Feed Them Fresh!

I love a meal like Quick and Easy Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki that can be prepared quickly so that we can enjoy delicious home cooked food more often than not.  This allows me to do all the things that mount up each week.  And that list of ALL THE THINGS grows all the time! While it doesn’t always seem possible to do so there are benefits in home cooking.  So I work out meals to cook that are easy and not very time consuming or I make meals in advance and freeze them or keep them in the fridge for a couple of days.  That way I know exactly what I am feeding my family. I manage the sodium and sugar content and I don’t include tricky additives like preservatives, thickeners and other things which are unrecognisable on a store bought label. The benefits are endless.

Quick and Easty Chicken Souvlaki is a tasty meal that won’t take a lot of your time and will be enjoyed by everyone. This is popular street food in Greece where the Greeks know so well how to produce healthy and tasty food.

Citrus and Herb Flavours

The flavours of this dish are fresh and beautiful.  The lemon is zesty, the garlic gives it bite and the oregano gives it a rounded herby flavour.  We call oregano, rigani – that’s what my husband grew up knowing it as from his Greek father! These flavours are enhanced by serving the souvlaki with tzatziki – yoghurt, garlic and cucumber sauce with warm pita bread or rice and a fresh salad. This could be a Greek salad if you like.  I like to wrap the meat up in the pita bread but most of my family just eat it the chicken straight off the skewers.  Here I served the souvlaki with a decidedly not Greek salad – quinoa, avocado and chick pea salad which also has a beautiful citrus flavour.  Whichever way you serve it make sure you include the tzatziki and salad because it creates such a beautifully balanced and flavourful meal.  And kalamata olives which work well too. So if you have them on hand throw some into the mix.

Time is of the Essence

So here is how I throw all of this together in about half an hour.  I slice the chicken tenderloins into 4 cm lengths and marinate them in garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and oregano.  Even if you marinate them for 5 or 10 minutes the flavours will still be beautiful.  Thread them on skewers and BBQ or pan fry them until browned and cooked through.  While they are cooking put your salad together and cook your rice, if serving.  Mix finely chopped cucumber with a clove of chopped garlic and a cup of Greek yoghurt. Add a teaspoon of dried dill or oregano and a pinch of salt.  That’s basically your meal.  Obviously it is less work to serve with pita bread instead of rice but is just as delicious.  I usually serve with both or with quinoa salad to suit everyone in my family!

How to make chicken souvlaki with tzatziki

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Quick and Easy Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki

A delicious, speedy meal that is super tasty and which everyone will love.

Course Main Course

Keyword Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki

Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 6

Author Jane Georgiades

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken tenderloins
• 1 lemon juiced
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Tzatziki

• 1 cup Greek yoghurt
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp dried dill or oregano
• 1 cucumber finely diced
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

Chicken souvlaki

1. Slice chicken into 4cm lengths and thread onto skewers. Marinate for a short time in oil, lemon juice and garlic. Pan fry until golden and cooked through.

Tzatziki

1. Combine yoghurt, cucumber, garlic and chosen herb. Add a little salt to taste.

There you are – Quick and Easy Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki