I was one of those kids who was obsessed with keeping her food groups separate on the plate. The veggies couldn’t touch the meat, the meat couldn’t touch the fish, and–being Asian–the fish couldn’t touch the rice. And never did I ever think food could be sweet and salty.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, which follows the chimerical journey of a little boy and his insect friends with a larger-than-life peach as a vessel. For the kid who never thought sugar should be mixed with salt, let these prosciutto-wrapped peach and chicken kebabs be a tribute to the cult novel’s fantastical narrative. Every child loves a kebab (hey, adults do too!), and the baking method is relatively painless. Bonus: for all the Roald Dahl fans out there, the skewered peaches are appropriately reminiscent of the giant fruit’s fate at the end of the story.
Prosciutto-Wrapped Peach and Chicken Kebabs
INGREDIENTS
- 3 medium-sized peaches
- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 1/2 lb prosciutto
- 16 skewers (approx)
- olive oil
- pepper to taste (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1.Soak skewers in water while you prep the peach and chicken, to prevent burning. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2.On a large cutting board, slice each peach into eight wedges and halve each wedge (crosswise). Gather peach chunks on one side of the cutting board.
3.On the other side of the cutting board, lay out a piece of prosciutto. Slice or tear prosciutto, once lengthwise and once crosswise, into quarters. Wrap each strip of prosciutto around a chunk of peach. Repeat until all peaches are wrapped.
4.Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. Toss in 2 tbsp oil, with pepper to taste. (Prosciutto adds enough salt to the kebabs for me, so I don’t salt the chicken but add some pepper to dress up the otherwise plain meat.)
5.Skewer 3 pieces of chicken and 3 chunks of prosciutto-wrapped peach alternately on each kebab.
6.Brush 1-2 tbsp olive oil on peach chunks. Hint: If you don’t have a brush, dip two fingers into the oil and dab.
7.Place kebabs in foil-lined pan. Bake for 7-8 minutes, flip, then bake for another 7-8 minutes.
