Tonight, I made a Greek inspired chicken pita with “lemoni patatas.” Despite having a full plate, this dish is still on the lighter side, and could also be made as a salad (which I highly recommend).
Instead of serving this pita style, you could always dress your greens, pile them on a plate, and top them with everything you see here. You could also toast the pita, and cut it into wedges to make little pita chips in lieu of croutons.
Greek Inspired Chicken Pita Wraps
Makes 4 pita wraps
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup Greek salad dressing
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil (extra virgin is fine, but I usually go for canola)
- 1/2 cucumber, mostly peeled or completely peeled (if that’s how you like it) then sliced
- 1 tomato, halved, then sliced
- 1/2 red onion, sliced super thin
- 1 cup shredded lettuce (or other green leafy veg)
- 4 tablespoons crumbled feta, divided
- 4 tablespoons tzatziki sauce
- 1 5.3 ounce container of Greek yogurt
- 1/2 a cucumber, peeled, seeded, and shredded
- 1/2 a teaspoon of fine salt
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled, and finely grated
- 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon mint, chiffonade
Ok, first things first: slice your chicken breasts and get them marinating.
Once everybody is all sliced up and smothered in Greek dressing, you can toss it back in the fridge, and prep your tzatziki. A lot of people make this light and creamy Greek yogurt dip in a food processor, but I like a little texture to mine. So, I do things old school. First, peel half a cucumber. Then you have two options: you can cut the peeled portion away from the rest of the cucumber, slice that peeled portion in half, scrape out the seeds with a small spoon, and shred the cucumber pieces with the large holed side of a box grater. OR you could use an apple corer or melon baller to scoop out the seeds from the center of the cucumber, and use the large holed side of a box grater to shred down to the unpeeled portion of the cucumber.
Once you have your cucumber shredded up, put it in a bowl lined with paper towels (cheesecloth would be a lot better if you can get it), and toss in the fine salt. Not only will this season your tzatziki, but it will draw the moisture out of your cucumber so you don’t have a watered down finished product.
After about 10 minutes of hang time, everything will be ready to be combined. Finely grate a clove of garlic into a small mixing bowl. Add the Greek yogurt, red wine vinegar and white pepper. Stir to combine well. Next, squeeze the excess moisture from your cucumber and add it to the yogurt mixture. Then, chiffonade a couple of mint leaves and add to the dip. After everything is well combined, cover and set it in the fridge to allow all the flavors to develop.
Wait, did she say “chiffonade?” Yes… yes I did. It sounds super sophisticated, doesn’t it? It’s a lot easier to do than say with a straight face. Pick a few leaves: three large leaves, or five smaller leaves should be plenty. Stack the leaves one on top of another, then roll them up like a little mint leaf cigar. Slice your newly minted (tehehe) cigar into thin strips. That’s it! That’s a chiffonade of mint!
Alright, moving on. Our tzatziki is hanging in the fridge, our chicken is chilling. This is the perfect time to prep the potatoes patatas and get them in the oven. I’ll be sure to include the recipe later. Preheat your preferred skillet over medium heat. I just so happen to prefer cast iron because it’s non-stick and retains heat well. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, and use a paper towel to make sure the entire surface is coated. Place your chicken pieces in the skillet in clockwise order (it makes it easier to tell where you started, so you’ll know who to turn first, and who to remove last). Let them cook for about 3 – 4 minutes per side to allow a little caramelization. That’s what helps develop a deeper flavor.
As your chicken finishes cooking, pull it off into an oven safe container, and cover with aluminum foil to keep it warm. Wrap a stack of 4 pitas in another piece of aluminum and toss in the oven during the last 5 – 8 minutes of cooking. If you have lemoni patatas in the oven, they’ve been roasting away at 400 degrees, so your oven should be good to go. If not, then just crank your oven up right before you start cooking your chicken, then turn it off when you’re about 10 minutes from finished.
I put everything on the table. These pitas wraps are a great way for everybody to get something totally custom to their taste preferences. One kid likes just cheese and leafy greens. Another just wants cheese and cucumbers with tomato slices on the side. My husband foregoes the feta and drowns everything in tzatziki. I’m not Greek, so I’m not offended. Are you Greek? Are you offended? I hope not. I promise if I ever am so fortunate to go to Greece, I will gladly eat whatever I am served and not change a thing. But tonight… I’m happy I can.
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