Greek Dinner Zoom - Chicken Souvlaki & Lemon Potatoes

This week my Girl Scout troop starts their Sow What? journey, which is all about learning about your families "food print" and how to reduce their carbon footprint (and improving the taste of their food) by shopping local, or ever growing their own produce or herbs. They'll be tasked with finding a nearby Farmer's Market to shop at, or a farm to visit and buy ingredients for their family. We chose these recipes based on the girls' preferences, and on available local produce and herbs. I've got lots of oregano in my garden, and mint, so Greek it is this week! We'll be doing dinner on Friday via Zoom...

Chicken Souvlaki

2.5-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1.5-inch pieces

Marinade

10-12 peeled garlic cloves
2 Tbs. dried oregano, or 4 Tbs. fresh oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp each Kosher salt and black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 bay leaves

Blend marinade ingredients in food processor, then put it in a Ziploc with cut-up chicken pieces to marinade at least 40 mins. or overnight.

Soak skewers in water at least 15 mins before threading, and grill on charcoal or gas grill (or broil in oven). Turn as needed.

Serve with pita bread, tomato, cucumber, sweet onions and feta cheese, kalamata olives, and tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki Sauce

1/2-3/4 of an English cucumber, peeled, grated, and pressed to remove liquid
1 tsp kosher salt, divided
4 to 5 garlic cloves, peeled and pressed
1 tsp white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1 Tbs olive oil
2 cups Greek yogurt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper

1 Tbs. fresh mint leaves, diced

Mix all ingredients, cover and fridge for at least an hour before serving.

  

Greek Lemon Potatoes

3 lbs yukon gold potatoes or other waxy, peeled potatoes

Marinade

1/2 c. lemon juice (fresh is best)

1/3 c. olive oil

2 pressed garlic cloves   

1 tsp. dried oregano, or 2 tsp. fresh, diced oregano

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups. chicken stock

Peel and halve (or quarter is they're large) potatoes and soak in water while prepping lemon sauce.

In a gallon Ziploc bag, combine lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper and stock. Drain potatoes and put them in the bag. Marinate for at least 2 hours in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, and pour potatoes and sauce in a 9x13 pan, and roast for about an hour. Turn every 20 mins or so. Broil for about 5 mins at the end to crisp edges before serving.

Amazing. Delicious.

So delicious. You need a food scale to measure everything, and the oven temp translates to 350-degrees F. So worth it.

http://souvlakiforthesoul.com/2013/06/kolokithopita-pumpkin-pie-recipe

Greek Pumpkin Pie

It's just so pretty...

 

So fragrant. So beautiful. I can't wait to taste it later today. I just pulled this out of the oven at 1:01 a.m.

Baked up a sugar-pie pumpkin and butternut squash and had to try this Kolokithopita... fillo pastry pie filled with fresh-baked pumpkin, spices, and raisins.

Vegetable Moussaka

This makes four large, dinner-sized servings, and is delicious! It's adapted from The South Beach Diet Super Charged. I subbed kidney beans for canned lentils (didn't have lentils), added one more clove of garlic, and left out the chopped, fresh parsley (1/4 cup). I also subbed milk for the fat-free half-and-half (because I don't buy that - it's wrong!) and left out the nutmeg too. Serve this with a quick salad of diced fennel bulb, radish, cuke and a lemon/olive oil/S&P "dressing," and you're set!!

Veggie Moussaka (adapted from The South Beach Diet Super Charged)


1 large eggplant, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds (about 1.25 lbs)
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 15-oz. can kidney beans, drained (but not rinsed) 
1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes with liquid
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
Fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup fresh-grated parmesan
1/8 tsp. nutmeg (I subbed cinnamon, because it's what I had)


Heat oven to 425-degrees F. 


Spray eggplant slices with cooking spray and bake on a cookie sheet, in a single layer, until softened, about 20-25 minutes, then reduce oven temp to 350-degrees F. 


While eggplant is baking, soften onion and garlic in EVOO in a med-hot pan. When translucent, add the beans, tomatoes and liquid, and seasonings. Simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

In a small bowl, beat the eggs, and add milk, 2 Tbs. cheese and the nutmeg (or cinnamon). Reserve remaining 2 Tbs. cheese for the top of moussaka. 


Spray an 8 x 8 pan with cooking spray and layer eggplant, tomato/bean mixture, alternately, twice, and top with a final layer of eggplant. Pour the egg/milk/cheese mixture on top, then sprinkle the last 2 Tbs. cheese over the top. 


Cover with foil, and bake for 20 minutes, then remove foil and bake another 10-15 minutes until golden on top. Let stand 10 minutes before serving warm.