Welcome, Janine to Souvlaki Dinner/Friday Night Cooking Class everyone!! She is Amber’s longest-standing friend. They met in daycare and have maintained a friendship ever since. Even now being on the other side of the city. It might be six months that they don’t see each other but they have always seemed to pick up where they left off.
For this meal, we even did the shopping together. It was a good learning experience for them to touch and smell the different ingredients and to know what to look for in a specific vegetable or herb. I got the basic ingredients and we kind of made things up as we went.
It turned out to be the most fabulous meal. One of the top FNCC for sure!! I hope you try these recipes as they are keepers!!! I had bought the umami paste recently when I took a cooking course and it was so fantastic in the souvlaki.
Have a scout around for it at your specialty store, it will give anything a kick start!! It is touted as taste #5 after sweet, salty, bitter and sour. It is from the same company that did the spices I had shown you eons ago from Laura Santini. Amazing!!
Souvlaki Dinner
Ingredients
Tzatziki
- 1 medium cucumber
- 1 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups Greek-style plain yogurt 0% fat
- 2 Tbsp. fresh dill chopped
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp. white pepper or to taste
Souvlaki
- 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into halves or thirds depending on the size
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. oregano minced
- 1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 tsp. umami paste optional but fantastic
- A mixture of red pepper green pepper, white onion, tomatoes, etc. or whatever vegetable you prefer to cut into chunks.
Rice
- 3/4 cup rice
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1 1/3 cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp. butter
- Toasted pine nuts for garnish
- Parsley chopped for garnish
Instructions
Tzatziki
- Slice the cucumber lengthwise and with a spoon, dragging it down the center of the cucumber remove the seeds.
- Grate the cucumber and place it into a bowl with the salt. Let it sit for 20 min. while you get the rest of the ingredients ready to extract the water from the cucumber.
- Mix yogurt with dill, garlic, lemon juice, and white pepper.
- Drain the cucumber in a sieve and with the back of a spoon gently squeeze the cucumber to get as much moisture out of it as you can.
- Mix into the yogurt mixture, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours so that the flavor can meld.
Souvlaki
- Whisk olive oil into the lemon juice slowly.
- Then stir in the garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and umami.
- Place chicken in a Ziploc bag and pour marinade over.
- Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
- Slide meat onto skewers with desired veggies and grill on a medium BBQ until the chicken is cooked all the way through.
- You can omit the veggies and just do meat kabobs but we like our veggies in this house, the more the merrier!!
Rice
- Cook rice according to package directions with the lemon juice, stock, and butter.
- When done fluff with a fork and serve with the pine nuts and parsley. So good!!!
Nutrition
Comments & Reviews
Renee @ Tortillas and Honey says
This recipe looks wonderful! I love souvlaki and have never made it myself, so this looks like a great recipe to try!
shari says
I was hoping to see a picture of the Umami paste, as I’ve never heard of it, and find it intriguing! Would you let me know what it is, and where I might find it? Thanks.
Joanne says
I love the flavors of Greek Cuisine. As a vegetarian, I would have to find a good chicken substitute but wouldn’t change anything else. It’s fresh and delightful with the yogurt sauce.
kristy says
Oh how lovely is that to have such a fun day. Enjoy guys!
Kristy
Ramona says
Looks like a fun Friday Night!! I love souvlaki!! Happy Sunday!