Greek Chicken Souvlaki and Tzatziki Sauce

Ahhh, last Friday we ate our first dinner outside on Seattle's first 70 degree day... sigh, now back to the rain for a while, but you can get a taste of sunshine any time by making Greek Food.

I adore Greek Food, and Souvlaki appeals to everyone, even people who may not know that they like Greek food yet. It is so easy to make and easy to eat too.  Just grilled skewers of chicken, (beef, pork or lamb), flatbread (or pita) and some greek salad.  It's easy, it's heathy.  Tzatziki (say "Zatzeekie") is just a yummy yoghurt, cucumber and garlic spread or dip to use on top of your meal.

Here's the order I would make these dishes...
1) Marinate the chicken, best for a couple hours, or over night
2) Make Tzatziki
3) Make Salad, don't add salt, or oil until right before you serve it
4) Skewer and gril chicken, tastes under 10 minutes.

Serves about 4
Ingredients 

Chicken Souvlaki
4 chicken breasts, cut into cubes about 1"x1"
1 lemon, juiced
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1-2 tsp Greek Seasoning, like Cavenders (at grocery stores, or Cost Plus)
or
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano, dried
1/2 tsp. black pepper

8 Mediterranean flatbreads or pita breads 

Marinate all the above ingredients (except flatbreads/pita) in a ziploc bag for a couple of hours, or over night.

Soak bamboo skewers in water for about 30 minutes before you start to skewer the marinated chicken.  You know why?  To keep them from burning on the grill!!!  It really does help and looks better too!

Grill the chicken skewers for about 7-9 minutes on a grill that's about 400-450 degrees F. You'll be able to see that they are done, when they "bleed white".  That means as soon as you see the juices run more congealed and white looking.  Don't overcook, they should still be juicy, and not dry.

Ingredients 
Tzatziki
2 small persian cucumbers, finely grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup greek yoghurt (2% or whole milk is most authentic and best...)
Salt & pepper to taste

Drain off any liquid the cucumbers give off, or pat with a paper towel.  If you leave the juices in there, your tzatziki will be too runny and not as flavorful.

Greek Salad

Ingredients
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
2-3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
3-4 small persian cucumbers, diced
1 cup small tomatoes, quartered
1/2 red onion, diced
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
Seasoning, to taste (feta & olives are salty, you may not need any!)



Here's some more awesome Greek Recipes:
Baked Prawns and Feta with Orzo
Avgolemono- Greek Wedding Soup