Souvlaki Roast Chicken with Lemon Mint Tzatziki - an incredibly flavorful way to serve marinated, oven roasted chicken pieces for a terrific dinner any night of the week.
Course
Dinner, Easy Dinner
Cuisine
Greek Inspired
Prep Time15minutes
Cook Time1hour
Total Time1hour15minutes
Servings4servings
AuthorBarry C. Parsons
Ingredients
3lbschicken pieceswell trimmed or skinless
For the Souvlaki Marinade
2/3cup fresh lemon juice
6tbspolive oil
4tbspbalsamic vinegar
1tspkosher salt
3rounded tbsp smoked paprika
2tspfreshly ground black pepper
6clovesminced garlic
For the Lemon Mint Tzatziki
3cupsGreek yogurtdrained.
6inchpiece of English cucumber
1teaspoonof kosher salt
2tbspfinely chopped fresh mint
2clovesminced garlic
3tbspfresh lemon juice
2tbspolive oil
pinch salt and pepper to season
Instructions
To prepare the marinated chicken
Mix all of the marinade ingredients together and pour over the chicken in a Ziploc bag.
Toss the chicken around well in the marinade to coat on all sides. Marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the chicken pieces on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and roast for about 60-75 minutes depending on the size of your chicken pieces. I like to turn the pieces over once during the cooking time.
Serve with a Greek Salad, flat-bread and tzatziki.
To prepare the Lemon Mint Tzatziki
Draining the yogurt removes much of the liquid and produces an end product about the consistency of thick sour cream. To drain the yogurt, line a colander with several layers of cheesecloth (or in a pinch, several large coffee filters) Pour the yogurt into the colander and place it in a large bowl or in the sink for an hour or two. this should produce about 2 cups of thick yogurt.
Peel the piece of cucumber and remove the seeds and pulp at the center with a teaspoon, then dice the outside flesh of the cucumber into small cubes of 1/8 inch or less.
Sprinkle the kosher salt over the diced cucumber and toss together well. Let this rest for about a half hour , stirring occasionally. This process removes some of the liquid from the cucumber so that it will not water down the consistency of your finished tzatziki.
Drain all of the liquid off the diced cucumber before adding it to the drained yogurt along with the remaining ingredients for the marinade.
Mix well, cover and store in the fridge for at least a half hour before serving.