Recipe: Chicken Souvlaki Wraps

Sorry for the less than perfect photo, we've been busy!

Hey folks! We've been going a little wrap crazy here at COBW! They are healthy, relatively easy-to-prepare and down right delicious.

One of our favorite recipes on Chop Onions, Boil Water is Chicken Souvlaki, so when we first decided to go down the wrap road, souvlaki was our first choice. Once everything is ready to go, the souvlaki takes only 12 minutes to cook in your broiler and you'll be sitting in front of a delicious, garlicky, Greek-inspired chicken souvlaki wrap just moments after that.

To translate souvlaki to wraps, we added some fresh vegetables, our now-famous hummus and some chili or hot sauce. The result is a flavor-packed, bread cylinder of goodness that we just can't stop making and eating here, and we're sure you'll love them as well.

We're big fans of Joseph's oat bran and wheat lavash wraps. They are healthy, packed with omega-3's and very low-calorie when compared with tortillas and other flatbreads. They're also tender so be gentle when rolling them!

We chose souvlaki as our first wrap recipe because it is our current favorite, but we've got more coming! We hope you enjoy it!


Chicken Souvlaki Wraps

Chicken souvlaki (recipe below)
Tzatziki sauce (recipe below)
Hummus (Click here for one of the World's best hummus recipes!)
Romain lettuce (shredded)
Tomato (cut into wedges)
Black olives (chopped)
Chili-Sauce and/or El Yucateco Carribean Hot Sauce
Lavash wraps, tortillas or your favorite flat bread


Chicken Souvlaki

3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice (there is NO substitute)
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
16 cloves garlic (chopped)
2.5 lbs boneless chicken breast (cut into 1-1/2" pieces)


Tzatziki Sauce

1 cucumber (peeled, seeded and grated/shredded)
1/2 cup of Greek yogurt
1/2 cup of plain, low-fat yogurt
2 Tbs lemon juice (there is NO substitute)
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1/2 tsp dried dill

In a large bowl, mix together the lemon juice, oregano, olive oil, salt and garlic. Add the cubed chicken and toss together well. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge. After the first 15 minutes, mix again to better distribute the marinade.

While the chicken marinates prepare the tzatziki sauce by combining the cucumber, Greek and plain yogurt, lemon juice, salt, garlic and dill in a medium-sized bowl and mixing it together well. Set aside.

Take the chicken and string it on skewers (you will need 4 to 6). Set your oven to "broil" and broil the chicken, moving and turning the skewers often to ensure even cooking and charring and to AVOID BURNING. Alternatively, and optimally, you can cook the meat over a charcoal fire. In either preparation, be sure the chicken is cooked through but not overcooked or it will begin to dry out!

When the chicken is done remove it from the skewers and set it aside while you prepare the other ingredients.

To assemble the wrap:

Place a piece of aluminum foil on your working surface, place the lavash wrap over that.

On the side of the wrap close to you, place a generous amount of the lettuce then arrange a line of tomato wedges on that.

Distribute the chili sauce or hot sauce to your taste preference.

Place the chicken evenly in a line on the lettuce and tomatoes.

Top the chicken with a generous amount of tzatziki sauce and then some of the hummus. Finally, top with the chopped black olives.

Fold over the bottom of the lavash a little, then gently and carefully roll the wrap up.

Take the wrap and roll it up in the aluminum foil while tightening it a little more.

Twist the bottom of the aluminum foil to prevent leaking and serve immediately.

Recipe: Shrimp and Codfish Saganaki

Today's world food that you can prepare in your home comes at you straight outta Greece! It is called Shrimp and Codfish Saganaki and it is based on traditional saganaki which is an appetizer of pan-seared cheese. It is named for the single-serving fry pan that it is usually both prepared and served in. In addition to the cheese, today's recipe includes shrimp, codfish and a spicy tomato-based sauce. The result is a rich and delicious seafood dish that is best enjoyed along with a good crusty bread for dipping!

For a long time now, I've been meaning to prepare my own shrimp saganaki recipe. It's been caught up in the thought storm in my mind. Often dishes like that can slip out of memory, but shrimp recipes tend to stay in my mind longer, and well the name "saganaki" tends to instill images of a strange Japanese sex act that involves restraints and lots of white face paint in my mind, so this one was especially easy to remember!

Hey baby, you up for some saganaki?

It is not a difficult recipe to prepare and if you have your ingredients pre-measured and ready, shrimp and codfish saganaki comes together really easily. In fact you can easily omit the codfish or shrimp if you like. You can also substitute mussels, clams or even lobster and get equally amazing results. This one of my new favorites and I'll be preparing it quite a bit into the future. I'm pretty sure it is going to end up in the Chop Onions, Boil Water Hall of Fame! Try it!


