Shish Taouk with Toum

Syrian food, especially from Aleppo and Damascus, has a reputation as some of the best in the Middle East, and shish taouk is the dish every Syrian restaurant abroad is judged by. I want to learn two things: a yogurt marinade that keeps chicken moist under high heat, and toum, a small kitchen miracle of garlic and oil emulsified without egg. It is weeknight-feasible if I marinate the chicken in the morning; the cooking is 15 minutes under the broiler, and the salad and sauce come together while the oven heats. The pepper is gentle, and I'll let my son build his own pita with as little or as much toum as he likes.

• Boneless chicken thighs: They stay juicy where breast dries out under a broiler. Cut into even 1 1/2-inch pieces so they cook at the same rate.
• Aleppo pepper: Mild, fruity and a little tangy; it gives the marinade color and gentle warmth. Whole Foods, Middle Eastern groceries and spice shops carry it. Substitute 1 teaspoon sweet paprika plus a pinch of cayenne.
• Garlic, lots of it: Toum takes a whole head. Use fresh, firm cloves and remove any green sprout, which turns the sauce bitter.
• Neutral oil for toum: Canola or light vegetable oil, poured in a thin stream. Olive oil alone makes toum bitter and heavy.
• Pocket pita: Warm and soft is the point; wrap in foil and heat in the oven for the last 5 minutes.

1. Cut the chicken into 1 1/2-inch pieces. In a bowl, mix the yogurt, juice of 1 lemon, 4 minced garlic cloves, tomato paste, Aleppo pepper, cumin, allspice, 1 teaspoon salt, black pepper and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the chicken, toss well, cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour, ideally all day.
2. Make the toum: peel the whole head of garlic (about 12 cloves) and put it in a food processor with 1 teaspoon salt. Process until finely minced, scraping down the sides. With the machine running, add the oil in the thinnest stream you can manage, alternating every 1/4 cup with a teaspoon of lemon juice (about 3 tablespoons total). After 5–6 minutes it should be thick, white and fluffy. If it breaks and turns oily, add an egg white or 2 tablespoons of the yogurt and process again. Refrigerate; it keeps for a month.
3. Dice the tomatoes and cucumbers, thinly slice the red onion, and chop the parsley and mint. Toss with the juice of half a lemon, 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt just before serving.
4. If using wooden skewers, soak them 20 minutes. Thread the chicken snugly, 5–6 pieces per skewer.

1. Set the oven rack 4–5 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler on high for 10 minutes. Line a sheet pan with foil and oil it lightly; a wire rack on top helps the chicken char rather than steam.
2. Lay the skewers on the pan with a little space between them. Broil 6–7 minutes until the tops are browned and spotted dark at the edges.
3. Turn the skewers, brush with any leftover marinade, and broil 5–6 minutes more, until charred in places and the thickest piece reads 165°F.
4. Wrap the pitas in foil and warm them on the lower rack during the last 5 minutes, or heat them one at a time in a dry skillet.
5. Rest the skewers 3 minutes. Cut the remaining lemon into wedges. On a grill, cook over medium-high direct heat about 12 minutes, turning every 3–4.

Pile the skewers on a platter with the warm pita, the bowl of toum, the salad, pickles and lemon wedges, and let everyone build their own: pita spread with toum, chicken slid off the skewer, a spoonful of salad, rolled up. Toum is strong, so I'll start my son with a thin smear and let him ask for more. Leftover chicken keeps three days and is excellent cold in a wrap for lunch; the toum keeps for weeks and improves nearly everything it touches.