Chicken Souvlaki & Greek Lemon Rice
I like to clip the recipes out of the food magazines I subscribe to and put them into a neat, little pile. When it's time to come up with a RandomRecipe for the week's meal, I often pick through the pile looking for something that meets our needs for the week. (By this I mean it uses ingredients already in stock or on the list to buy and helps us meet the other menu requirements, like a soup or a beef recipe.)
One of the recipes I picked out a little while ago was for Chicken Souvlaki Skewers. It was really fast and easy, which made it an excellent candidate for having on one of my class-nights where I'd get home at some random time between 630p and 830p. (Planning meals around my tax class was interesting to say the least.) While I was at class, my husband decided to look for a Greek-style rice to accompany it, which he found in the The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook.
All I can say is, "Wow!" It was fantastic and oh-so-simple. This is definitely going into the repeat-meal category for when we need a quick and tasty meal.
I wish I'd taken a picture, but I was starving and it was good and well... it was gone. Maybe next time!
Chicken Souvlaki [printable recipe]
Serves 2
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced or chunked, as you like
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 sprigs of fresh thyme or about 1/2 tsp dried
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 zucchini, chunked (optional)
- bamboo skewers, soaked
Stir together lemon juice through olive oil in a bag or flat dish. Add chicken and coat well. (If using a bag, press all of the air out and seal tightly.) Refrigerate and let marinate for at least 30 minutes — but it will be better if you wait a few hours.
If you’re grilling outside, make sure the skewers have been soaked for 30 minutes so they don’t catch fire. If you’re using a grill pan or indoor grill (such as the Foreman grill), this step can be safely skipped. Skewer the chicken and zucchini, if using. Grill for 3 – 5 minutes until done.
Greek Lemon Rice [printable recipe]
Adapted from The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook
Serves 2
- 3/4 cup uncooked basmati or jasmine rice
- 1 cup chicken broth (2 cups stock if using brown rice)
- 1/2 cup water (2/3 cups water if using brown rice)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 tsp dried dill
- 1/2 tsp dried mint
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta (optional)
Combine rice, broth and water in a rice cooker and turn it to Cook. While it cooks, saute onion over medium heat in about a tablespoon of oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in nuts and, stirring constantly, cook until golden brown. In a small dish, stir together spices and lemon juice. When the rice cooker is done, add the onion/nut mixture and lemon juice mixture, stirring and fluffing the cooked rice to combine. Close the cover and keep the cooker on the Keep Warm setting for about 5 – 10 minutes.
Serve, topping with crumbled feta if desired.
Notes:
- The zucchini addition came from a recipe for souvlaki my husband looked up on MyRecipes.com. They'd alternated chicken with zucchini on the skewers after marinating both -- it sounded delicious but we didn't have any in the house.
- You can use any kind of rice, but if it's brown, you'll need to use the second set of liquid measurements provided and allow more time for it to cook.