Warm Greek Chicken Salad

It's nearing the end of summer here- and when I say "nearing," I mean we've only got a few more months left of unbearable 90+ degree weather. About this time of year, I begin making tea in the early morning, and putting together colorful, warm dishes to encourage autumn to make its way to Southern California just a little bit sooner. Unfortunately, the encouragement hasn't technically seemed to work-- yet. But that's not going to mean I'll stop trying. Hence-

the warm Greek chicken salad. 

This dish is definitely a new family favorite. We started preparation later in the evening, and I think the second and third time around it'll take less than a half hour of preparation & thought process. Feel free to play around with the spices (that, after all, is what I love about cooking the most anyway) and rules. I always say that along with my perhaps overly-creative nature, I never really follow recipes; instead, I use them as skeletons, and completely recreate along the way. Adjust everything as necessary- just not cooking times and fresh herbs (which you can't beat).  Hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think in the comments below!

gather: 

salt + pepper to taste

about 3 tbsp. fresh oregano.

2 tbsp. lemon zest

garlic

6 chicken thighs

olive oil

plenty of cherry tomatoes, halved

1 c. pitted kalamata olives

feta cheese

cook: 

First things first:

Preheat the oven to about 450. Halve those cherry tomatoes and the kalamata olives; chop the oregano. Rinse the chicken thighs and do what you will with the skins.

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan- oven-proof or cast-iron is best. Mix lemon zest, salt and pepper, and fresh chopped oregano, and then use as a rub for the chicken. Cook chicken skin-side down (if that's your thing) until browned, around twelve minutes.

2. Flip the chicken, cook for another ten minutes, and surround with the tomatoes, olives, garlic, and any extra oregano you find from your cutting board- but leave the tops of the chicken uncovered completely.

3. Bake chicken until there's no longer any pink/red/any other color that shouldn't be there in the middle. We started at around twenty minutes, but it turned into thirty, and then forty. That may have been based on a multiple amount of factors, however; so check it around thirty minutes or so and operate on your own from there on. You've been forewarned.

4. Top chicken with feta cheese and more oregano. Other spices we picked and chose were paprika, dried cilantro, and cayenne pepper (we like to literally spice up our lives over here). The feta cheese adds a really nice creamy factor to an otherwise more acid dish, and it's nice to add as much or as little as you choose.

5. Serve over whatever you prefer- we chose rice, but I'll probably opt for quinoa next time since that's more to my taste. There's also a substantial amount of broth in this dish as well, so a crust of bread would also be delicious. If you liked, you could more than likely refrigerate leftovers and use those over an actual lettuce salad for a lunch the following day- it's all up to you.

and there you have it! Micaylee, Alexandrea, and I have some neat short films and projects coming up the next few days, so stay tuned. there may or may not also be some changes (blog and otherwise) in the not-so-far-off future. thanks so much for sticking with me over the under-tended summer months- i'll be seeing you more often these next few weeks. 

xx