Greek Platter

Have you ever noticed how expensive it is to go to a Greek Restaurant for dinner?! I remember the first time I went to an actual restaurant for Greek food (not the “fast food” food court Greek food - not saying you can’t get decent greek food there) and was SHOCKED by the price. Especially because the ingredients seemed so simple and it didn’t seem like it would be that hard to make. So of course…. I experimented at home and was very happy with how it turned out!

So now I want to hear from you - tell me what you think of this Greek platter!

FIRST start with your chicken - you will use the remaining broth to cook your potatoes. That is - if you use an Instant pot. If you are baking your chicken you might not have a ton of broth to work with, but it all works out in the end!

Here it goes….. *warning I used a lot of spices + herbs!

GREEK CHICKEN

Serves 5

Ingredients:

3/4 c chicken broth (or bone broth)

5 chicken breasts, frozen or fresh

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper chilli flakes

1 tsp basil

1.5 tbsp organo

1.5 tsp parsley

1 tsp lemon pepper

1/4 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp onion powder

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of cinnamon

1/2 lemon, juiced

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add all ingredients to your instant pot and cook on manual for 13 minutes. Let it sit for 5 minutes before releasing the pressure.

2. Shred the chicken. Reserve broth for your potatoes and transfer chicken to a warming bowl to serve later.

SECOND STEP: start your potatoes.

GARLIC, lemon, and DILL CRISPY POTATOES

Serves 5

INGREDIENTS:

6 Yukon gold potatoes (these work the best!)

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 fresh dill, chopped + divided

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375F.

2. Dice your potatoes (see images for a good idea on size).

3. In a 9x13 glass baking dish add reserved broth from your instant pot, potatoes, salt, pepper, lemon, 1/4 c of fresh dill and garlic.

4. Cover with tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes or until you can stab them with a fork, but there's still a fair amount of resistance to it.

5. Strain potatoes. In a large pot add olive oil, baking soda and 1/4 c of fresh dill.

6. Stir the potatoes around until there's a decent coating of mashed potatoes covering each piece. This is what makes them all crispy so don’t skip this step! (By stirring the potatoes around in the pot, it will slightly mash the potatoes to create the coating).

7. Spread the potatoes evenly on a baking sheet (preferably non-stick so they get crispier. If you add parchment paper they don’t get as crisp) Bake them for 20 minutes at 400F.

8. Flip potatoes over, and let them bake for another 10 minutes until they are browned and crisp.

*If you did not use an instant pot and don’t have reserved broth, you can use my 3 ingredient Crispy Potato Wedge recipe. It is very similar and quicker - and just as tasty!

THIRD STEP: the magic sauce!

The only trick is to properly drain the cucumber before mixing it into the yogurt. Otherwise, the cucumber waters down the sauce too much. (Unless you like your dip more liquidy…some do!) Salting the grated cucumber and letting the excess moisture drip out takes a bit of time.

The easiest and most efficient way to get rid of the excess moisture is to lightly squeeze the grated cucumber into a strainer. 

TZATZIKI

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cups grated cucumber (no need to peel, grate on the large holes of your grater)

• 1 cups plain Greek yogurt

• 1 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Squeeze the grated cucumber between your palms over the sink or in a strainer to remove excess moisture.

2. Add the yogurt, olive oil, herbs, lemon juice, garlic, and salt to the bowl, and stir to blend. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes (or longer…the longer the more flavourful) to allow the flavours to combine.

3. Leftover tzatziki keeps well, chilled, for about 4 days.

FOURTH AND FINAL STEP: the salad.

GREEK SALAD

Serves 5

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cucumber, diced

• 1 large bell pepper, diced

• 1 handful of cherry tomatoes, diced

• 1/2 red onion, diced

• 1 handful of Kalamata olives

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon oregano

DIRECTIONS:

1. Dice all vegetables (except for olives) and combine in a bowl.

2. Drizzle olive oil over vegetables and gently toss.

3. Sprinkle salt and oregano, and gently toss again.

*optional add feta cheese

I hope you enjoy your Greek platter as much as we do!

xo erin

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

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