Andrew asked for chicken souvlaki, so I gave it a go today. He scored it 9 out of 10! Whoohoo!!
I served the chicken and tzatziki sauce with non-pocket pitas, shredded romaine lettuce, chopped tomatoes, red onion and green pepper.
Souvlaki (I doubled
this recipe)
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (approx two lemons)
3 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
The recipe said to marinate for 30 minutes, but I saw other recipes that said to marinate for 24 hours, so I prepared it in the mid-morning to eat at the end of the day.
Thread chicken onto skewers and grill or broil until chicken is cooked through (~7-10 mins). We would have BBQ'd but we were out of propane so we used the Foreman Grill.
Tzatziki Sauce (from
this web site)
3 cups Greek Yogurt (or regular plain yogurt, strained as described below)
juice of one lemon (about 3 T)
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 medium cucumbers, seeded and diced
about 1 T kosher salt for salting cucumbers
1 T finely chopped fresh dill (can substitute mint leaves for a slightly different version)
I had to use the little bit of mint I'm attempting to cultivate that hasn't gotten fried by the sun in our back yard. Dill is not a common herb here in Mexico!Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
If you don't have Greek yogurt, strain plain yogurt as described below. Peel cucumbers, then cut in half lengthwise and take a small spoon and scrape out seeds. Discard seeds. (If you use the small seedless or European cucumbers with few seeds, you can skip this step.) Dice cucumbers, then put in a colander, sprinkle on 1 T salt, and let stand for 30 minutes to draw out water. Drain well and wipe dry with paper towel.
In food processor with steel blade, add cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill, and a few grinds of black pepper. Process until well blended, then stir this mixture into the yogurt. Taste before adding any extra salt, then salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend. (This resting time is very important.)
This will keep for a few days or more in the refrigerator, but you will need to drain off any water and stir each time you use it.
If you can't find Greek yogurt, you can make something similar by straining regular plain yogurt for several hours to remove the liquid and thicken the yogurt. Georgette recommends using two coffee filters inside a colander, which is placed inside a bowl to catch the liquid, or there are inexpensive mesh yogurt strainers you can buy. Let the yogurt drain on the counter for 2 hours, or until it reaches the thickness you want.
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