Lemony Chicken Souvlaki

Some people might consider not posting on their blog in two months to be a failure. Those people would be right. Whatever.

I exited my unemployment, taking a little hiatus from happy life in order to get back to work and make some money. I finished up a photography class and have just been generally really busy over the past few weeks. I have been cooking a lot, but not posting at all. I made a caramelized onion quiche that was bomb. I made an espresso pound cake with cranberries and pecans. And too many others to recount.

Lately I have been using this bag of individually frozen chicken thighs to cook dinner. It saves me like...4 hours of defrosting chicken. These defrost well in the microwave. Actually, technically I don't think you need to defrost them, but tossing frozen thighs into the pan just feels weird. Plus, for this chicken souvlaki that I make tonight, they had to be cut up. But you should go check them out at Trader Joe's, in the frozen aisle. They're actually cheaper, pound for pound, and since they're individually frozen, you can cook up just one or two, or however many you need.

Souvlaki...the fancy, Greek way of saying skewer/kebab. So underrated. And perfect for a quick and satisfying meal.

Somebody get this kid a kebab.

I've been holding onto this recipe for 1 1/2 years, it was time to get on with it.


Here's what you need:

• 4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 1/8 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and 2 lemons, halved
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 3/4 pounds), cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 small red onion, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 pocketless pitas or flat breads, warmed
• 2 ounces Feta, crumbled (1/2 cup) 

 Here's what you do: 

1. Soak 8 small wooden skewers in water for at least 15 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the celery, mint, crushed red pepper, 2 tablespoons of the oil, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, and ¹/₄ teaspoon each salt and black pepper.
2. Heat grill to medium. In a second medium bowl, toss the chicken and onion with the lemon zest, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¹/₄ teaspoon black pepper.
3. Thread the chicken and onion onto the skewers and grill, uncovered, turning occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the onion is tender, 12 to 16 minutes. Grill the lemon halves until charred, 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Top the pitas with the celery mixture, chicken, and Feta. Serve with the lemons.

  Easy. Done in 30 minutes after I came home from Spinning class. Done and done.

Important to note, though: this recipe is pretty high in fat. I could easily have halved the amount of olive oil used. You could also make with a chicken breast instead of a thigh if you're trying to avoid fats.

Toodle-ooo!
Have a wonderful weekend. Hopefully I'll be back here before long