An Intro and Recipe from Sabra Executive Chef MaryDawn Wright

April showers have given way to the sunny days of BBQ season. Having just moved from upstate NY to Richmond, VA, I am enjoying the warmer weather the more southern climate brings (I may change my mind in August).

I moved to Richmond last September to work with Sabra as Executive Research Chef. In this position I work to develop new flavors and products for Sabra, combining my training in food science and the culinary arts. I also design recipes using Sabra products and teach people about our many products and their varied uses. I cook a lot! I’d love to give you an example of a typical workday at Sabra, but I don’t really have one! Each day is different. One day, I might be working in the plant with our production staff helping produce a new flavor, the next I may be in our test kitchen cooking and developing recipes for restaurants or for people at home, like you. Another day, I could review new ingredients or traveling and presenting our products at a food show.

Sabra has nearly 20 flavors of hummus and an expanding product portfolio that also includes Greek yogurt-style dips, cold Mediterranean-style salads, salsa, and guacamole. On a purely selfish level, this is great for me, because my favorite cuisines are Mediterranean and Mexican.

Many of our products help simplify the day to day busy-ness in the kitchen, as they are not only great tasting dips, but are healthy ingredients to help make dinner time simpler. As a mother of two boys (10 and 12) I can tell you that, even as a chef, I need all the help I can get trying to put dinner on the table, get homework done and go to sporting events.

To that end, did you know that Sabra hummus makes a great basting sauce for vegetables, chicken and meats? Brush it on a chicken, meat or vegetable kebab or a chicken breast as you are grilling it. It creates a golden brown crust as it cooks. Or brush it on just before you are done grilling so the hummus warms up and accents the flavor of the meat as a warm sauce.

Our Greek yogurt dips can be used as an excellent marinade for chicken. Here is a quick recipe:

Marinated Chicken Kebabs
Makes 4 Kebabs

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into chunks (about 1 inch in size)
1 container Sabra® Roasted Garlic or Onion Greek Style Veggie Dip, divided
1/8th teaspoon turmeric
1 red bell pepper, chopped into chunks (about 1 inch in size)
1 small yellow onion, chopped into chunks (about 1 inch in size)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. STIR chicken, ½ container Sabra® Roasted Garlic or Onion Greek Style Veggie Dip and turmeric together in a small mixing bowl. Refrigerate for at least ½ hour allowing the veggie dip to tenderize and flavor the chicken.
2. PREHEAT broiler or grill.
3. ASSEMBLE kebabs, alternating pepper, onion and chicken on the skewers.
4. GRILL on charcoal grill outside or under the broiler indoors. Cook 10-15 minutes or until juice runs clear from the chicken.
5. BRUSH remaining yogurt dip over hot kebabs.
6. SERVE warm with a salad (try our cucumber avocado salad recipe), hummus, rice and warm pita bread for a Mediterranean style dinner.

I look forward to further conversations and sharing more recipes with you. Please let me know how you use our products and if you have any culinary questions.

Passion for food, passion for life,
MaryDawn