Greek Chicken & Cucumber Salad

 

This delicious Greek Chicken & Cucumber Salad recipe is what summer eating is all about!  Simple ingredients and fresh flavors, with minimal fuss!

Nobody wants to be spending all their time in the kitchen when they can be outside enjoying the warmer temperatures!  Quick and easy recipes are the order of the day! 

   

This recipe I am sharing with you today is one that I downsized from a recipe I found on the New York Times for a delicious Greek Chicken with Cucumber Feta Salad.

The original recipe served four people. There is only one of me and whilst I am keen to try new things, I don't want to be eating them four days in a row, although I can manage to enjoy it at least twice.

So I downsized it to feed only two people. I have also streamlined the instructions and made them a bit easier to understand. At least I think that I have! 

This is built for two and deliciously keto, low carb and diabetic friendly as well!

 

 

What you have here is a delicious salad with very Mediterranean flavor and textures.  Broken, bruised cucumbers, baby plum tomatoes, garlic, yogurt, feta cheese, salt and pepper.

I added a bit of red onion because I like the spark that it brings to the table, but you can leave it out by all means.

Something really wonderful happens to cucumbers when you bash them around a bit and bruise them.  The exercise creates lots of rough edges which are perfect for soaking up all of that lovely yogurt dressing! 

The chicken is likewise filled with flavor.  Marinated for about 15 minutes in a garlicky yogurt  and oregano marinade it becomes really tender.

I loved the garlic and herby flavor that the marinade gave to the chicken.  It made the chicken really moist and juicy!

The chicken and the salad together were a brilliantly tasty combination!!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE GREEK CHICKEN & CUCUMBER SALAD

There is nothing spectacularly out of the ordinary here. Fresh an simple ingredients put together in an incredibly simple and delicious way! 

For the chicken:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
• 1/2 cup (125g) Greek yogurt
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and grated
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• oil to grease the grill or grill pan

 

For the salad:

• 3/4 pound seedless cucumber (Japanese, mini seedless or Persian)
• 1/2 pound ripe baby plum tomatoes
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup (65g) Greek yogurt
• 2 ounces (60g) feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 clove garlic, peeled and grated
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 6 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
• thinly sliced red onions, optional

 

You can use either full fat or low fat yogurt here. Both work well. I used fresh fat garlic cloves for this. My chicken was free range free from antibiotics chicken.  I trimmed it of all the fat that I could.

I used dry oregano, but you could use fresh oregano. Just double the amount and chop it.

I used Kalamata olives in brine. I had to pit them and then tear them in half. Confession here, I always like to suck on the pits while I am working. They have loads of flavor in them.

 

I used block feta cheese in brine that I found at the store which was made here locally in Nova Scotia. It was lovely.  The brand is Holmestead.  It has a lovely flavor and texture.

I have not been paid or given free product to tell you that either. I speak the truth as I find it.  I am enjoying discovering new things now that I am back in Canada and I like to share them with you when I do.

I used local hothouse English cucumbers, which are all that are available to me in my small town, and baby plum tomatoes.

 

HOW TO MAKE GREEK CHICKEN & CUCUMBER SALAD

This was really very simple to make. Whisk together the ingredients for the chicken  marinade and then marinate it while you are making the salad.

The most unusual part of making this was the bashing of the cucumber to bruise and crack it.  I had never done this myself. I had seen Molly Yeh do it on one of her programs the other day however and I was keen to try it. 

I didn't have baby cucumbers, but I used half an English cucumber and just gave it a good bashing with the flat side of my meat pounder.

 

Then I ripped it apart with my hands into small chunks, which sounds a lot more aggressive than it really was.  I didn't bash it very hard, just bruised it and it broke apart very easily.  

Apparently this helps to create nice craggy edges to help soak up all that dressing. Who knew?  

Now that I have tried it I will be doing it regularly. I loved the resultant rough looking bits of cucumber! Much more interesting than flat cubes!

The dressing is made by mashing grated garlic, yogurt, crumbled feta and some seasoning together with a fork. Easy peasy, and oh so delicious. Do remember that feta cheese and olives are both very salty ingredients so be careful when salting the dressing.

 

The marinated chicken is simply grilled until golden brown and down and then served along side of the salad. I grilled my chicken in my Cuisinart Griddler machine. I love the results it gives.

I had one of these in the UK which I used a lot and so it was one of the first things I purchased for myself back here in Canada. You can use either the ridged side of the plates, for grilling meats and panini, or the flat side for making pancakes, etc. It opens out flat for that purpose.

Its a really cool little machine.  I have the waffle plates for it as well. Yummy!!

Altogether this made for a really delicious and simple meal. It was quite healthy as well I think. I very much enjoyed it.

If you are looking for more chicken to grill might I recommend the following: 

MORROCAN SPICED GRILLED CHICKEN & COUSCOUS SALAD - I love Moroccan flavours  . . .  cumin, coriander, cinnamon, garlic . . . lemon . . . olive oil . . . so delicious. Both the chicken and the salad benefit from them in this delicious summery recipe. 

GRILLED PEANUT CHICKEN - A delicious marinade which yields a really tasty bit of chicken. I like to make extra marinade to dip the finished chicken in when I am eating it. Its just so tasty! 

EASY CHICKEN GYROS - Gyros are a Greek sandwich which consists of grilled meat (chicken, lamb, beef or pork) which has been marinated in a delicious marinade prior to grilling, sliced and layered onto a flat bread along with some salad and some creamy Tzatzki sauce. These are quick, easy and most delicious!

Greek Chicken & Cucumber Salad

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

This is simple to make, delicious and filled with flavor. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are marinated and then grilled to perfection and served along side a deliciously creamy and crunchy salad!

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
• 1/2 cup (125g) Greek yogurt
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and grated
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• oil to grease the grill or grill pan

For the salad:

• 3/4 pound seedless cucumber (Japanese, mini seedless or Persian)
• 1/2 pound ripe baby plum tomatoes
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup (65g) Greek yogurt
• 2 ounces (60g) feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 clove garlic, peeled and grated
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 6 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
• thinly sliced red onions, optional

Instructions

1. Mix the garlic and yogurt for the chicken marinade together in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the chicken, turning to coat it in the marinade. Cover and set aside while you begin the salad.
2. Take the cucumber and bash it about a bit with the flat end of a meat pounder, until it is bruised and cracked. Tear it into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces and place into a colander along with the tomatoes. Add the salt and toss to combine. Leave to drain in the sink.
3. Grease your grill or grill pan with a bit of oil. Heat to medium/high. Scrape off any excess marinade from the chicken and place into the grill/grill pan. Cook until it is well browned and releases easily from the pan on one side then flip and cook longer, until cooked through and the juices run clear. (5 to 7 minutes each side. If using a closed grill, 7 to 8 minutes altogether.)
4. Leave to rest while you finish the salad.
5. Measure the yogurt for the salad into a bowl. Add the garlic and feta cheese and mash well with a fork until you get a chunky paste. Shake the cucumbers to get rid of any excess moisture and add to the bowl along with the olives. Stir to combine and coat everything well. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. (Remember feta cheese and olives are salty.)
6. Serve the grilled chicken with the salad on the side.

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