A traditional Greek salad, with chicken added, it's familiar and new at the same time.
Summer nights create a thousand ready reasons to skip supper at home in the kitchen. Little League and bike rides that run long. An after-work happy hour on a breezy patio. Lawn mowing. A family outing to the zoo. Day games. An oh-so-pretty-nobody-wants-to-leave afternoon at the pool.
An obvious answer to the 'What’s for supper?' question is drive-through food on the way home. Instead, think about drive-by food on the way home.
Drive by the grocery, grab a rotisserie chicken (a busy parent’s miracle food if there ever is one) and a few vegetables. Get home. Kick off the shoes. Assemble the salad. Plate. Somebody pour the milk, please! Pray. Eat. Enjoy.
SIMPLE HUMMUS Hummus is the chickpea (also called garbanzo bean) paste served with pita rounds in Greek restaurants. Grocery stores carry prepared versions but hummus is quick ‘n’ easy to make at home. In a food processor (or with a potato masher), puree a can of drained garbanzo beans, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/3 cup of tahini (a sesame seed paste or in a pinch, use peanut butter), the juice of a lemon or two, some fresh parsley. Add olive oil a few drops at a time until a spreadable consistency is reached.
Why crumble dried herbs? You’ll know if you smell your fingertips: even gentle crushing releases the oils, intensifying flavor just a tidge. Everyone famished tonight? Bulk up with extra cucumber and tomato; add sweet pepper, fennel, zucchini, even chickpeas (if you’re not making hummus) and pepperoncini.
QUICK SUPPER:
CHICKEN GREEK SALAD
another good reason to eat at home!
Time to table: 25 minutes
Serves 4
- DRESSING
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- Zest from 1 lemon (see ALANNA’s TIPS)
- Juice of 2 lemons (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled between fingertips (see TIPS)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- SALAD
- 3 cups rotisserie chicken, skin removed, in bite-size pieces (or leftover grilled chicken)
- 1 English cucumber, diced
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 1 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
- ½ medium red onion, diced fine
- Other veggies, optional (see TIPS)
- Romaine lettuce for 4, torn
- Baby spinach for 4
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Whisk dressing ingredients in large bowl. Stir in chicken, cucumber, tomato, olives and red onion and combine well.
Arrange lettuce and spinach on four plates. Top with chicken mixture, then sprinkle with feta cheese. Serve with torn pita bread and hummus – and enjoy, at home!
Simple Hummus Recipe
While my recipe for Simple Hummus uses the traditional chickpeas, there are other options. How about lima bean hummus?
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Your Comments:
The quick and easy Bulgarian variant,(Shopska salata/shopska salat), goes well with chicken too.
Less ingredients: Only diced tomatoes, cucumbers, and chopped onions. On top: A thick layer of grated Bulgarian brined cheese (similar to feta cheese; may be used as a substitute). Salt, pepper, vinegar and vegetable oil (sunseed oil) are provided separately.
Karin ~ I wasn't supposing there was anything particularly 'authentic' about this salad (the goal, after all, was a quick supper) but am glad to hear that Greek cuisine doesn't forgo chicken! And the Bulgarian version sounds great!!
Cynthia ~ Yes, drive-by food! It's my mission, to help make it easier for people to eat their own food at home. Simple is fine!
If you ever get the chance to buy lemongrass, do so. Not only does it taste amazing, but the aroma of it sauteing with the onions, garlic, and ginger was unbelievable.