You know. I’ve got. Greek music food on my mind….
Story from the last summer.
With its economy deep, deep in the crisis, I wasn’t really sure what to expect while our vacation in Greece. So we split our time between the crowded streets of Thessaloniki and the relaxing beaches of Paralia. Both provided two starkly different views of Greece, but they also had two fantastic things in common: amazing hospitality and even better food. Seriously, not only every single thing that we put in our mouths were worthy of a full-on addiction, but the people putting these things on our plates wanted nothing more than to make sure that we tasted everything, loved it, and ate some more.
Our first day in Thessaloniki we walked uphill to the Heptapyrgion (fortress of Thessaloniki), then downtown to Aristotelous Square, and as afternoon approached, so naturally we went for the next best thing: food.
On a beautiful tiny square nearby Aristotelus Square we stopped into a restaurant that we couldn’t even read the name of, and the food absolutely blew our mind. We ordered a baked fresh homemade Marinated Chicken, OMG it was delicious.
Chicken breasts marinated to perfection with blended spices, served on a bed of green salad, topped with feta cheese, red onion slices, kalamata olives and with extra lemon wedges for squeezing, along with Greek pita bread and greek wine.
It was my first taste of Greek food, and I only wish I would’ve been more hungry.
Ten extra pounds proved that We fell in love with food all over again in Greece.
Ingredients
- Marinade:
- 2 lemons
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp. Greek seasoning
- 1 tsp. poultry seasoning
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- ---------------------------------
- 4 to 5 large boneless - skinless chicken breasts
- 1 Red onion, cut into thick slices
- 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives
- Crumbled Feta for topping
- Green Salad or Spinach for serving
- pita bread optional
Instructions
- Zest one lemon using a fine holed cheese grater or a zester.
- Squeeze the juice out of the lemon and zested lemon in a bowl(about 1/3cup).
- To make the marinade, combine the lemon juice, Greek seasoning, olive oil, poultry seasoning, lemon zest and dried oregano in a bowl.
- Make small crosswise cuts about 1/2 inch apart down the length of each chicken breast to help the marinade penetrate the meat.
- Add the chicken pieces and marinade to a gallon sized zip top bag.
- Remove as much air as possible, close the bag tightly, push the bag to mix the contents and make sure the chicken is well coated.
- Marinate the bag in refrigerator for at least 1 hour, but I think it’s better after 5-6 hours or overnight !!
- Preheat oven to 375 F
- Place the marinated chicken pieces in a large casserole dish (9x13).
- Bake the chicken for 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
- Serve on a bed of green salad or spinach, topped with feta cheese, red onion slices, kalamata olives and with extra lemon wedges for squeezing.
