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
- 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
- Cut the feta into 8 pieces
- Place the breadcrumbs in a small bowl. Brush each piece with olive oil and coat with the breadcrumbs
- Place in refrigerator until ready to grill
Skewer & Grill
- Place the chicken on 2 large skewers
- Place the tomatoes, onions, and peppers (skin side out), and olives on large separate skewers. Each vegetable should have its own separate skewer
- Brush the vegetables with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add salt and pepper
- Heat a charcoal or gas grill to 400º
- 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
- Grill the peppers for a total of about 11 minutes, or until soft and charred
- Grill the onions for a total of about 11 minutes until tender and charred
- 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
- 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
- Warm pita breads on the grill for about 3 minutes or until warm and beginning to puff up
Plate & Serve
- To serve, place the skewers on a large platter and let everyone help themselves
- 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