It's All Greek to Me

Dylan’s mom is Greek, and she and her siblings cook fabulous food. I usually don’t even attempt anything in the same genre as Greek food because it is hard to compete with authentic cooking like that.  My friend Shannon shared this recipe with me, though, and it looked like a quick, week-night meal. It turned out to be just that, and it was really tasty too.  The recipe came from a blog called Sweet Pea’s Kitchen.  I served it with orzo pasta and a bottle of cabernet sauvignon (one of my favorite types of wine).

Seasoned Chicken with Greek Salsa

Ingredients

For the Salsa:

• 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• 1 cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano

Note: Rather than using the chopped oregano in the salsa, I tossed my chicken breasts with a spice mixture from Penzeys Spices. It is called Greek Seasoning, and it is a mixture of lemon, garlic, and oregano.  I think this made the recipe a hint more flavorful and that much more enjoyable.

For the Chicken:

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (7 ounces each)
• pepper to taste
• kosher salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 lemons, cut into wedges
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup Penzeys Greek seasoning

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. In a large bowl, combine feta, tomatoes, olives, parsley, lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil and oregano. Cover and chill in refrigerator.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large roasting pan over medium-high heat. Pour Greek seasoning, salt, and pepper into a freezer size Ziploc bag. Add chicken breasts and toss to coat. You may need to divide the spices and chicken into two batches for easier coating. Sear chicken, about 1-2 minutes each side; remove from heat.
4. Squeeze lemon wedges over chicken to coat. Place the squeezed lemon wedges around the chicken breasts. Roast until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160°, about 25-30 minutes. Transfer chicken and lemons to a large platter or to individual plates. Top with salsa and serve.

For the orzo pasta, I made the orzo according to package directions. After draining the pasta, and while it was still hot, I added a tablespoon of butter and sprinkled it with the juice from an extra lemon wedge.  This gave the whole concoction another layer of flavor.

{Image is my own}