We’ve all heard of wanderlust before. Many of us struggle with this. The desire to travel and adventure. It usually hits me about once a month. BADLY. But have you heard of wandertaste? With this new column, I wanted to recreate different cuisines, providing ethnic experiences of international travels without the hefty pricetag. The idea for this column began when I had plans to travel through Europe for the summer, but ended up not having the finances for the adventure. Trying not to be bummed out when our plans fell through, my roommate and I decided to get creative. Instead, we headed to the kitchen. Whether it’s the Greek isles or Asian markets, we’re excited to explore the world through our palates until our passports can follow suit.
Keep reading for our first post of Wandertaste: Going Greek.
Our inspiration: the Greek isles
photo sources: pixel1 | Sharon Mollerus | gloholiday
Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce and Quinoa Tabouli
yields: 4 servings
prep time: 30 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 6 lemons, juice
- 1 C extra virgin olive oil
- 1 C plain greek yogurt
- 1 T Italian seasoning
- 1 C fresh mint, finely chopped
- 1 C fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 2 English cucumbers
- 1 C quinoa
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Wash and clean chicken. Pat dry with paper towel. Using a sharp knife and plastic cutting board cut chicken breasts down into 2 inch by 1 inch pieces (equal size for placing on metal skewers and grilling). Place chicken pieces in a gallon ziplock bag with 3 cloves of minced garlic, 3/4 C extra virgin olive oil, and the juice of four lemons. Add Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Seal ziplock bag and shake it evenly distribute among chicken. Set to the side and let marinate for 30 minutes (The citric acid from the lemon juice will break down the chicken, so don’t marinade for longer than 30 minutes.)
Cook quinoa according to package instructions. Finely chop mint and parsley. Place 3/4 cup of mint and 1 C of parsley in a bowl. Add 1/4 C of olive oil and the juice of one lemon. Rinse off tomatoes and cucumbers. Dice 1 1/2 cucumbers and remove any seeds. Set the extra cucumber to the side. Slice tomatoes in half. Place into bowl with other ingredients. Once quinoa is fully cooked, set to the side and let cool for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Add to the tabouli. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set to the side.
For the tzatziki sauce, begin by mincing the remaining half of cucumber. (Remove peel first). Add one clove of minced garlic and the greek yogurt. Place remaining chopped mint and the juice of one lemon. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set to the side.
To cook the chicken souvlaki, place chicken on metal skewers and cook on a grill that is 400 degrees F. Discard marinade. Cook each side for 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Enjoy!