I may not be en route to the Greek Isles or pledging for a sorority, but my kitchen has been Greek-inspired over the last week. Why? Well, I’m not sure other than I have an abundance of lemons and fresh thyme to get creative with, and I do love the flavors of their cuisine. I decided to adapt my own take on a classic ‘Greek plate.’ You know the ones, with skewers of lemon & herb marinated chicken, saffron rice, fresh salad with beets & feta, and creamy tzatziki sauce. That’s a lot of goodness right there, so I opted to combine all of these componets into one, deliciously Greek pita.
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We’re going to make lemon thyme marinated chicken breasts, saffron rice and zesty Greek slaw, as I like to call it. We will tie it all together with some creamy, yogurt-based Tzatziki sauce boasting the cool, summer flavors of cucumber & dill. Stuff all that into a whole wheat pita and we’re good to go! This is an awesome dinner, healthy, really simple, and perfect for a lighter summertime meal. It was so good, I had it again the next afternoon!
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Let’s get our Greek on…
Marinated Greek Chicken Pitas
with saffron rice, Greek slaw & tzatziki
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Light and delicious Greek pitas with marinated chicken, saffron rice and Greek slaw. All the flavors of a Greek plate in one healthy and delicious sandwich! Easy on a weeknight, but makes for a great summertime afternoon meal too!
What to get...
- Fresh tzatziki sauce (prepared Greek yogurt-based with cucumber and dill).
- Whole wheat Greek Pita bread
- 1 package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (mine had 2), cut into medium tenders
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 T lemon-infused EVOO (from WeOlive)
- 2 tsp grated lemon zest
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- dash of red pepper flakes, to taste
- 1 T white wine (and extra for cooking chicken in pan)
- S&P, to taste
- 1 lemon for slicing.
- 1 package saffron rice mix
- butter
- water
- *cooked according to package directions
- 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped finely
- 3 baby beets chopped, baby beets pre-cooked and chilled
- 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
- 2 T grated feta cheese
- 3 T Golden Greek Peperoncini, chopped finely
- 1 tsp prepared Italian dressing (with olive oil)
- S&P, to taste
What to do...
- Chop fresh spinach, beets, red onion and peperoncinis and add into mixing bowl. Season with S&P, feta and dressing (don't add too much, but enough to coat) to taste. Combine, chill & set aside.
- According to package directions, in small pot on stove, combine dry saffron rice (yellow), with water and butter. I use chicken stock in lieu of the water!
- When rice is done, mix in 2 T of the tzatziki sauce, set aside.
- In mixing bowl, add oil, wine, thyme, red pepper flakes, S&P, garlic, lemon zest and combine with chicken breast tenders you have already rinsed and patted dry.
- Coat raw chicken in mixture well, cover and allow to marinate 35 min-an hour.
- On stove, in large skillet cook chicken & all marinade juices over medium-low, flipping.
- As chicken begins to brown and juices thin, add white wine to deglaze pan (2 T-1/4 cup depending).
- Allow chicken to finish cooking on low and add slices of lemon on top.
- When cooked through (about 25 mins), remove from heat and cool slightly, then chop into bite sized pieces.
- Warm whole wheat pitas in oven till slightly warm/toasted, but not crunchy!
- To warm pita coat both insides with about 1-2 T tzatziki sauce.
- Add generous portion of chopped marinated chicken, some rice mix, & chilled slaw mixture.
- Top with additional tzatziki as desired.
- Serve with a wedge of lemon!
Notes
You can customize this one to your liking by adding more or less seasoning, but the flavors in this should be bold and the tzatziki is the perfect, cool contrast to the herb lemon chicken! If pitas aren't your fav, then a thin flat bread will work too, or spinach tortilla as a wrap!
I made enough for leftovers, though they didn’t end up lasting long! This one will be making a comeback very soon at my house. The Greek fun isn’t over yet though, we’re going to keep in line with these flavor profiles with a couple of more posts to follow. Stand by… and enjoy a pita in the meantime!
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