Monday, February 28, 2011

Greek Feast! Chicken Souvlaki, Rice Pilaf & Greek Salad

I am not Greek. Not even a little bit (Irish, yes. British, yes. And there was something about Russian Gypsies but my Grandma was a little tipsy when she told us that story so who knows). But every now and then I get a craving for Greek food that's so over-powering I feel the need to watch My Big Fat Greek Wedding and drink Ouzo (maybe even roast a lamb on my front lawn, bah ha ha, classic!). Such a craving hit this week and being that I don't live in a city, my ability to get Greek Take-Out is less than slim.

A quick scouring of Google for recipes had me mixing and matching ingredients to recreate the flavours of some of my favourite Greek restaurants. I in no way claim this is an authentic Greek recipe, but the taste is spot on to any Greek food I've ever had and it was so easy!

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Chicken Souvlaki, Rice Pilaf & Greek Salad

This made 5 skewers and a huge pot of pilaf

Souvlaki:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
1/3 c lemon juice
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
wooden skewers soaked in water

Rice Pilaf:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 med carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme

1 1/2 c long grain white rice
3 c water or chicken stock
kosher salt to taste

Salad:
1 romaine heart, washed & chopped
1/2 English cucumber, sliced
1 c grape tomatoes
1/4 red onion, sliced thin
sliced black olives (as much as you like)
feta cheese, crumbled (as much as you like)
your favourite Greek salad dressing

1. Marinade: combine the
olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano and thyme. Place chopped chicken in a bowl or a Ziploc bag and pour marinade over. Marinate in the fridge for at least 3 hours (I did 6).
2. Skewer marinated chicken and grill for about 3 minutes on each side.
3. Rice: While chicken is marinating/cooking heat oil in a pot and add the onion, carrot, celery and zucchini and sautée for a few minutes. Add the oregano and thyme and salt.
4. Add the rice and stir to brown for 2 minutes. Add the water or stock and cover and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is light and fluffy (about 20 minutes).
5. Salad: Combine the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives, feta and dressing right before you're ready to eat so the lettuce doesn't get soggy.
6. Serve the souvlaki over the rice, either on the skewers or removed, with a side of salad.

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Optional: Tzatziki is a traditional condiment for this meal, I have never been a fan so I didn't make any, but there are hundreds of recipes out there!

enjoy!

13 comments:

  1. Very nice. When we (Greek family) make souvlaki, we only use oregano - no thyme and no red vinegar. Salt and pepper too.

    Simple Greek salad dressing? Beat olive oil and vinegar with some oregano and salt. Simple and delish!

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  2. To me the kabobs turned out great. The chicken looks well seasoned and ready to be devoured.

    We invite you to share this post and some of your favorite food posts on Food Frenzy.
    Please check out our community at http://blogstew.net/foodfrenzy

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  3. To me the kabobs turned out great. The chicken looks well seasoned and ready to be devoured.

    We invite you to share this post and some of your favorite food posts on Food Frenzy.
    Please check out our community at http://blogstew.net/foodfrenzy

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  4. Very nice. When we (Greek family) make souvlaki, we only use oregano - no thyme and no red vinegar. Salt and pepper too.

    Simple Greek salad dressing? Beat olive oil and vinegar with some oregano and salt. Simple and delish!

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  5. I'll have to try both those suggestions!

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  6. Sounds awesome! Going to try the rice tonight for dinner club. Have a amazing day!

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  7. The theme of our family dinner tonight was Greek. Like you, I am not even close to being a Greek but my family love to eat, cook, bake and explore different kinds of food from all over the world. It's a long weekend and we stayed in town, so what better way to treat my family than to cook them something fancy and enjoy a good meal. Fine dining at home!  I already had a tried and tested recipe for the Chicken Souvlaki.  I just needed a side dish.  I found three in fact from your site! I tried your recipes for Rice Pilaf, Greek Roasted Potatoes and Greek Salad and they were a hit with  my family. My children are my utmost discriminating critics when it comes to my cooking.  So, when they say the food is excellent, trust me, it must be good! I didn't add/minus any ingredients from the Rice Pilaf recipe. Just the measurements.  Same with the Roasted Potatoes. I just calculated what I needed and they turned out perfectly well.  T

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  8. Yum. I made the rice pilaf, but because I'm on a low/no carb diet, I substituted food-processed cauliflower florets for the rice. Delicious. Bravo!!

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  9. Thanks for posting these recipes! I tried the rice pilaf to pair with my own chicken souvlaki (used kraft greek feta salad dressing, I'm too scared to experiment) and worked so well.

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  10. This recipe was absolutely delicious! I ended up using rosemary instead of thyme, and added a few different veggies to the pilaf. For a review and additional tips, go to my blog: http://tstidbits.blogspot.ca/

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  11. Thanks got the link back on your post! Glad you enjoyed it and put your own spin on it :)

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  12. been using this pilaf recipe for years and my husband regularly requests it. delicious and easy! thank you

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  13. That's awesome! Thanks for letting me know that! :)

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