Mediterranean-Style Marinated Chicken

  

 

This recipe I am sharing with you today for Mediterranean-Style Marinated Chicken is one that I have recently fallen in love with.  I discovered it on Two Kooks in the Kitchen a few weeks back.  

I eat a lot of chicken in my house, and I am always looking for new and delicious ways to prepare it. This chicken recipe immediately caught my eye. Not only did it look really delicious and moist, but it sounded as if it was full of flavor as well, and maybe even a bit healthy!

 

I actually cooked it for guests before Christmas. Some people were coming over for lunch that I had not seen in over 20 years and I wanted to make a special lunch for them.  This is the chicken I chose to cook.

None of us were disappointed.  It was fabulous.  I loved it because it was very easy to prepare, as well as  cook.  It was quite simply delicious, and got rave reviews from everyone! 

  

I loved it so much that I chose to cook it again for myself during Twixtmas.  You know, that week between Christmas and New Years when you can barely remember what day of the week it is.

And you are done with turkey, beef and ham, and roast dinners in general.  You just want something quick and easy, and hopefully a bit healthier.  This fit the bill on all counts! 

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO COOK MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE MARINATED CHICKEN

This uses very simple ingredients.  Marinated chicken, grilled to perfection.

• 1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil (I used extra virgin for the flavor)
• the finely grated zest of one lemon (I used a microplane zester)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme, rubbed
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, rubbed
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves, rubbed
• 2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 tsp good Dijon mustard (I used smooth)
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used thighs)

 

You are probably wondering why I specified rubbing the herbs. This is to release any natural oils still present in the dried herbs, to bring out their flavors more.

They will be re-hydrated in the oil, and rubbing them just intensifies their flavor. You could of course use fresh herbs if you have them, doubling the quantities.  I live in the boondocks where fresh herbs are not readily available.

 

My lemon was fairly large so I guess I ended up with about 2 tsp of lemon zest.  I was tempted to throw in some of the juice as well. I am sure it would be wonderful. 

It would also help to tenderize the chicken even more. 

 

HOW TO MAKE MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE MARINATED CHICKEN

This is incredibly simple to make, which is why I have already cooked it twice in less than a month! It speaks to my lazy streak. If I can cut corners I will cut them.  I like cooking that is engineered to get me in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible.

I still like my food to taste really good however, even if it is just me eating it.  This is so simple to make.

 

You begin by whisking together all of the marinade ingredients. You want to do this in a container that is large enough to hold all of your chicken pieces. It doesn't matter if they are in a single layer or not.

You also want to open out your thighs if you are using thighs. (I like thighs because they have more flavor and are juicier.)  

Whichever cut of chicken you are using, you want to lightly pound it until it is an even thickness through out and then throw it into the container with the marinade, turning each piece to coat it well.

 

Cover and set the container aside to marinate.  You can marinate the chicken for half an hour at room temperature if you are in a hurry.

You can also marinate it in the refrigerator for longer, even up to overnight if you want. Obviously the longer it marinates the more the flavors of the marinade are going to penetrate the meat and the more tender it will be.

 

You can cook it in one of two ways. You can either broil it under your oven's broiler/grill.  Six to seven minutes per side should cook it to perfection, depending on the thickness of your pieces of chicken. 

Breasts will also not take as long to cook as thighs.  Your chicken is done when the juices run clear and the inner temperature measures 160*F/71*C.

Alternately you can cook it on a grill, either an outdoor one or an indoor one. I cooked mine in my Cuisinart Griddler machine.  Cook on medium high 4 to 7 minutes per side, again depending on the thickness of your pieces of meat. 

I served this the other day with some potatoes and a vegetable on the side. It would also be great shredded and popped into a pita bread along with some salad. 

Heck it would even be great served cold with salad!  I suppose what I am saying is that it's great no matter what!  This is a new favorite in my home and I know it will be in yours as well!

 

This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.  

 

I wanted to talk a little bit about transparency here this morning.  My sister gave me this Air Fryer Recipe magazine for Christmas, filled with lots of recipes to use with the air fryer.  

I was immediately drawn to the photograph on the cover of this one. Crispy Buttermilk Fried Chicken. My word but it didn't look half delicious.  Almost as tasty if not tastier than our regular take-out fried chicken, not naming any names.  A rare treat.

This was the first recipe I decided to cook from this magazine/book.  That photograph almost made me drool.  I prepared it exactly as described in the recipe, using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.

 

This was the end result.  I will say up front it was quite delicious, however  . . . .  it did not look anything at all like the photograph on the front of the cover of the magazine. 

At least I don't think that it does.  I found that very disappointing.

 

You would think that the recipe that they would choose to use to represent all of the recipes in their magazine would at least look like the way it actually turns out.   I hate being lied to.

I was disappointed. It didn't matter how delicious it was.  I was extremely disappointed. Where were all those crispy little bits like you can see in the photograph?  Where is the glistening, juicy appearance?  Why does mine look dry, flat, and yes . . .  even a bit overcooked in some areas? 

And in thinking about it, they are showing wings, breasts, thighs, etc. and they all look identical. They all look as if they jumped out of a bucket from our local fried chicken franchise.   

In reality they would have all needed to be cooked for different lengths of time. Not mentioned in the recipe, but as a seasoned cook, I know that this is what is required.  Breasts cook quicker than other cuts, and bone in pieces take far longer than boneless pieces. 

Is it wrong of me to expect my chicken to look at least close to what it has been represented to me as looking like?  Or am I being ultra picky? 

I guess at the end of the day I hate being duped, taken in  . . .  lied to.  Its like the tin of Quality Street every year at Christmas. The manufacturers brag about it not having gone up in price, and indeed it hasn't, but what it has done is gone down in size, and often considerably. 

Actually, in reality, it has gone up in price, because we are paying more for the same thing.  They are just trying to convince us by sleight of hand that we are not.

One thing I can promise you is this, the food/recipes that  you see on here is exactly what you are going to get.  I don't edit anything. I click and shoot. End of.   Sometimes it looks great, sometimes not so great, but at least it is real.

So what are your thoughts on transparency in the food industry? I really want to know!  

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