Grilled Greek Salad w/ Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients

Chicken & Marinade

  • 1½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2" pieces
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp grated lemon zest
  • 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped (or 2 tsp dried & crumbled)

Vegetables, Feta, Lettuce & Pita Bread

  • 24 cherry tomatoes
  • 3 large green, red or yellow peppers, or one of each, cored & cut into ½" strips
  • 2 medium red or yellow onions, peeled & cut into 6 wedges
  • 24 large green pimiento-stuffed olives
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 7 oz feta cheese, drained & chilled
  • 1 cup panko or regular breadcrumbs
  • 4 whole pita breads

Optional - Serving Suggestions

  • 4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 2 cups cooked hot couscous
  • plain Greek yogurt

Special Equipment

  • pastry brush
  • long grilling skewers

How-to

Marinate the Chicken

  1. Place the chicken in a non-reactive bowl and toss thoroughly with all the remaining marinade ingredients. Let marinate for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours

Prepare Feta Croutons

  1. Cut the feta into 8 pieces
  2. Place the breadcrumbs in a small bowl. Brush each piece with olive oil and coat with the breadcrumbs
  3. Place in refrigerator until ready to grill

Skewer & Grill

  1. Place the chicken on 2 large skewers
  2. Place the tomatoes, onions, and peppers (skin side out), and olives on large separate skewers. Each vegetable should have its own separate skewer
  3. Brush the vegetables with 2 tbsp of olive oil.  Add salt and pepper
  4. Heat a charcoal or gas grill to 400º
  5. Grill the chicken for about 15 minutes, turning the skewers several times during grilling. The chicken should be cooked through with no sign of pinkness
  6. Grill the peppers for a total of about 11 minutes, or until soft and charred
  7. Grill the onions for a total of about 11 minutes until tender and charred
  8. Grill the tomatoes for about 7 minutes, or until just tender and slightly charred. If the tomatoes start to burst, remove them from the heat
  9. Place the feta cheese cubes around the outside of the fire (or on a higher shelf with a gas grill) and cook about 4 minutes, flipping them once, or until just soft but still intact
  10. Warm pita breads on the grill for about 3 minutes or until warm and beginning to puff up

Plate & Serve

  1. To serve, place the skewers on a large platter and let everyone help themselves
  2. You can also place remove the food from the skewers and serve the hot grilled food on top of a bed of mixed greens or hot couscous. Serve with warm pita bread

Recipe from Stonewall Kitchen Grilling, by Kathy Gunst, Jonathan King, and Jim Stott