I’ve been on a food-on-a-stick kick. It’s fast, fuss-free and, more important, fun to eat! Take, for example, chicken souvlaki with tzatziki. After marinating the meat, the kebabs and yogurt sauce come together in minutes … and you don’t need utensils to feast.
While the pairing is delicious as is, you can round it out with:
- Alexandra’s Kitchen’s cucumber and feta salad and pickled watermelon radishes
- nocrumbsleft’s marinated red onions
- Pita chips (homemade or store bought)
- Lemon wedges
All together, it’s quite an impressive spread. And, if you prepare the individual components in advance, assembling the chicken souvlaki with tzatziki platter is a breeze. (Tip: Double or triple the quantity to feed a crowd.)
Recipes adapted from Postcards From Greece and Cookie and Kate.
Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Chicken souvlaki:
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1½ teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1½ teaspoons sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 wooden skewers
- vegetable oil, for grilling
Tzatziki:
- ½ cucumber
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1½ teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh mint
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Make the chicken souvlaki:
- Place the chicken in a resealable plastic bag.
- In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, sweet paprika, salt, pepper and garlic.
- Add the sauce to the bag with the chicken, seal and transfer to the refrigerator. Let marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight, flipping the bag twice.
- When you're ready to cook the kebabs, remove the chicken from the sauce and thread onto 4 skewers.
- Heat a grill pan over medium heat and brush with vegetable oil. Place skewers in the pan and cook, turning occasionally, until grill marks are visible and chicken is no longer pink in the center, 8-10 minutes.
- Remove kebabs from pan and let rest for 5 minutes; serve with tzatziki.
Make the tzatziki:
- Grate the cucumber using the large holes of a box grater. Wrap the grated cucumber in cheesecloth and squeeze to remove as much liquid as you can. (See notes)
- In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, dill, mint, garlic and salt; stir to combine.
- Add the cucumber and stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Notes
If you don’t have cheesecloth, you can use a coffee filter.
