Chicken Souvlakia Recipe

8

Ingredients

For the Marinade:
3/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
2 tsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 tsp. chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1/2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced (1/2 cup)
For the Skewers:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thigh meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 large red onion
1/2 pound whole button mushrooms
2 small bell peppers (try a combination of red, green, yellow, or orange)
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Tzatziki (recipe follows)

Preparation

Step 1

To make marinade:
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl or zip-top bag.
To make the skewers:
Add the chicken cubes to the marinade and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight. When ready to cook, peel the onion, cut it in half widthwise, and then cut each half into thirds or quarters, depending on how big it is (you want big onion squares); set aside. Slice the ends off the mushroom stems; set aside. Cut around the stems of the bell peppers and remove. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the ribs and seeds. Cut into 1-inch squares; set aside. Heat the grill to medium-high (you should be able to hold your hand just above the cooking grate for 3 seconds before it gets too uncomfortable.) Brush the grill with vegetable oil or spray with nonstick cooking spray (if using spray, take the grate off the fire so you don't end up spraying oil at the flames. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on a plate. Thread the chicken and vegetables on metal skewers or (10-inch) wooden skewers that have been soaked for at least 30 minutes in cold water). Alternate the ingredients, adding a piece of chicken after every two or three pieces of vegetable (my preferred arrangement is pepper, chicken, onion, chicken, pepper, mushroom, onion, chicken, pepper, chicken, onion, chicken, pepper, cherry tomato-that way there's an aromatic vegetable next to each piece of chicken for flavor.) You should have 8-10 skewers (how many skewers you end up with depends on how big you cut the chicken and vegetables.) Arrange the skewers in an even layer on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously on all sides with the salt and pepper. Grill for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, or until the vegetable soften and the chicken is no longer pink in the middle (which you can see where the skewer pierces the chicken.) Serve with Tzatziki for dipping.