kebabs from pan and serve with Turkish bulgur pilaf.