Shrimp and Codfish Saganaki

4 Tbs olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1/4 to 1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
2 cups of tomatoes (chopped)
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp dill
1 shot of ouzo
1.5 lbs codfish loins (or similar white flaky fish)
1 lb. shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1 cup parsley (chopped)
1/3 cup Kalamata olives (pitted and chopped)
2 cups feta cheese (crumbled)
A loaf of your favorite crusty bread.


Preheat your oven to 425°F

Place a large oven-proof pan* over a medium-high flame.

Add the olive oil to the pan, when the oil begins to shimmer add the onions and sauté until translucent.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook stirring constantly for about 1 minute.

Add the tomato, oregano, dill and ouzo and stir well. Bring the sauce to a simmer and add the codfish loins until just cooked (turning once). Carefully remove the codfish and set aside.

Add the shrimp and cook for 30 seconds on each side.

Remove from heat, stir in 3/4 cup of the parsley (reserving some for a garnish) and the kalamata olives. Stir well.

Carefully reintroduce the codfish and cover it with the sauce.

Evenly top with the crumbled feta and place in the oven uncovered until almost all of the cheese melts and the sauce is hot and bubbly.

Distribute even portions in hot shallow bowls, garnished with the leftover 1/4 cup of parsley.

*I use a large cast iron fryer for this.

Recipe: Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce and Tomato-Feta Salad

Souvlaki or souvlakia is a popular Greek shiskabob-type dish that is made with a variety of meats including: pork, lamb, beef, chicken or fish. It's also a food straight out of ancient history with the earliest reference of it being attributed to the Greek poet Homer. So, that puts this great dish at least as far back as around 850 BC. That's some heavy food pedigree, friends. So when you eat this stuff, you're in good company, historically speaking, because there's a pretty good chance that quite a few of history's greatest and golden munched on some kind of souvlaki! That's all the big guns of Greek history and probably some of myth and fable. Maybe even a couple of majorly influential religious personalities have eaten souvlaki (I'm withholding the names to avoid controversy because there's enough of that these days).

Souvlaki is also a versatile dish. As mentioned above you can use a variety of meats and even some vegetables. Speaking of vegetables, in Greece it is served with a wide variety of additions and sides, so bend it anyway you like. It is also served in many different ways: Right off the skewer, in a pita or other flat bread as a sandwich, atop of some pilaf, and along with fried potatoes in a more formal presentation. In all incarnations it is really delicious and healthy (Greek cuisine is considered by many to be the healthiest in the world).

In the recipe below I've opted for a sandwich, but you can go where you like with this historical recipe. It's easier to prepare than it looks and it is sure to please.


Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce and Tomato-Feta Salad

Souvlaki

3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice (there is NO substitute)
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
16 cloves garlic (chopped)
2.5 lbs boneless chicken breast (cut into 1" pieces)
Pita bread or your favorite flat bread

Tzatziki Sauce

1 cucumber (peeled, seeded and grated/shredded)
1/2 cup of Greek yogurt
1/2 cup of plain, low-fat yogurt
2 Tbs lemon juice (there is NO substitute)
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1/2 tsp dried dill

Tomato-Feta Salad

1 large tomato (cut into wedges)
1 medium onion (halved and then thinly sliced)
4 ozs. good quality feta cheese (crumbled)
15 Kalamata olives (pitted and sliced)
1 Tbs Extra-virgin olive oil


In a large bowl, mix together the lemon juice, oregano, olive oil, salt and garlic. Add the cubed chicken and toss together well. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge. After the first 15 minutes, mix again to better distribute the marinade.

While the chicken marinates prepare the tzatziki sauce by combining the cucumber, Greek and plain yogurt, lemon juice, salt, garlic and dill in a medium-sized bowl and mixing it together well. Set aside.

Prepare the side salad by mixing together the tomato, onion, feta cheese and kalamata olives in a medium bowl. Drizzle the extra-virgin olive oil over it and add salt and pepper to taste.

Take the chicken and string it on skewers (you will need 4 to 6). Set your oven to "broil" and broil the chicken, moving and turning the skewers often to ensure even cooking and charring and to AVOID BURNING. Alternatively, and optimally, you can cook the meat over a charcoal fire. In either preparation, be sure the chicken is cooked through but not overcooked or it will begin to dry out!

Serve the chicken on or in the pita bread with a good slather of the tzatziki sauce. Add a small portion of the salad as a side.