Summer is quickly coming to a close and I still haven't been able to cook on my grill! The only solution? Cook up a huge family barbecue.
But wait- how do you make a BBQ harmless and somewhat "healthy"?
Well let's just say no barbecue sauce was harmed in the making of this meal!
Today I'm putting a twist on the typical Mediterranean dinner and turning it up by making Greek chicken kebabs and a Mediterranean orzo salad. This dish is a perfect mixture of warm flavorful chicken and a nice cold and refreshing orzo salad loaded with kalamata olives, tomatoes, dill, cucumber, red onions, and feta!
Recently I have been hearing all about the "mediterranean diet". It's pretty much a plant-based diet, which replaces unhealthy fats, such as butter, with healthier options, like olive oil. It also emphasizes the use of grains and beans.
I've always thought that Greek and Turkish food is a somewhat healthier option opposed to American cuisine. The use of vegetables and protein rich meats and fish really do have their advantages!
Not only do I love the fact I can eat this kind of food with little worry, I also am OBSESSED with the flavors! I'm a HUGE dill fan. I seriously can't get enough of it. I just started growing it and I've already used so much of it!
In edition to making my kebabs and my salad, I'm also making an easy tzaziki sauce. It only has 4 ingredients (not including the salt and pep action of course!). It's really light and is a great way to add extra protein to you dish (shoutout to Greek yogurt!). The sauce can be put on ANYTHING. I love using left over tzaziki as a spread on my sandwiches, dips for my veggies, and even just eating it with a spoon (Eating savory yogurts in Greece is actually very common).
This dish was BY FAR the best I've made. The chicken was super juicy and perfectly seared. The feta and olives gave the salad a salty bite against the cool and light flavors of the cucumbers and tomatoes. The dill and the lemon gave the tzatziki a acidic yet cool taste which ex paired PERFECTLY with BOTH the chicken and salad.
Some important things to note while making this meal:
First off, the chicken mixture, when raw, doesn't really want to stick on skewer. MAKE SURE YOU DONT KEEP HOLDING IT IN YOUR HANDS- the chicken mixture will begin to become sticky and unworkable. To avoid running into this issue, spray a good amount of cooking spray on your hands and place your meat mixture back into the fridge if it becomes gooey and warm. The chicken cooks best for about 5 minutes on each side (all on direct heat). Depending on your size of the chicken kebab the time may change. Mine were about the size of an Italian sausage (4-5 inches long and about 2 inches wide).
I will say A LOT of work went into this dish but it was SO worth it. Although the ingredient list was really long- it really gave this meal a unique taste.
Even though summer is coming to a close closing, I know I spent it well:)
INGREDIENTS:
Serves 3-6
Chicken Kebabs
1 lb of ground chicken
1 tablespoon of freshly minced flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon of freshly minced thyme
1/2 tablespoon of freshly minced dill
1/2 tablespoon of freshly minced oregano
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1/4 teaspoon of paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground corriandor seed
1/8 teaspoon of celery salt
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
Orzo Salad
1 cup of orzo, uncooked
2 cups of water
1 clove of garlic, grated
1/3 cup of kalamata olives, chopped
1/2 red onion chopped
2/3 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved (or 1 can of drained, diced tomatoes)
Half an English cucumber, sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh dill
1 1/2 teaspoon of fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoon of fresh basil
1/2 tablespoon of lemon zest
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup of fat free feta
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
Tzatziki sauce
1 cup of plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 a cucumber (shredded)
2 tablespoons of freshly minced dill
Juice of one lemon
1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest
Salt and pepper to taste.
INSTRUCTIONS
•In a large bowl add in ground chicken, herbs, and spices. Knead mixture until combined. Store in refridgerator for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
•In a Heavy bottom sauce pan, cook orzo according to package instructions. ( Typically orzo to water ration is 1:2. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add in orzo and reduce heat down to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes) Onced cooked, drain orzo and add in a teaspoon of olive oil and the grated clove of garlic. Let mixture cool and add in lemon juice/zest, olives, onion, cucumber, bell pepper, feta, dill, basil, parsley, salt and pepper. Place in fridge until mixture on cold.
•Preheat grill to medium. Put chicken mixture on kebabs. Make sure the mixture in even throughout, so all the chicken cooks evenly. With a pastry brush, brush the olive oil on the the chicken kebabs and season with an additional pinch of salt and pepper.
•Place kebabs on the hot grill (make sure the grill is hot so the chicken gets seared.). Cook for 5 minutes on each side.
•Once the chicken is finished place on platter and let it sit for at least 5 minutes until eating (this ensures the juices will stay in the chicken resulting in a moist meat)
•For the yogurt sauce- combine all the ingredients and serve with the rest of the meal.