Greek Chicken

Baked Greek Chicken in a pan.This is a no-bread version of Weight Watchers’ Greek Chicken Pitas for my gluten-free friends. It can also be lactose-free: omit the Tsatsiki.

 

  • 4 small red potatoes or 1 large Russet potato, cut in to thin slices (1/4-inch thick maximum) and about the length of your thumb
  • 1 bell pepper, cut in strips
  • 1 small onion, cut in half, then in strips
  • 1 pound chicken tenders (vegetarians, substitute tofu if you know how to prepare it, otherwise increase potato quantity)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced (1 for chicken, 1 for Tsatsiki)
  • 3 teaspoons olive oil (2 for chicken, 1 for Tsatsiki)
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest (grate the outside of the lemon down to the thin white membrane)
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • salt
  • 5 Tablespoons lemon juice (4 for chicken, 1 for Tsatsiki)
  • 3/4 cup plain yogurt for Tsatsiki
  • 1 English cucumber (seedless, thin skin), diced for Tsatsiki
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley or cilantro for Tsatsiki

Chicken and Vegetables: preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Ingredients for Greek Chicken.On cook top, sauté one of the two garlic cloves, plus onion, bell pepper and potatoes in a non-stick skillet or pan sprayed with Pam for 10 minutes.  Remove from skillet.

Browning the chicken in a skillet.Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the same pan. Sauté chicken on high heat to brown both sides then add the the lemon zest, oregano and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Don’t cook the chicken all the way through.

Add vegetables back to chicken in the skillet, along with 4 Tablespoons lemon juice.  Toss to combine.  Spray a casserole dish with Pam and spread the chicken and vegetable mixture evenly across the bottom of the pan.  Cover top of pan tightly with foil.  Bake 20 minutes* and test chicken by cutting through the thickest part of several pieces.  If there is any pink at all, continue baking without the foil top another 5 minutes.  Test again.  Bake and test every 5 minutes until chicken is completely white through and through.

A bowl of Tsatskiki with pita chips.

Tsatsiki: while the chicken and vegetables are baking in the oven, mix up the cucumber-yogurt sauce (also known as tsatsiki).  Combine the yogurt, cucumber, parsley or cilantro, with 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, 1 clove of minced garlic, and a pinch of salt.  This is a chunky condiment to serve along with your chicken and vegetables.  Allow the flavors to combine in the refrigerator while the chicken bakes.  If you prefer a smoother sauce, blend the ingredients in a food processor or with a mix-master. Serve on the side with cooked chicken and vegetables.

The tsatsiki will keep in the ‘fridge for up to four days, so enjoy it with other Middle Eastern dishes or just eat it as a dip with pita chips.

*Note on ovens and temperature variances: You may need more or less than 20 minutes to cook this chicken, depending on your oven’s temperature accuracy.  I have a double oven where the top oven temperature is perfect and the bottom oven temperature is about 25 degrees too hot. For the “hot” oven, I move the baking rack higher up and reduce the temperature for each recipe by 25 degrees and may still have to pull items from the oven 5 minutes before the timer goes off.  If you are in a new home or buy a new oven, cook and bake in it for several weeks, monitoring it closely and adapting your recipes to suit.